Interstate Association
International League logo
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| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1884 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (2016) |
| Most titles |
Columbus Clippers & Rochester Red Wings (10) |
| Classification | Triple-A |
| TV partner(s) | MLB Network plus regional sports networks |
| Official website | www.ilbaseball.com |
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the eastern United States and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because at its inception and throughout its history the International League has had teams in Canada, Cuba, and Puerto Rico as well as those in the United States. However, since the relocation of the Ottawa Lynx to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to become the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the 2008 season, all of the league's teams are now based in the U.S.
The International League was created from the mergers of member teams from three precursor leagues: the Eastern League, founded in 1884; the New York State League, formed in 1885; and the Ontario League, also organized in 1885. The New York State and Ontario leagues merged in 1886 to form the International League, and in 1887 the Eastern League was absorbed to create a 10-club league.
The league collapsed soon afterwards, when the Northern teams claimed that it was too onerous to travel to the South and formed the International Association. Teams and league names came and went over the years. The League was also affected by the effort to establish the Federal League as a new third major league in 1914-1915, with franchises being added and dropped and new stadiums/ball parks built. In 1954, a franchise was awarded to Havana, Cuba, but due to political upheaval in that country it had to be moved — to Jersey City, New Jersey — in the middle of the 1960 season. Another foray into the Caribbean failed when the newly created team in San Juan, Puerto Rico, added in 1961, had to be moved to Charleston, West Virginia, in mid-season.
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