Continental League

The Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs (known as the Continental League or CL) was a proposed third major league for baseball in the United States and Canada, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season. Unlike predecessor competitors such as the Players' League and the Federal League, it sought membership within organized baseball's existing organization and acceptance within Major League Baseball. The league disbanded in August 1960 without playing a single game as a concession by William A. Shea as part of his negotiations with Major League Baseball to expand to incorporate at least eight new teams.

The Continental League was the last serious attempt to create a third major league consisting of new clubs.

The New York Giants (to San Francisco) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (to Los Angeles) moved to California following the 1957 season; New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. appointed a four-man committee to bring the National League back to the city in 1958. Early overtures to entice one of the eight existing NL teams—the Cincinnati Redlegs, Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates were reportedly approached—were abandoned.

The Continental League was the idea of attorney William Shea, proposed in November 1958. On July 27, 1959, the new league was formally announced, with teams in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis–St. Paul, New York City, and Toronto. The name of the league was said to have been the suggestion of Colorado senator Edwin C. Johnson.

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