The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1988 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official national summer sport. Box lacrosse is played between two teams of five players and one goalie each, and is traditionally played on an ice hockey rink once the ice has been removed or covered. The playing area is called a box, in contrast to the open playing field of field lacrosse. The object of the game is to use a lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by shooting a solid rubber lacrosse ball into the opponent's goal. The highest level of box lacrosse is the National Lacrosse League.
The Philadelphia Wings were a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America starting in 1987. They played at the Spectrum (1987–96) and then at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The New York Saints are a former member of the National Lacrosse League. They played at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, from 1989 to 2003. They became an inactive team after the 2002–03 season and were officially defunct in 2006.
William Earl Bergey is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Eagles of National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football League (AFL) in 1969, the year before the AFL–NFL merger was completed, and continued to play with the Bengals in the NFL until 1973. Bergey subsequently signed with the Eagles the following year, where he played seven seasons until retiring in 1981. During his career, Bergey was named to five Pro Bowls, was a two-time first-team All-Pro, and made one Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XV, his final professional game. He is an inductee of the Eagles Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
Syracuse, New York, United States, is a top-division, minor-league and college sports city. Teams include the Syracuse Mets of AAA Baseball and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The most attended sporting events in Syracuse are those of the NCAA Division I Syracuse University Orange.
The National Lacrosse League Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup.
The 1988 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season is the 2nd season of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse, that began on January 3, 1988, and concluded with the championship game on March 20. On May 15, 1988 the league was renamed Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), a name the league would keep for the next ten years.
The American Lacrosse League ("ALL") was a professional lacrosse league that played for one partial season in 1988. At the time it featured most of the best lacrosse players in the world who played some of the most exciting lacrosse games ever witnessed. It was founded by Terry Wallace and Bruce Meierdiercks, former teammates at Adelphi University. The league folded after five weeks of play.
The Philadelphia Wings were one of the original four franchises in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, joining the New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder in 1987. While the Wings went only 3-4 that first season including a loss in the playoffs, they drew an average of almost 12,000 fans to their three 1987 regular season games.
The Philadelphia Wings were one of the original four franchises in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, joining the New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder in 1987. The Wings were still in a growing phase in 1988 and recorded 3 wins and 6 losses that season. Once again, though, the team was able to draw in fans, with a home attendance of 48,910. Star player Mike French moved upstairs into the Wings' general manager's chair during the year.
The 1989 Philadelphia Wings season marked the team's third season of operation. In 1989, the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League changed its name to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
The Le Moyne Dolphins are the athletic teams that represent Le Moyne College, located in DeWitt, New York, in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Dolphins compete as members of Northeast Conference. Le Moyne had been a member of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference since 1996. At the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Le Moyne began the transition to NCAA Division I as a new member of the NEC.
David Masur is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and USISL. He is the head coach of the St. John's University men's soccer team. He was the 1996 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year and led the Red Storm to the 1996 NCAA national championship.
Christopher James Hogan is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Monmouth University following three years of college lacrosse at Pennsylvania State University. Hogan was a member of five NFL teams, most notably the New England Patriots.
Buffalo, New York and its greater metropolitan area is currently home to two major league sports teams, the Buffalo Sabres & Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is also home to several other major and minor league sports teams, including the Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Bisons, Buffalo eXtreme and FC Buffalo. Several local colleges and universities are active in college athletics, including Canisius College, Niagara University and The State University of New York at Buffalo at the NCAA Division I level. Buffalo was host city for the 1993 World University Games, for which Burt Flickinger Center and University at Buffalo Stadium were built.
The 1988 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League playoffs began in March 1988 with the championship on March 20, 1988.
The Rochester Knighthawks are a professional box lacrosse team in the Eastern Conference of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.