First run (1902–1962) won the first
American Association championship (1902). The American Association was formed in the fall of 1901 by Thomas J. Hickey, who had recently been appointed president of the
Western League and was a founder of the
National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. Hickey resigned from the Western League to lead the new American Association, which elected not to join the National Association, thus becoming an "outlaw" league. The eight-team circuit fielded clubs in
Columbus, Ohio;
Indianapolis, Indiana;
Kansas City, Missouri;
Louisville, Kentucky;
Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Saint Paul, Minnesota; and
Toledo, Ohio. The league's inaugural 140-game schedule was to be played from late April to late September 1902. At the end of that season, the first
American Association championship was won by the
Indianapolis Indians. The American Association became members of the National Association after two seasons and was then classified as a
Class A circuit. In 1912, it was reclassified as a
Double-A league. The American Association's attendance base began to be eroded significantly in the 1950s and early 1960s due to expansion and westward migration of Major League Baseball teams into several of the AA's larger member cities, especially Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Another contributing factor was the increased frequency of televised games, both of MLB teams and the AA's own clubs, enticing fans to watch baseball from the comfort of their own homes. Toledo suffered such poor attendance that the team folded during the 1952 season and was transferred to
Charleston, West Virginia. In 1953, the league lost the Milwaukee Brewers who were displaced by the
National League's
Milwaukee Braves. In 1959, the league expanded to 10 teams when it acquired three former
Texas League clubs, but expensive and lengthy travel across the spread-out league coupled with dwindling attendance was damaging to what had once been a flourishing circuit. By 1961, the league had been reduced to six clubs—just one a charter city—after having lost Kansas City and Minneapolis–St. Paul to the major leagues. After the 1962 season, the American Association disbanded, and some of its member teams were distributed between the
Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the International League (IL), while others (the
Louisville Colonels and
Omaha Dodgers) folded altogether. The Indianapolis Indians joined the IL, and the
Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers,
Denver Bears, and
Oklahoma City 89ers went to the PCL.
Second run (1969–1997) With major league expansion in 1969 and the need for four new Triple-A farm teams, the American Association was revived. The creation of a third Triple-A league would alleviate some of the travel costs incurred by having only two leagues spread out across the country. The new American Association would field six teams in 1969. It re-acquired its old Indianapolis;
Denver, Colorado; and
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, territories from the PCL, revived the
Omaha, Nebraska, franchise, and added two cities (
Des Moines, Iowa, and
Tulsa, Oklahoma) that were new to the circuit. The teams played a 140-game schedule with no All-Star Game or playoffs. In 1970, the AA returned to a two-division format, reintroduced the All-Star Game and playoffs, and expanded to eight cities with the addition of
Wichita, Kansas, and
Evansville, Indiana. The 1970s were a stable time for the Association with strong attendance and only minor franchise shifts. The league thrived during the 1980s and 1990s, along with all of Minor League Baseball as an industry. Affordable ticket prices, exciting giveaways and promotions, and new ballparks helped lure fans, especially families, back to minor league games. Half of the top-ten drawing minor league clubs in 1985 were members of the American Association. From 1982 to 1986, the
Louisville Redbirds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance, including the 1983 season in which the club drew over one million fans. From 1988 to 1991, the Association participated in interleague play with the International League as a part of the
Triple-A Alliance. The two leagues played an interlocking schedule consisting of 40 to 44 interleague games per team. At the end of each season, an Alliance champion was determined in the
Triple-A Classic, a best-of-seven postseason series. All three Triple-A leagues, began participating in the
Triple-A All-Star Game in 1988. The first of these events was held at the
Buffalo Bisons' newly-constructed
Pilot Field on July 13, 1988. In the inaugural game, a team of American League-affiliated All-Stars defeated a team of National League affiliates, 2–1. ==Interleague play==