Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010)
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| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Countries |
 United States Canada |
| Continent | North America |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks |
| Most titles | Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (5) |
The Northern League was an independent minor professional baseball league. It was affiliated with neither Major League Baseball nor 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.
The modern Northern League was founded by 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 Duluth, Minnesota and its Wade Stadium, he began contacting potential owners to start the league. The league was structured to where teams were not allowed to load their rosters with ex-pros. Players with five or more years of professional experience were labeled "veterans" and teams could carry no more than four. At least the same amount of "rookies" (players with less than a year of experience) had to be on a team's roster. The rest of the roster was made up of "limited service" or "LS" players, each having a number from 1 through 5 attached to the LS depending on how long they had been in pro baseball.
The league began in 1993 with six teams: Duluth–Superior Dukes (Duluth, Minnesota), Rochester Aces (Rochester, Minnesota), St. Paul Saints (St. Paul, Minnesota), Sioux Falls Canaries (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), Sioux City Explorers (Sioux City, Iowa) and Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks (Thunder Bay, Ontario). The prospects for the league were originally "cloudy." Many forecast an early demise especially in St. Paul where competition with the Minnesota Twins led many local sportswriters to consider it a "beer league." The league, however, was a relatively moderate success, with only the Rochester franchise struggling to draw crowds to their games. The first league title was won by St. Paul. After the season, the Aces were sold to an ownership group led by future Winnipeg, Manitoba mayor Sam Katz and the team relocated to the city and became known as the Winnipeg Goldeyes, taking the name of the Winnipeg team that played in the original Northern League. The Goldeyes won the league championship in their first season in the new city.
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