1986
3/13/86
Chris Fritz and Russ Cline incorporate Eagle League Pro Box Lacrosse. Fritz is named President and Cline Executive Vice President. The League will open play in 1987 in Washington, (Wave); Baltimore, (Thunder); Philadelphia, (Wings); and New Jersey, (Saints).The Washington Wave will play at Capital Centre, the Philadelphia Wings will play at the Spectrum, the Baltimore Thunder will play in the Baltimore Arena, and the New Jersey Saints will play at the Meadowlands Arena.
1987
1/9/87: League makes final preparations to begin first season with each of the four teams playing a six game schedule with three games at home and three games on the road. First year national sponsors include USAir as Official Airline of the League and STX as the Official Equipment Sponsor.
1/10/87: The first game in the Eagle League Pro Box Lacrosse features Philadelphia at New Jersey in which the Saints defeat the Wings by the score of 11-8 before a crowd of 5,976 fans.
1/31/87: The Philadelphia Wings defeat the New Jersey Saints 17-11 at the Spectrum before a crowd of 14,903, the largest in 1987. 2/26/87 The League closes the 1987 regular season, with League-wide attendance figures of 99,812 for 12 games, averaging 8,318 per game.
3/7/87: The Baltimore Thunder defeats the New Jersey Saints 14-9 in first round playoff action before a crowd of 8,586 at the Meadow-lands. The Thunder advances to the Championship Title game.
3/8/87: The Washington Wave advances to the Championship Game by virtue of a 20-15 victory over the Philadelphia Wings at the Spectrum.
3/21/87: The Baltimore Thunder, coached by Bob Griebe, defeats the Washington Wave by a score of 11-10 to capture the first League Championship title. A Washington crowd of 7,019 watched their home town Wave in the championship.
3/22/87: A total of 124,536 fans attend Eagle League Pro Box Lacrosse League games in the first year.
5/13/87: Chris Fritz and Russ Cline announce that Darrell Russell had been named Commissioner for the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
1988
1/2/88: The Eagle League Pro Box Lacrosse begins it’s second year of operation with four teams playing a six game schedule, (three home games and three road games). National sponsors for the 1988 season are Coors Light, (Presents /Official Beer); USAir, (Official Airline); Brine and STX, (Official Equipment Sponsor).
1/3/88: The New Jersey Saints and Baltimore Thunder open the season in New Jersey with the Saints a 16-10 winner. A crowd of 7,130 cheer the Saints to victory at the Meadowlands.
3/6/88: The New Jersey Saints eliminate the Philadelphia Wings from the playoffs by virtue of their 12-10 victory before a crowd of 4,118 at New Jersey Meadowlands.
3/20/88: The New Jersey Saints capture the second title by defeating the defending World Champion Washington Wave 17-16 before a crowd of 8,215 in Washington.
3/21/88: League announces that a record 138,985 fans attended Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse games in 1988, the League’s second year in existence.
5/15/88: President Chris Fritz and Executive Vice President Russ Cline announce they are changing the name of the League to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
9/28/88: League President Chris Fritz and Senior Vice President Russ Cline announce that Darrell Russell will resign his position Commissioner of the League and will assume the role of General Manager for the Baltimore Thunder in the 1989 season.
10/18/88: The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announces that it will award expansion teams to Detroit, Michigan and the metropolitan Boston area. The teams will begin play in the 1989 season. The Detroit team will be named the Turbos and play home games it Joe Louis Arena. Turbo team colors are purple, black and silver. The team representing the Boston metropolitan area is named the New England Blazers and play at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts. Blazer team colors are green, orange and white.
10/27/88: The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announces that the New Jersey Saints will play their 1989 home games at Nassau Coliseun on New York’s Long Island. The team name will change to the New York Saints to reflect the change in venue.
1989
1/6/89: The Major Indoor Lacrosse League prepares to open it’s third season with six teams, (the Baltimore Thunder, Detroit Turbos, New England Blazers, New York Saints, Philadelphia Wings and Washington Wave). The teams will play an eight game schedule with four home games and four road games. National sponsors include Coors Light, (Presents/Official Beer); USAir, (Official Airline); STX and Brine, (Official Equipment Supplier); Gatorade, (Official Sports Beverage); Wilson, (Official Sports Sock); and Jostens, (Official Championship Ring).
1/7/89: The Detroit Turbos defeat the Washington Wave 11-9 in the 1989 Major Indoor Lacrosse League opener before a crowd of 12,171 in Detroit. The game was the first ever regular season game for the Turbos franchise.
2/4/89: The New York Saints defeat the Baltimore Thunder 12-11 in the lone regular season overtime game in the 1989 season. The game was played in Baltimore before a crowd of 5,949.
3/19/89: Regular season attendance figures for the Major Indoor Lacrosse League total 230,724 for 24 regular season games, representing an average of 9,614 per game. The New York Saints knock the Detroit Turbos out of the play offs by defeating the Turbos 9-8. A Joe Louis Arena crowd c 8,319 watched the first double over-time game in MILL history.
4/1/89: Regular season attendance figures for the Major Indoor Lacrosse League total 230,724 for 24 regular season games, representing an average of 9,614 per game. The New York Saints knock the Detroit Turbos out of the play offs by defeating the Turbos 9-8. A Joe Louis Arena crowd c 8,319 watched the first double over-time game in MILL history.
4/7/89: The Philadelphia Wings capture the third Major Indoor Lacrosse League Championship by defeating the New York Saints 11-10 This is the first World Championship title for the Wings who delighted a League post season record crowd of 16,042 in the Spectrum.
4/8/89: Attendance for 1989 regular season and post season League games reach 255,088 for a per game average of 9,811. 4/22/89 The New England Blazers defeat the Detroit Turbos 19-12 in a post season exhibition game played in Pittsburgh, PA before a crowd of 9,128.
6/14/89: The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announce that the Washing-ton ton Wave will not play in the 1990 season. The Wave players will be merged with the Baltimore Thunder and expansion team Pittsburgh Bulls will participate in the 1990 season. The team, named the Bulls, will have team colors of black and gold.
1990
1/4/90 The Major Indoor Lacrosse League prepares to open the 1990 sea-son, the fourth for the League, with six teams. The Washington Wave will not exist in 1990. The League expands to Pittsburgh, (Bulls) and the talent disperses between the Baltimore Thunder and Pittsburgh Bulls. Other teams in the League include Detroit Turbos, New England Blazers, New York Saints and Philadelphia Wings. The teams will play an eight game schedule (with four home games and four road games).
1/5/90: The Pittsburgh Bulls defeat the New England Blazers 14-11 in the MILL regular-season opener. A Pittsburgh crowd of 9,213 attended in the Civic Arena.
2/17/90 The Philadelphia Wings break a deadlock with the Baltimore Thunder in double overtime to win 13-12. The game was the first regular season double overtime game in MILL history, and witnessed by 10,904 fans in Baltimore.
3/24/90 The New York Saints defeat the Philadelphia Wings 8-5 before a sold-out crowd of 17,177 the largest to date in League history, at the Spectrum. The Saints victory means the teams play again the next week in a playoff game.
3/25/90 The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announces that 1990 regular season attendance figures reached 262,554.
3/26/90 The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announces 1990 All Pro Teams. First Team: Rick Sowell, (Baltimore); John Tucker, (Philadelphia); Brad Kotz, (Philadelphia); Brian Nikula, (Pittsburgh); John Fay, (New England); Ted Sawicki, (Detroit).
Second Team: Toby Boucher, (New England); Tim Welsh, (Baltimore); Don Borges, (New York); Ron Martinello, (Detroit); Dave Pietramala, (Pittsburgh); Dan O’Neill, (New England).
4/7/90 The Philadelphia Wings topple the New York Saints 9-8 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in first round playoff action. The win enables the Wings to advance to the MILL Championship game for the second consecutive year.
4/13/90 The Philadelphia Wings defeat the New England Blazers 17-7 to capture the fourth Major Indoor Lacrosse League Championship title. A crowd of 11,479 at the Centrum in Worcester witnessed the Wings claim their second consecutive title.
4/14/90 The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announce that attendance for the League’s 26 games was 287,585, an average per game of 11,060. 5/90 The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announce that Paul Gait and Gary Gait, identical twins who earned three time All America status at Syracuse University, were drafted and signed to play with the Detroit Turbos. The Gaits were leaders on the Syracuse NCAA Championship teams of 1988, 1989 and 1990.
1991
12 /28/90: For the 1991 season, the League extends the number of games per team to ten, (with five at home and five on the road). Spon- sors for the MILL’s Fifth Anniversary Season include Coors Light, (Presents/ Official Beer); USAir, (Official Airline); STX and Brine, (Official Equipment Supplier); Gatorade, (Official sports Beverage); Wilson, (Official Sports Sock); and Josten’s (Official Championship Ring).
12/29/90: The debut of Detroit rookies, Paul and Gary Gait, was successful as they paced the Turbos to a 20-16 victory over the Baltimore Thunder before a crowd of 9,972 at the Baltimore Arena. The game marked the opening of the 1991 Major Indoor Lacrosse League regular season.
2/8/91: Chris Fritz, President and Russ Cline, Senior Vice-President for the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, announce the appointment of Rick Nichols as Vice President and General Manager of the League.
2/10/91: The Detroit Turbos outrace the Philadelphia Wings 14-12 at the Spectrum, before 16,642 fans, the largest crowd of the season. 3/17/91 The Pittsburgh Bulls defeat the New England Blazers 12-11 at the Centrum in Worcester, Mass. A crowd of 5,597 witnessed the only overtime game during the 1991 MILL season.
3/27/91: With the conclusion of the 1991 regular season, many League records were broken. Rookie twin Turbos, Paul and Gary Gait, set new standards in most all offensive categories. Paul Gait scored a record 47 goals, while Gary finished second in the League with 32 goals. Gary Gait established new League records for Assists (36) and Points (68). As a team, Detroit set records for Goals Scored (184), Assists (227), and Total Points (411). League regular season attendance is 267,890 for a per game average of 8,930 fans.
4/6/91: The Detroit Turbos defeat the Baltimore Thunder 14-12 for the fifth Major Indoor Lacrosse League Championship title. The World Championship Game was held at Baltimore Arena before a crowd of 10,814.
The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announce the 1991 All Pro teams. First team All Pro’s include Gary Gait (Detroit), Rick Sowell (Baltimore), John Tucker (Philadelphia), John Conley (Philadelphia), and Ted Sawicki (Detroit).
Second team selections include Butch Marino (Pittsburgh), Jeff Jackson (Baltimore), Mike Cummings (New York), John Nostrant (Baltimore), Brian Nikula (Pittsburgh) and Sal Locascio (New York).
4/15/91: The Major Indoor Lacrosse League announce that Tom Wright, of the Detroit Turbos, was selected as General Manager of the Year; John Stewart, of the Baltimore Thunder, was named Coach of the Year; Gary Gait, of the Detroit Turbos, was named Rookie of the Year and Roy Condon was named Game Official of the Year.
4/20/91: The National Conference All Stars defeat the American Conference All Stars, 25-20 in the first ever Major Indoor Lacrosse League All Star Game before a crowd of 7,658 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
4/21/91: Final League attendance numbers for 1991 reach 287,694 for regular season, Championship and All Star games.
10/1/91: Russ Cline and Chris Fritz announce that Buffalo has been named as an expansion team for the Major Indoor Lacrosse League 1991-1992 season. The team will be named the Bandits and will play in Memorial Auditorium.
10/10/91: The Major Indoor Lacrosse League Buffalo Bandits announce John Mouradian as General Manager, Bob “Buff” McCready as Head Coach, and Peter Crawford as Assistant Coach.
10/15/91: Chris Fritz, President, and Russ Cline, Senior Vice President of the MILL, announce that the New England Blazers will play their 1992 home games at the Boston Garden. The team will be known as the Boston Blazers.