The Western League was the name of several minor league baseball leagues that operated between 1885 and 1900. These leagues were focused mainly in the Midwestern United States. The 1893 incarnation of the league hired Ban Johnson as president in 1894. In 1900, Johnson renamed it the American League and declared that it was now a major league, intending to compete against the older National League of 1876, which was centered in the American Northeast states. History Before its incarnation in November 1893, the Western League existed in various forms. The League was formed as a minor league on February 11, 1885. The original clubs were located in Indianapolis‚ Kansas City‚ Cleveland‚ Milwaukee‚ Toledo and Omaha/Keokuk, Iowa. The season began on April 18, 1885 with the Indianapolis Hoosiers winning the first title with a record of 27–4–1. The league then folded on June 15, 1885. The league was reformed on January 18, 1886, to play an 80-game schedule. Denver won the pennant on September 20, 1886 with a record of 54 wins and 26 losses. In 1887, the league was dominated by Topeka's Golden Giants, a high-priced collection of major leaguers, including Bug Holliday, Jim Conway, Perry Werden and Jimmy Macullar, which won the title by 15½ games on October 2, 1887. The league returned in February 1888, but dissolved after a partial season on June 21, 1888. Denver had finished first with a record of 18 wins and 6 losses. The league was revived in 1892. Columbus won the title with a record of 46 wins and 26 losses. The league shut down on July 11, 1892. The league was revived on May 17, 1893 and had planned a schedule before being shut down on June 20, 1893. Reorganization and conversion to American League In a meeting in Detroit, Michigan, on November 20, 1893, the Western League reorganized again. From this point forward, this version of the WL has continued in existence, eventually becoming the modern-day American League. In 1894, Ban Johnson was hired as president of the new league, and remained so until his retirement nearly 35 years later. Johnson, a Cincinnati-based newspaper reporter, had been recommended by his friend Charles Comiskey, a former major league star with the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s, who was then managing the Cincinnati Reds. After the 1894 season, when Comiskey's contract with the Reds was up, he decided to take