Northeast League

Last updated
Northeast League
Sport Baseball
Founded1995 (original)
2003 (after de-merger with Northern League)
Ceased1999 (merged with Northern League)
2004
No. of teams8
CountriesUnited States
Canada
Last
champion(s)		 New Jersey Jackals
Most titlesNew Jersey Jackals (4, 2 if strictly Northeast League titles are counted)

The Northeast League was a professional independent baseball league that operated in the Northeastern United States from 1995 until 1998 and from 2003 until 2004. Between 1999 and 2002, the league was part of the Northern League after the two leagues agreed to merge. The league was superseded by the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which its members joined for the 2005 season.

Contents

Early history

For the first season, six teams played and were all based in southern and central New York. Albany (Albany Diamond Dogs), Glens Falls (Adirondack Lumberjacks), Yonkers (Yonkers Hoot Owls), Newburgh (Newburgh Night Hawks), Little Falls (Mohawk Valley Landsharks) and Mountaindale (Sullivan Mountain Lions) were all given teams and Adirondack won the first league championship in a 68-game season. [1]

For 1996, things changed slightly. The Mountain Lions were sold to a new ownership group who renamed them the Catskill Cougars and moved them to the North Atlantic League while the Landsharks moved to West Warwick, Rhode Island, expanding the league into New England as the team became the Rhode Island Tiger Sharks. The Hoot Owls also folded and the league added a second New England team, the Bangor Blue Ox, and added Maine to its footprint in place of Yonkers. To replace the Mountain Lions/Cougars, an expansion team was granted to Elmira, New York, which had lost its New York–Penn League team when the Boston Red Sox chose to move the team to Massachusetts and rename them the Lowell Spinners. Like every other professional baseball team to play in Elmira since 1923, the expansion team was named the Pioneers. [2] Albany won its first league title. [3]

In 1997 the league expanded to eight teams and switched to a two-division format. Newburgh and Rhode Island folded after the 1996 season. As the result of the disbanding of the North Atlantic League Catskill rejoined the Northeast League and the Lynn, Massachusetts-based Massachusetts Mad Dogs followed them. Meanwhile, the league expanded into Waterbury, Connecticut, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, with the Waterbury Spirit and Allentown Ambassadors. The league was won by the Elmira Pioneers. [4]

For 1998, the Diamond Dogs added the name of their actual home town, Colonie, to their name and became known as the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs. Bangor's team folded and the team's place was taken by the expansion New Jersey Jackals, who played in a then-unfinished Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls, New Jersey, on the campus of Montclair State University. The new franchise won the Northeast League championship in their first season.

After the season, prior to the merger with the Northern League, the Catskill franchise again folded. The Cougars would return as a member of the Northern League East in 2000 but would not last beyond that season.

After the merger

After the four-year merger, the Northeast League returned to its status as a separate entity following the 2002 season. In that time, Northeast League teams won all four league titles as the Diamond Dogs, Lumberjacks, and Jackals defeated their Northern League opponents. The league returned to play in 2003 with eight teams. Elmira, Allentown, and New Jersey rejoined the league as they had left it. The Adirondack Lumberjacks relocated to Bangor, returning a team to Maine for the first time since the Blue Ox folded. Joining them were two Northern League expansion teams and two revived franchises. In 1999 and 2002, the Northern League expanded into Quebec City, Quebec, and Brockton, Massachusetts, and these two teams, Québec Capitales and the Brockton Rox, became part of the revived Northeast League.

Meanwhile, in 1999 and 2000, the Massachusetts Mad Dogs and the Waterbury Spirit franchises went dormant. The Mad Dogs were bought by Jonathan Fleisig, who moved the team to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where they played in Wahconah Park as the Berkshire Black Bears. Nicholas Lopardo, meanwhile, bought the remnants of the Spirit and relaunched the team as the North Shore Spirit in the Mad Dogs' old home of Lynn, Massachusetts, at Fraser Field. [5]

After the Rox won the 2003 league title, Berkshire moved to New Haven, Connecticut, as the New Haven County Cutters while Allentown folded and were replaced by a traveling team, the Northeast League Aces. The 2004 season, proving to be the final Northeast League season, New Jersey defeated North Shore in the league championship series. New Jersey, Brockton, North Shore, New Haven, Quebec, and Elmira became part of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (or Can-Am League) along with an expansion franchise in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a traveling team formed when Bangor's charter for the new league was rescinded.

As of 2021, only two Northeast League teams still exist as professional clubs. New Jersey and Quebec continued to be members of the Can-Am League until that league merged with the Frontier League in 2020, where both are still members.

League champions

Champions of the Northeast League, 1995–98

Champions of the Northern League [6]

Champions of the Northeast League, 2003–2004

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010)</span> Baseball league - 1993 to 2010

The Northern League was an independent minor professional baseball league. It was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the organized minor leagues. The league was founded in 1993 and folded after its 2010 season when financial stability became a problem. The three teams remaining in the league when it folded joined with the remaining teams in United League Baseball and the Golden Baseball League to form a new independent organization called the North American League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern League (1938–present)</span> American sports league in minor league baseball

The Eastern League (EL) is a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) sports league that has operated under that name since 1938, with the exception of the 2021 season, during which the league operated under the moniker Double-A Northeast. The league has played at the Double-A level since 1963, and consists primarily of teams located in the Northeastern United States.

The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of its predecessor, the Northeast League. The Can-Am League operated in cities not directly served by Major or Minor League teams and was not affiliated with either. The league office was in Dayton, Ohio. Though a separate entity, the league shared a commissioner, president, and director of umpires with the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Jackals</span> Professional baseball team based in Little Falls, NJ, US

The New Jersey Jackals are a professional baseball team based in Paterson, New Jersey. The Jackals compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, Skylands Stadium, and State Fair Superstore. The Jackals play their home games at Hinchliffe Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Shore Spirit</span> Minor-league baseball team in Lynn, Massachusetts

The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or with the Minor League Baseball organization. The team was originally known as the Waterbury Spirit, based out of Waterbury, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockton Rox</span> Massachusetts, USA collegiate baseball team

The Brockton Rox are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States. Formerly a professional baseball franchise, the Rox were a member of the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, from the 2005 through 2011 seasons. The Rox play their home games at Campanelli Stadium. The team's name is a derivative of the nearby Boston Red Sox of the American League and a tribute to the boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, both from Brockton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Québec Capitales</span> Canadian professional baseball team

The Québec Capitales are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division. The club is owned by Jean Tremblay, Pierre Tremblay, and Marie-Pierre Simard. Since their establishment, they play their home games at Stade Canac. Their mascot is Capi the Lion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Grays</span>

The Grays were a professional independent baseball team. They were a traveling team which played in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The team started play in the 2005 season due to an uneven number of teams in the Can-Am League after the disbanding of the Bangor Lumberjacks, and were disbanded after the season. The Grays rejoined the league along with the Atlantic City Surf for 2007 to maintain an even number of teams, but were disbanded again following the year. A third incarnation, called the Garden State Grays, played during the 2015 season, to maintain schedule balance after a touring team of players from Japan's Shikoku Island League Plus finished their early season tour of the league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangor Lumberjacks</span>

The Bangor Lumberjacks were an independent minor league baseball team in the Northeast League that was based in Bangor, Maine. Prior to 2003, the Lumberjacks played in Glens Falls, New York and were known as the Adirondack Lumberjacks. The team moved to Maine following the 2002 season. In 2003, the Lumberjacks played in Orono at Larry Mahaney Diamond and in 2004 they played at Bangor's Winkin Sports Complex. Kash Beauchamp served as the team's manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Haven County Cutters</span> Minor-league professional baseball team in New Haven, Connecticut

The New Haven County Cutters were an independent baseball team based in New Haven, Connecticut. From 2004 through 2007, the Cutters played in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball nor with the Minor League Baseball organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs</span> Minor league baseball team

The Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs were an independent baseball league team based in Albany, New York from 1995 to 2002. The team played at Heritage Park in Colonie. The Diamond Dogs competed in the Northeast League from 1995 to 1998 and then in the Northern League when the two leagues merged prior to the 1999 season. The Diamond Dogs won the Northern League Championship in 1999. Their mascot was "Homer the Heritage Hound", a dog named for Heritage Park. Due to financial woes and competition from the new Tri-City ValleyCats, the Diamond Dogs folded after the 2002 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmira Pioneers</span> Minor League Baseball team

The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They play their home games at Dunn Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adirondack Lumberjacks</span> Baseball team in Glens Falls, New York

The Adirondack Lumberjacks were an independent professional baseball team based in Glens Falls, New York. The team moved to Bangor, Maine and became the Bangor Lumberjacks following the 2002 season. The team won the inaugural 1995 Northeast League Championship and the 2000 Northern League Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in New York's Capital District</span>

Sports in New York's Capital District are very popular, and there is a rich history of professional teams and college athletics.

The Rhode Island Tiger Sharks were a former Northeast League minor-league baseball team, located in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The Northeast League was an independent league and as such none of the teams in it were affiliated with Major League Baseball teams. The team played its home games at McCarthy Field and existed just one season, 1996.

The Catskill Cougars were a minor-league baseball team based in Mountaindale, New York, in the state's Catskill Mountains region. The Cougars played in the North Atlantic League in 1996 and the Northeast League, from 1997–1998, and in the Northern League in 2000. The North Atlantic and Northeast leagues were independent leagues that were not affiliated with Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball. Following the departure of the Northeast League's Sullivan Mountain Lions after one season in Mountaindale, the Cougars played their home games at Baxter Stadium, and were part-owned by comedian Bill Murray.

The Newburgh Night Hawks were a minor league baseball team based in Newburgh, New York. The team played in the Northeast League, a professional independent baseball league, and as such none of its teams had an affiliation with Major League Baseball. The team existed from 1995 to 1996 and played its home games at Delano-Hitch Stadium in Newburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League</span> Collegiate summer baseball league

The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) is a 16-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010. As of 2022, all teams are within New York (state). All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. Players are not paid so as to maintain their college eligibility. Each team plays an eight-week, 48 game schedule from June to August with playoffs in early August.

Minor league baseball teams were based in Bangor, Maine between 1894 and 1913, before resuming minor league play in 1994. Playing under numerous nicknames, Bangor teams played as members of the New England League from 1894 to 1896, Maine State League in 1897, New England League in 1901, Maine State League from 1907–1908 and New Brunswick-Maine League in 1913, winning two league championships while hosting early minor league home games at Maplewood Park.

References

  1. ↑ "1995 Northeast League | Baseball-Reference.com".
  2. ↑ "1996 Northeast League | Baseball-Reference.com".
  3. ↑ "Northeast League Champions".
  4. ↑ "1997 Northeast League | Baseball-Reference.com".
  5. ↑ "2003 Northeast League | Baseball-Reference.com".
  6. ↑ For the four years that the Northeast League was part of the Northern League as the Northern League East, all four league champions came from the Northern League East.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.