Baseball Franchises
Browse 203 franchises that have competed throughout baseball history.
203 franchises
How to read the franchise directory
A franchise is the continuing club behind a team, followed through every name and city it used; this page lists 203 of them, from the National Association clubs of 1871 to the present. Each card gives the franchise code, its status, its name, the span of seasons and the season count. Active franchises, such as the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals, carry an Active badge. Inactive franchises stopped playing; Historical marks the National Association clubs of 1871 to 1875, whose status field is blank in the source data. The longest-lived franchise on the list is the Chicago Cubs, at 150 seasons (1876–2025).
At the other end, many clubs lasted a single season, among them the Akron Grays / Cleveland Giants (1933), Algona Brownies (1903), and All Cubans (1905). Several cards share a name, such as the many Washington Nationals, which is why each carries its code and year range. Search filters the cards by name or code as you type. A franchise page adds the all-time record, World Series titles, playoff history, the best and worst seasons against the league, and the players who appeared in the most games; for one code in one era, use the team directory.