in 1923 the cape cod baseball league was formed and included four teams: falmouth, chatham, osterville, and hyannis. this early cape league operated through the 1939 season and disbanded in 1940, due in large part to the difficulty of securing ongoing funding during the great depression. orleans' entry into the league came in 1928. wareham had been added in 1927 to bring the number of teams to five, and orleans and plymouth were to be added in 1928, though the plymouth entry never materialized.