The league was founded by businessman Alfred Lawson (1869–1954), who had briefly pitched for the Boston Beaneaters and the Pittsburgh Alleghenies in the National League (founded 1876) in 1890; he would later become known for his philosophy known as Lawsonomy and for his success in the aviation business.
[1] Lawson decided to run the new league without utilizing a salary cap, multi-year contracts or a reserve clause.
Biographer Jerry Kuntz wrote that sportswriters "dubbed the effort the 'Onion League,' because it was cheap and smelled bad.
"[2] Play opened in late April 1908, and the league ran into problems almost immediately.
The Washington club, for example, experienced nine rainouts in May, with six of them occurring in a nine-day stretch.