play opened in late april 1908 and the league ran into problems almost immediately. the entire east coast was dealing with frequent rain. the washington club, for example, experienced nine rainouts in may, with six of them occurring in a nine-day stretch. this, combined with the fact that the league had not attracted star players from the established leagues, contributed to poor attendance and low revenue. as players sometimes went unpaid, they began to leave the league. the league folded in june of its inaugural season.