Why does Chicago have two MLB baseball teams?

Question

I just realized it this morning.

Yeah I understand other states do also but that just in the same state, not the same city.

Answer 1

Back in the early 1900s when the American League and National League were just getting started, most of the cities that had major league teams had both an AL team and an NL team. There were no major league teams west or south of St. Louis.

Back then you had

Boston Red Sox in the AL
Boston Braves in the NL

New York Yankees in the AL
New York Giants in the NL
Brooklyn Dodgers in the NL

Philadephia Phillies in the NL
Philadelphia A's in the AL

Chicago Cubs in the NL
Chicago White Sox in the AL

St. Louis Cardinals in the NL
St. Louis Browns in the AL

Back then the teams traveled by train. There were no commercial airlines that could fly teams across the country. It took too long to travel by train from New York to the west coast. The only way to have 16 major league teams was to double up in the big cities.

With the advent of commercial airlines, in the 1950s, the major leagues started expanding westward. The Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. The New York Giants moved to San Francisco. The Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. The Philadelphia A's moved to Kansas City. The St. Louis Browns moved east to Baltimore.

For some reason, neither of the Chicago teams ever decided to move.

Answer 2

Because, our teams get great support and they kind of balance each other out.

The Cubs are the team that people go to who dont care if they win or lose, they just go for a good time and to get wasted. They get alot of tourists. Im not saying the Cubbies dont have real fans, Im just saying that when you go to Wrigley Field, its more about having a good time than it is to see the team win. I just went on May 18th for the City Series and it was a total blast.

The Sox are the team that people want to win games and really care if they lose. I think the Sox have the more die hard fans. They are more like the people team of Chicago. When you go to the Cell, its because you want to root for your team more. You will still have a great time, but its more about the team at the Cell.

My friend is a die hard Cubs fan and a die hard Sox hater, and he said that the only Sox game he went to was funner than the all the Cubs games hes ever been to though.

Chicago is a huge baseball town, heck, were a huge sports town. We live and die with our teams, and there has to be two baseball teams here. Its not an option. Even though the Mets and Yankees are both from New York, the Yankees are from the Bronx (one of the 5 boroughs) and the Mets are out in Flushing (not one of the 5 boroughs). The Dodgers are in LA, but the Angels are in Anahiem. So I guess you could say were to only city with two true baseball teams.

Answer 3

Late in the 1800s and early in the 1900s, Chicago was the western terminus for many of the major passenger rail lines - that made it convenient to place teams there. When the American League was created in 1901, they placed a team there partly because of the convenience, partly because of the city's strong baseball tradition, and partly as a challenge to the N.L., since the Cubs were a relatively strong team at the time. As the city is large enough to support two teams, neither has ever moved (though there were a couple attempts to move the White Sox in the 1970s).

Answer 4

Chicago can have two pro baseball teams because they have the area. and The White Sox play on the South Side of Chicago at US Cellular Field, and the Cubs play on the North Side of Chicago at Wrigley Field. Chicago is not a small city it's a major populated City in the US. This works out because the Chicago Fire, and Chicago Bears both play at Soldier Field, Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks both play at the United Center, so that leaves enough room for the two Chicago Baseball teams to have their own stadiums.Chicago can also have two baseball teams because it's a major city that allows for enough people to be diveded on both sides much like the NY Yanks-NY Mets, and LA Dodgers and LA Angels. The New York Yankees Play at Yankee Stadium which is in the Bronx that's why they are nicknamed the Bronx Bombers, while the New York Mets play at Shea Stadium which is in Flushing of Queens.

Answer 5

The White Sox were originally a Western League team, part of Ban Johnson's league. In 1900, Comiskey - a native of Chicago - talked the Cubs into letting him bring his team to the south side. At the time, the Cubs probably didn't see the Chisox as a huge threat, given that the AL hadn't yet formed.

A year later, Johnson pushed the NL owners into recognizing a second major league, and the AL was born with the White Sox a charter member.

Answer 6

Prior to 1901, Chicago only had one team--the Cubs of the National League.

When Ban Johnson established the American League in 1901, he realized that in order to be successful he needed to compete directly with the N.L. in several key cities. Chicago was one of those cities, and the team that would become the White Sox was born.

Answer 7

Same reason new york, the bay area, florida and LA does its for the money and even though the cubs lose and havent won a world series in 90 plus years the fans love them ( that why the cubs are called the lovable losers) and the white sox have always had fans and not to shock u but i know people who like both teams and support both. I like both but i like the cubs more. Hope that answers ur question its for money and since the cubs are for sale we will see if they remain in chicago

Answer 8

Most big cities have a team for each baseball league. The cubs are in the NL, and the White Sox are in the AL. It is mostly to make money.

Answer 9

The Cubs are in the National League and White Sox in the American League. At the end of the season the best team in each league play each other in the World Series.

Answer 10

No its not. New York City has two teams. The Mets in Queens and the Yankees in the Bronx. Los Angels also has two teams, the Dodgers and the Angels. It's not uncommon. Before the Dodgers and Giants moved...New York City had the Yankees in the Bronx, the Giants in Manhattan and the Dodgers in Brooklyn. Thats just the way it goes.