First division

First division is a term that has had various meanings, at various times, in the sport of baseball, but originally referred to the rankings within a league. Teams which ranked in the top half of the league standings table were said to have finished in the "first division", while teams in the bottom half of the standings were said to be in the "second division". In the major leagues before 1969, players on teams finishing in the first division received monetary shares from the Players' Pool, which was funded by gate receipts from that year's World Series; specifically, prior to the aforementioned expansion, the team winning the World Series received 42% of this money, the team losing the World Series got 28%, with the second-, third- and fourth-place teams in each league being awarded 7½%, 5% and 2½% respectively. Concomitant with the expansion, 1% was taken from both of the World Series teams and given to each of the teams finishing in fifth place. The New York Yankees finished in the first division for a record 39 consecutive years, from 1926 through 1964, all inclusive; by contrast, the Chicago Cubs once finished in the second division for 20 years in a row — between 1947 and 1966.