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Northern League (baseball)



         



The Northern League is an Independent minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Manitoba. None of its member teams is associated with any Major League Baseball team.

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Original Northern League Incarnations (pre-1993)

The first Northern League was formed in 1902, but folded in 1905. Some of its member teams joined the Northern Copper Country League in the following year, then joined the Central International League in 1912. This league was renamed the Northern League the following year, but the league again disbanded because of a lack of manpower during World War I.

The league did not re-emerge until 1933. It did not operate during 1943, 1944 and 1945 because of a lack of manpower during World War II, and finally folded again in 1971.

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Modern Northern League (1993-)

The current incarnation was created in 1993 through the efforts of the first commissioner Miles Wolff. Wolff started the league after many midwestern cities contacted him (through his affiliation with Baseball America) asking how they could get a minor league team. After visiting some of them, most notably Wade Stadium in Duluth MN, he started contacting potential owners to start the league.

The league started in 1993 with 6 teams: Duluth-Superior Dukes (Duluth MN, Superior WI), Rochester Aces (Rochester MN), St. Paul Saints (St. Paul MN), Sioux Falls Canaries (Sioiux Fall SD), Sioux City Explorers (Sioux City IA) and Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks (Thunder Bay ON). The prospects for the league were originally "cloudy." Many forecasted an early demise especially in St. Paul where competition with the Minnesota Twins lead many local sportswriters to consider it a "beer league."

In fact the league was, overall, quite a success with only one franchise, Rochester, failing to attract significant crowds. The ailing Aces franshise was sold to an owner in Winnipeg MB and renamed the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Part of the success of the league is the structure of the teams with both salary caps and roster rules. Teams are permitted no more than 4 veterans (5+ years professional experience) and required to have at least as many rookies.

The league expanded from six to eight teams with the addition of franchises of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (Fargo ND) and and Madison Black Wolf (Madison WI). After the 1998 season the Whiskey Jacks, originally with the second best attendance in the league, was sold and became Schaumburg Flyers (Schaumburg IL) 1999.

In 1999 its eight teams merged with the Northeast League, which had begun in 1995. During these years the original Northern League franchises made up the Northern League "Central" and the Northeast League teams became the Northern League East. When the four year agreement ended the relationship was ended the Northeast League was reestablished as a separate league. 2002 was the final year that Miles Wolff remained associated with his creation.

During this same period two more teams struggling with attendance and difficult stadiums relocated. In 2001, the Madison Black Wolf became the Lincoln Saltdogs (Lincoln NE) while in 2003 the Duluth-Superior Dukes became the Kansas City T-Bones (Kansas City, KS).

In 2004 expansion to Alberta Canada was announced with franchises awarded to Calgary and Edmonton doubling the size of the league over 12 years.

Over 12 seasons over two dozen players have been signed from the Northern League to play in major league baseball. These include players such as J. D. Drew, Kevin Millar, Jeff Zimmerman, and Rey Ordoñez. Several MLB players have been in the league as well including Daryll Strawberry, Jack Morris, and Pedro Guerrero.

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Member Teams (2004)

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Expansion Cities (2005)

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Former Teams (1993-2004)

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League Champions (1993-)





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