History of "MLB" as a Name/Brand

[Brian McKenna]

It's common for us to refer to baseball now as "Major League Baseball" with capital letters. But when was the name formally adopted by the NL and AL?

I'm assuming people used the term "major league baseball" with small letters long before it was formally adopted by the corporation itself. At what point did the AL and NL formally agree that they were one entity and establish a single corporate name?

[Paul Wendt]

That is a legal or business history question I can't answer.


Regarding the abbreviation 'MLB' rather than 'Major League Baseball':

May the answer be in the history of internet domain names, specifically 'mlb.com'?

Which is the oldest age cohort that speaks of "the MLB" and the youngest who say only "MLB"? It's hard for me to believe that "the MLB" comes naturally to many who predate the abbreviation in common use.

At least into the mid-1990s 'MLB' was unknown on all-sports radio in Boston (WEEI) but that usage may have been established elsewhere.

[Patriot]

This is a good question, one that I have always wondered about (although I've never been motivated enought to research it myself). The current MLB logo came into existence in 1968 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122453063968851133.html). That of course doesn't mean that the term was used formally and legally (and it's not exactly clear whether the "MLB" text was below it or whether just the batter silhoutte was used.

Prior to that logo being used, the logo was a stylized waving flag with a baseball in the middle, and the text "baseball" below it. No capitalization and no mention of "major league".

[spark240]

At what point did the AL and NL formally agree that they were one entity and establish a single corporate name?

The final merger was in the 1990s. I'm inclined to say it was before the '97 season, but I can't find a clear reference for that just now.

[dgarza]

The final merger was in the 1990s. I'm inclined to say it was before the '97 season, but I can't find a clear reference for that just now.
Baseball-Almanac states 2000 : http://www.baseball-almanac.com/yearly/yr2000n.shtml