MILL 1987
| P | W | L | GB | Pct | GF | GA | |
| *New Jersey Saints | 6 | 5 | 1 | – | .833 | 88 | 75 |
| *Philadelphia Wings | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | .500 | 86 | 82 |
| *Washington Wave | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | .333 | 83 | 97 |
| *Baltimore Thunder | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | .333 | 79 | 82 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Playoffs | ||||
| 26.02.1987 | New Jersey Saints | 9 | Baltimore Thunder | 14 |
| 08.03.1987 | Philadelphia Wings | 15 | Washington Wave | 20 |
| 1987 MILL Championship Game | ||||
| 21.03.1987 | Washington Wave | 10 | Baltimore Thunder | 11 |
MILL 1988
| P | W | L | GB | Pct | GF | GA | |
| *Washington Wave | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | .750 | 121 | 119 |
| *New Jersey Saints | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | .625 | 127 | 112 |
| *Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | .375 | 97 | 90 |
| Baltimore Thunder | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | .250 | 98 | 122 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Playoffs | ||||
| 06.03.1988 | New Jersey Saints | 12 | Philadelphia Wings | 10 |
| 1988 MILL Championship Game | ||||
| 20.03.1988 | Washington Wave | 16 | New Jersey Saints | 17 |
MILL 1989
| P | W | L | GB | Pct | GF | GA | |
| *Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | .750 | 122 | 96 |
| *Detroit Turbos | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | .750 | 104 | 87 |
| *New York Saints | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | .750 | 103 | 87 |
| *Baltimore Thunder | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 99 | 96 |
| New England Blazers | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | .125 | 70 | 110 |
| Washington Wave | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | .125 | 80 | 102 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Playoffs | ||||
| 01.04.1989 | Detroit Turbos | 8 | New York Saints | 9 (2OT) |
| 1989 MILL Championship Game | ||||
| 07.04.1989 | Philadelphia Wings | 11 | New York Saints | 10 |
MILL 1990
| P | W | L | GB | Pct | GF | GA | |
| *New England Blazers | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | .750 | 98 | 80 |
| *Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | .750 | 89 | 82 |
| *New York Saints | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 77 | 78 |
| Baltimore Thunder | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 96 | 95 |
| Pittsburgh Bulls | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | .375 | 86 | 86 |
| Detroit Turbos | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | .125 | 89 | 111 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Playoffs | ||||
| 1990 | Philadelphia Wings | 9 | New York Saints | 8 |
| 1990 MILL Championship Game | ||||
| 07.04.1990 | New England Blazers | 7 | Philadelphia Wings | 17 |
Report
The Major Indoor Lacrosse League, known since 1997 as the National Lacrosse League, has become the Major Lacrosse League in North America and the World with teams throughout Canada, and the United States of America. It played its first season in 1987 as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League with four teams: Baltimore Thunder, Philadelphia Wings, Washington Wave and New Jersey Saints. Baltimore Thunder won the first NLL Championship game defeating Washington Wave 11-10.
The League became known as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League in 1988. The second season saw all four teams return, with Washington Wave again the defeated finalists, losing the 1988 NLL Championship Game 17-16 to New Jersey Saints.
All four teams returned for the 1989 season, although the New Jersey Saints relocated to Long Island and became the New York Saints in the process. The four teams were joined by the Detroit Turbos and New England Blazers, from Boston. Philadelphia Wings won the Championship Game 11-10 over the New York Saints.
After the 1989 season the Detroit Turbos sat out the season and were replaced by the expansion Pittsburgh Bulls. The Philadelphia Wings became the first team to repeat as Champions, defeating New England Blazers 17-7 in the 1990 Championship Game.
The League averaged crowds of 9,614 in 1989 and 11,060 in 1990.
About
The National Lacrosse League is the Major Box or Indoor Lacrosse League in North America and the World. Box Lacrosse is played in an Indoor Arena with 6 players per team, as opposed to 10 for Men’s Lacrosse and 12 for Women’s Lacrosse. It is the National Summer Sport of Canada, and was codified there and played originally by Native Americans in Northeast USA and Eastern Canada. It is still popular among Native Americans, and is the only sport where they can represent their country internationally (the Native American National Team is known as Iroquois Nationals in Men’s Lacrosse and Haudenosaunee in Women’s Lacrosse).
References
[1] National Lacrosse League (2016) 2016 NLL Media Guide and Record Book || Records and History pg. 64; 94 [Internet] Available from: https://nationallacrosseleague.box.com/2016NLLMediaGuide [Accessed 20 December 2016][Broken Link – No Longer Available]
[2] National Lacrosse League (2020) History [Internet] available from: https://www.nll.com/about/history/ [Accessed 2 June 2020]
Images
[3] Major Indoor Lacrosse League – unofficial (2020) Profile Picture, December 11, 2016 {Internet] Available from: https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15439737_222079641565877_8997325314964153295_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_sid=05277f&_nc_ohc=N4b2_xBFaU0AX_q0-Va&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=1af245459c9d04a7448e76fab39724e7&oe=5EFD5A71 [Accessed 2 June 2020]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Brian Bird and Cillian Murphy
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 2 June 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.