The first American baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, was formed in 1845. Soon after the number of baseball teams spread quickly across the country and the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs began in 1875. The National League still exists, along with the American League, which began in 1893. Every year champions from these two leagues play each other in the World Series in October. There are currently 14 teams in the American League and 16 teams in the National League. When the National and American Leagues were being formed, owners of the balls clubs decided to exclude African Americans from their teams. In the1920’s a number of “Negro Leagues” were formed. These leagues, composed solely of African American players, produced some of the most outstanding baseball players in history, such as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the “color barrier” and became the first African American to play in the National League. Now, African Americans make up a sizeable portion of professional baseball players. Furthermore, in 2000 nearly one fourth of all major league baseball players in the United States were born outside of the United States. Over 20 Asian players, mostly Japanese and Korean, play major league baseball in America.