In the years 1914-1915, a third major league baseball league was formed, known as the Federal League. This league was a rival to the National and American Leagues and was know in an unfriendly way as the "Outlaw" League. Obviously neither the American League nor the National League were enthusiastic about the upstart league because it threatened o drain both players and fans from the more established leagues. There were nine teams in the Federal League consisting of the Baltimore Terrapins, the Newark Peppers, the Brooklyn Tip-Tops, the Buffalo Blues, the Pittsburgh Stogies, The Chicago Whales, The Kansas Cities Packers, the Saint Louis Minors and the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Some of the names or easier to understand than others. Kansas City of course was a destination for the beef industry, while St. Louis had at least some mining activities. Others such as the Chicago Whalers or the Pittsburgh Stogies are harder to fathom.

The teams had alternate nicknames, often reflecting their connection with the Federal League. The Baltimore team was also nicknamed the "Baltfeds," while the Newark team was nicknamed the "Newfeds." The Brooklyn team was known also as the "Brookfeds," the Buffalo team as the "Bluefeds," the Pittsburgh team as "the Rebels" and the "Pittsfeds." The Chicago team was nicknamed the "Chifeds," while the Kansas City Team was known as the "Kawfeds." The St. Louis Miners team had the distinction of having the most nicknames including "Brownies," "Terriers," and, of course, the "Sloufeds." The Indianapolis team was known by its nicknames, the "Hoofeds," or perhaps somewhat less diplomatically as the " Hoosierfeeds."

There are interesting connections that abound. I was born in Indiana, so technically am a Hoosier. However, I was raised in Saint Louis long after the 1914-1915 seasons. There even as I was growing up, St. Louis had two major league baseball teams, the well-known St. Louis Cardinals and the less prominent St. Louis Browns. The last baseball game I attended with my father was a St. Louis Browns game. Perhaps the St. Louis Browns, although not direct successors to the St. Louis Miners, inherited the nickname "Brownies" from the 1914-1915 team. The St. Louis Browns owner, Bill Veeck, sold the Browns to a group of investors from Baltimore for $2,475,000 in 1954. That team became the modern Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore's only previous major league baseball team, other than the Baltimore Terrapins was also named the Orioles. The original Orioles left Baltimore in 1902. So between 1902 and 1954, the Baltimore Terrapins were the only major league baseball team in Baltimore. Sponsorship of the modern Baltimore Orioles was fiercely competed between National Bohemian Beer (known as Natty Bo) and Gunther Beer. The mustachioed baseball player is none other that the Natty Bo mascot. Of course the Baltimore Terrapins no longer exist, but have since donated their name to the University of Maryland, whose name for purposes of sporting events is of course the Terrapins.

Bill Veeck had the interesting quirk of sending a midget named, Edward Carl Gaedel, to bat in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Eddie Gaerdel was only three feet, seven inches and had a strike zone of 1.5 inches. Needless to say, Eddie Gaerdel walked in his only time at bat in the major leagues.

Only one of the original teams in the Federal League survives to this day. That team is the Chicago Cubs, originally known as the Chicago Whales. The Cubs stadium on the North side of the Windy City, now know as Wrigley Field, was known in 1914-1915 as Weeghman Park, a variant of Wegman Park