The Federal League began as an independent minor league in 1913. The franchise placed in
Indianapolis,
Indiana, was called the "Hoosier Feds" or just
"Hoosiers", and won the 1913 league championship. Their ball field the first season was referred to as Riverside Beach or Riverside Park, and newspapers reported its location as "30th Street and
Riverside Park". When the Federal League declared itself a challenger to the two major leagues in 1914, it retained its franchise in Indianapolis, and built a new facility,
Federal League Park. Primarily owned by oil magnate
Harry F. Sinclair, the Hoosiers again won the Federal League championship
that year with an 88–65 record. Although the FL had placed a team (the
Tip-Tops) in
Brooklyn, from the outset Federal League officials felt they could more effectively compete commercially against the American and National leagues by placing a team in
Manhattan. All attempts were effectively blocked by principals of the two existing Manhattan teams (the
New York Giants and the
New York Yankees). Federal League executives decided to relocate the Indianapolis franchise to a major city in the New York metropolitan area, and
Newark was chosen. Although the team was named the
Newark Peppers (called "The Peps" for short, and initially also "Newfeds"), the team actually played at
Harrison Park, in the town of
Harrison, New Jersey, across the
Passaic River from downtown Newark. (As part of the franchise transfer, Indianapolis
outfielder Benny Kauff, who was the Federal League
batting champ in 1914, was placed with the Tip-Tops.) The team finished in 5th place with a won–loss record of 80–72. The Peppers were disbanded when the Federal League went out of business after the 1915 season. The Peppers were the only major league baseball franchise in New Jersey besides the
Elizabeth Resolutes, who played half of the 1873 season in the
National Association (the precursor to the National League). The
Brooklyn Dodgers played seven "home" games (one against each NL rival) in Jersey City in 1956 and 1957. Neither Indianapolis or Newark have had a major league baseball team since 1915. ==Notable players==