All semi-pro leagues, it should be understood, are self-sustaining, and have no farm affiliation or other connection with the 26 major-league clubs, or with the 17 leagues and 152 teams . . . that make up the National Association—the minors, that is. There is no central body of semi-pro teams, and semi-pro players are not included among the 650 major-leaguers, the 2,500-odd minor-leaguers, plus all the managers, coaches, presidents, commissioners, front-office people, and scouts, who, taken together, constitute the great tent called organized ball. (A much diminished tent, at that; back in 1949, the minors included 59 leagues, about 448 teams, and perhaps 10,000 players.) Also outside the tent, but perhaps within its shade, are 5 college leagues, ranging across the country from Cape Cod to Alaska, where the most promising freshman, sophomore, and junior-college ballplayers . . . compete against each other. . . .
–ROGER ANGELL, “In the Country”