Baltimore Terrapins

Terrapin Park,  East 29th Street and Greenmount Avenue

"The Baltimore Terrapins were one of the most successful teams in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915, but their brief existence led to litigation that led to an important legal precedent in baseball. The team played its home games at Terrapin Park. Most of the professional baseball teams in Baltimore have been called the Orioles, in reference to the Baltimore Oriole bird. There was already a minor league Baltimore Orioles, and the new Federal League club built their ballpark directly across the street from the Orioles park. The new club chose to call itself the Baltimore Terrapins, after the diamondback terrapin, the state reptile of Maryland. That nickname would later become primarily associated with the University of Maryland, College Park sports teams called the Maryland Terrapins. While the 1914 team posted a respectable 84–70 record and finished only 4½ games out of first place under player-manager Otto Knabe, the team was less than successful at the box office, even though four of the eight teams in the league (Chicago, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis) were competing with one and even two (Chicago and St. Louis) other major league teams in the same cities."
Wikipedia

Baltimore Terrapins, 1914

The Battle for Baltimore, 1914: The Federal League Moves In (Part 1)
"In August 1913, the independent Federal League (regarded as a low minor league, perhaps Class-D) made headlines after declaring its intention to seek major league status in 1914. The Federal League survived in 1913 in contrast to two other leagues – the United States League and the Columbian League – which had tried in 1912 to operate outside Organized Baseball, the formal structure linking the traditional major and minor leagues. The United States League of 1912 included Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh, Reading, Richmond and Washington, D.C. It survived only a month. The Colombian League never hosted a contest. (A separate United States League was formed in 1913 – optimistically including Baltimore, Brooklyn, Lynchburg, Newark, Philadelphia and D.C. – but it failed within its first week of operation.) ..."
Baseball History Blog - Part 1, Part 2

"The Baltimore Terrapins were one of the least successful teams in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball. It primarily owes its existance to Baltimore politician Carroll Wilson Rasin. They played two seasons from 1914 to 1915. While the team was inconsequential in terms of its record, it is remembered for certain unexpected consequences of its existance. When the Federal League started, the Terrapins severely cut into the minor league Baltimore Orioles' attendance, causing financial problems for the owner, Jack Dunn. As a result, several players, including the young left-handed pitcher Babe Ruth, were offered for sale to major league teams. Ruth's contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox, after being turned down by Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1914, the Babe begin his career with the Red Sox of the rival American League. After the demise of the Federal League and the Terrapins, Baltimore would not see major league baseball again until 1954, when the former St. Louis Browns moved into town and became the current-day Baltimore Orioles."
Baltimore Terrapins

1914 Baltimore Terrapins Federal League Team Panorama
"This extremely rare display photograph captures twenty-five members of the 1914 Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League in a classic team pose. The team is pictured in their home whites, featuring a large 'turtle' patch on the left breast, as they pose in front of the grandstand. The photographer's name and year, 'H. B. Leopold '14,' appears in the lower right corner. Included in the photo are the club's two twenty-game winners that season, Jack Quinn and George Suggs, as well as Hank Swacina, Bennie Meyer and Jimmy 'Runt' Walsh, the three top hitters on the team. Also pictured is the Philadelphia Phillies veteran double-play combo of the past sevens seasons, Otto Knabe and Mickey Doolan, who, like many other established Major League players, were lured to the new league by the promise of more money. Knabe pulled double duty that year, as he also managed the Terps."
Robert Edward

W - 1914 Baltimore Terrapins season