The
Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs (known as the
Continental League or
CL) was a proposed third
major league for
baseball in the United States and Canada, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season. Unlike predecessor competitors such as the
Players' League and the
Federal League, it sought membership within organized baseball's existing organization and acceptance within
Major League Baseball. The league disbanded in August 1960 without playing a single game as a concession by William A. Shea as part of his negotiations with Major League Baseball to expand to incorporate at least 8 new teams.