Northern League (baseball)

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

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.

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, he started contacting potential owners to start the league.

The league started in 1993 with 6 teams: Duluth-Superior Dukes (Duluth, Superior WI), 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 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, Manitoba 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, North Dakota) and Madison Black Wolf (Madison, Wisconsin). After the 1998 season the Whiskey Jacks, originally with the second best attendance in the league, was sold and became the Schaumburg Flyers (Schaumburg, Illinois) in 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, Nebraska) while in 2003 the Duluth-Superior Dukes became the Kansas City T-Bones (Kansas City, Kansas).

In 2004 expansion to Alberta 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 Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, Darryl Strawberry, Jack Morris, and Pedro Guerrero.

Member Teams (2005)

• Calgary Vipers
• Edmonton Cracker-Cats
• Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks -
• Gary SouthShore Railcats
• Joliet JackHammers
• Kansas City T-Bones
• Lincoln Saltdogs
• Schaumburg Flyers
• Sioux City Explorers
• Sioux Falls Canaries
• St. Paul Saints
• Winnipeg Goldeyes

Former Teams (1993-2005)

• Rochester Aces (became Winnipeg Goldeyes 1994)
• Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks (became Schaumburg Flyers 1999)
• Madison Black Wolf (became Lincoln Saltdogs 2001)
• Duluth-Superior Dukes (became Kansas City T-Bones 2003)

League Champions (1902-)

• 1902 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1903 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1904 Duluth White Sox
• 1905 Duluth White Sox
• 1906 Calumet Aristocrats
• 1907 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1908 Brandon Angels
• 1909 Duluth Dukes
• 1910 Eau Claire Bears
• 1911 Superior Blues
• 1912 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1913 Winona Pirates
• 1914 Duluth White Sox
• 1915 Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers
• 1916 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1917 Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers
• 1918-1932 LEAGUE DID NOT OPERATE
• 1933 Superior Blues
• 1934 Fargo-Moorhead Twins
• 1935 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1936 Jamestown Jimmies
• 1937 Duluth Dukes
• 1938 Superior Blues
• 1939 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1940 Grand Forks Chiefs
• 1941 Wausau Lumberjacks
• 1942 Winnipeg Maroons
• 1943-1945 LEAGUE DID NOT OPERATE
• 1946 St. Cloud Rox
• 1947 Aberdeen Pheasants
• 1948 Grand Forks Chiefs
• 1949 Eau Claire Bears
• 1950 St. Cloud Rox
• 1951 Eau Claire Bears
• 1952 Superior Blues
• 1953 Fargo-Moorhead Twins
• 1954 Fargo-Moorhead Twins
• 1955 St. Cloud Rox
• 1956 Duluth-Superior White Sox
• 1957 Winnipeg Goldeyes
• 1958 Fargo-Moorhead Twins
• 1959 Winnipeg Goldeyes
• 1960 Winnipeg Goldeyes
• 1961 Aberdeen Pheasants
• 1962 Eau Claire Braves
• 1963 Grand Forks Chiefs
• 1964 Aberdeen Pheasants
• 1965 St. Cloud Rox
• 1966 St. Cloud Rox
• 1967 St. Cloud Rox
• 1968 St. Cloud Rox
• 1969 Duluth-Superior Dukes
• 1970 Duluth-Superior Dukes
• 1971 St. Cloud Rox
• 1972-1992 LEAGUE DID NOT OPERATE
• 1993 St. Paul Saints
• 1994 Winnipeg Goldeyes
• 1995 St. Paul Saints
• 1996 St. Paul Saints
• 1997 Duluth-Superior Dukes
• 1998 Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks
• 1999 Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs
• 2000 Adirondack Lumberjacks
• 2001 New Jersey Jackals
• 2002 New Jersey Jackals
• 2003 Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks
• 2004 St. Paul Saints