Origin of the name "Major League Baseball"?...

[Al Publican]

Off topic for here a bit, perhaps, but since baseball is over a century old institution in Detroit and this is a site for devotees of old stuff, I thought someone might know when Major League Baseball became the official/legal moniker of big league baseball.

As a teenager in the '60s, I can't recall hearing the term Major League Baseball back then. My guess is that MLB became the official term for the big leagues around 1970.

[Hermod]

The idea of "major leagues" versus "minor leagues" dates back to the late 19th century.

"Major League Baseball" as a "brand name" and registered trademark probably came about somewhere between 1965 and 1985 and I don't know the specific date.