Farrell and Devery Buy the Baltimore Franchise and Move It to New York

On January 9, 1903, Frank Farrell and William "Big Bill" Devery purchased the defunct Baltimore American League franchise for $18,000. They intended to relocate the team to Manhattan, giving the American League a presence in the nation's largest city and setting the stage for what would become the most successful franchise in professional sports.

Farrell was a gambling house operator. Devery was a former New York City police chief with a reputation for corruption. Neither man fit the profile of a respectable baseball owner, but American League president Ban Johnson needed a New York franchise to compete with the established National League Giants, and Farrell and Devery had the resources and connections to make it happen.

The team was formally approved as an American League member on March 12, 1903. They built Hilltop Park at one of the highest points in upper Manhattan, between 165th and 168th Streets, and the club became known as the New York Highlanders. The name referred both to the elevated ballpark location and to the famous British military regiment, the Gordon Highlanders, which shared a name with the team's president, Joseph Gordon.

The Highlanders struggled in their early years. They came within a game of the 1904 pennant but faded after pitcher Jack Chesbro uncorked a crucial wild pitch on the final day. The team did not seriously contend again under Farrell and Devery's ownership.

By 1913, the team had acquired the informal name "Yankees" in newspaper columns, and the name stuck. Farrell and Devery sold the franchise in 1915 to Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston for $460,000. Under Ruppert's ownership, the Yankees became a dynasty. It all started with an $18,000 purchase on a January afternoon.