Baseball history · lost clubs

Defunct Baseball Franchises

128 franchises with no continuous modern successor — the Negro Leagues, the 19th-century majors, and the 1914–15 Federal League. Their 7,549 player-seasons don't belong to any team still playing today, so folding them into a modern club would invent a lineage that never existed. Instead, every one keeps its ownhonest identity — franchise name, league, era, and full roster. This is where baseball's lost clubs live.

Negro Leagues

76 franchises · 5,103 players

19th-Century Majors

43 franchises · 2,100 players

Federal League

9 franchises · 346 players

Negro Leagues

Recognized as a major league since December 2020. These franchises fielded some of the greatest players in baseball history behind the color line — attributed here to their own identity, never folded into an unrelated modern club.

Franchise	Era	Players	Hall of Fame
Chicago American Giants	1920–1948	336	8
Birmingham Black Barons	1924–1948	282	4
Memphis Red Sox	1924–1948	248	5
Kansas City Monarchs	1920–1948	228	10
Indianapolis ABC's	1920–1938	213	4
Homestead Grays	1929–1948	212	10
New York Black Yankees	1936–1948	206	3
Philadelphia Stars	1934–1948	201	6
Newark Eagles	1936–1948	167	7
Detroit Stars	1920–1937	163	4
St. Louis Stars	1922–1939	154	3
New York Cubans	1935–1948	145	5
Baltimore Black Sox	1923–1934	124	5
Baltimore Elite Giants	1938–1948	119	3
New York Lincoln Giants	1923–1929	116	3
Atlantic City Bacharach Giants	1923–1929	98	2
Cleveland Buckeyes	1943–1948	87
Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns	1944–1947	83	1
Pittsburgh Crawfords	1933–1938	81	8
Cuban Stars West	1920–1930	75
Nashville Elite Giants	1930–1934	68	1
Atlanta Black Crackers	1932–1939	67
Hilldale Daisies	1923–1932	65	6
Dayton Marcos	1920–1926	64
Harrisburg Giants	1924–1927	60	2
Jacksonville Red Caps	1938–1942	58
Cuban Stars East	1923–1929	48	1
Newark Dodgers	1934–1935	45	1
St. Louis Giants	1920–1921	42	1
Cleveland Bears	1939–1940	41
Cleveland Tigers	1928	41
Cleveland Elites	1926	40
Cole's American Giants	1932–1935	40	4
St. Louis-New Orleans Stars	1940–1941	38
Cincinnati Clowns	1943	37
Brooklyn Royal Giants	1923–1927	35	1
Chicago Giants	1920–1921	35
Cincinnati Buckeyes	1942	32
Cleveland Browns	1924	32
Indianapolis Clowns	1948	32
Todelo Tigers	1923	31
Washington Pilots	1932	31	1
Washington Potomacs	1924	31	1
Brooklyn Eagles	1935	30	1
Louisville Black Caps	1932	30	1
Washington Elite Giants	1936–1937	30	2
Cleveland Cubs	1931	29	1
Columbus Buckeyes	1921	28	1
Milwaukee Bears	1923	28	1
Cleveland Tate Stars	1922	27
Cleveland Hornets	1927	26
Indianapolis Athletics	1937	26
Baltimore Sox	1933	25
Cincinnati Tigers	1937	25
Louisville White Sox	1931	25
Akron Grays	1933	24
Cleveland Red Sox	1934	24
Monroe Monarchs	1932	24	1
Washington Black Senators	1938	24
Philadelphia Bacharach Giants	1934	23
Harrisburgh-St. Louis Stars	1943	22
Wilmington Potomacs	1925	22
Columbus Blue Birds	1933	21
Pittsburgh Keystones	1922	21
Pollock's Cuban Stars	1932	21
Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords	1940	21	1
Columbus Elite Giants	1935	20
Newark Stars	1926	20
Little Rock Grays	1932	19
Cleveland Stars	1932	18
Montgomery Grey Sox	1932	18
Philadelphia Tigers	1928	17
Toledo Crawfords	1939	17	1
Detroit Wolves	1932	16	4
Newark Browns	1932	16
Cincinnati Cuban Stars	1921	15

19th-Century Majors

The National League, American Association, Union Association, and Players' League of the 1870s–1890s. Many clubs folded, merged, or were contracted before the modern two-league era; those with no continuous successor keep their own identity here.

Franchise	Era	Players	Hall of Fame
Louisville Colonels	1882–1899	283	6
Washington Senators	1886–1899	253	4
Cleveland Spiders	1879–1899	226	7
Detroit Wolverines	1881–1888	108	4
Buffalo Bisons	1879–1890	91	6
Providence Grays	1878–1885	68	4
Columbus Colts	1883–1891	66
New York Metropolitans	1883–1887	58	1
St. Louis Maroons	1884–1886	51
Kansas City Unions	1884	50
Indianapolis Blues	1878–1884	48
Syracuse Stars	1879–1890	47
Worcester Brown Stockings	1880–1882	46	1
Kansas City Blues	1888–1889	44	1
Troy Trojans	1879–1882	44	5
Indianapolis Hoosiers	1887–1889	42	1
Baltimore Monumentals	1884	36
Chicago Unions	1884	35
Boston Reds	1890–1891	34	5
Philadelphia Keystones	1884	29
Boston Unions	1884	25	1
Louisville Grays	1876–1877	25
New York Mutuals	1876	24
Cincinnati Kelly's Killers	1891	23	1
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds	1884	23
Brooklyn Gladiators	1890	21
Cleveland Infants	1890	21	1
St. Louis Brown Stockings	1876–1877	21
Toledo Blue Stockings	1884	21	1
Hartford Dark Blues	1876–1877	20	1
Rochester Hop Bitters	1890	20
Toledo Maumees	1890	20
Wilmington Quicksteps	1884	20
Richmond Virginias	1884	19
Altoona Pride	1884	17
Brooklyn Wonders	1890	17	1
Kansas City Cowboys	1886	17
Pittsburgh Burghers	1890	17	3
Chicago Pirates	1890	16	2
Philadelphia Quakers	1890	16
Milwaukee Cream Citys	1878	15
Milwaukee Unions	1884	12
St. Paul Saints	1884	11

Federal League

The 1914–15 outlaw major league that challenged the AL and NL for two seasons before folding. None of its eight clubs has a continuous modern successor.

Franchise	Era	Players	Hall of Fame
Brooklyn Feds	1914–1915	53	1
Baltimore Terrapins	1914–1915	48	1
Buffalo Feds	1914–1915	43
Pittsburgh Rebels	1914–1915	43
Chicago Whales	1914–1915	40	2
St. Louis Terriers	1914–1915	34	2
Kansas City Packers	1914–1915	29
Indianapolis Hoosier-Feds	1914	28	2
Newark Peppers	1915	28	2

Built Aug 1, 2026 · from the StatVault franchise-lineage ledger · attributed to each franchise, never folded.