My editors at ESPN have always hammered home one point, even mentioning it before I was hired: Readers love lists. That’s why we rank everything – prospects, draft prospects, free agents, and so on. And I guess I’m just as susceptible as any other reader, since I was sucked into Mental Floss’s various lists (discovered by way of Shysterball), including their list of 5 Sports Leagues That Didn’t Make It, including Roller Hockey International and the WFL.
I’m curious why they stopped at five, though. I’ve always been fascinated by the business of sports leagues – a sort of empires rising and falling without all the war and death and backstabbing (okay, some backstabbing) – particularly the ways in which they respond to success (overexpansion, usually) and setbacks. I imagine this economy will prove particularly tough going for some of the fringe leagues out there, such as the National Lacrosse League, which hasn’t exactly been a hallmark of stability but is still going after 22 years with one of its original franchises still extant. (I’ve been to probably half a dozen NLL games, although none since the original Boston Blazers went under in 1997.)
Anyway, here are five other leagues that didn’t make it and included some silliness:
- The North American Soccer League. This league did at least have a peak, packing Giants Stadium for New York Cosmos games and employing some of the best players in the world, including Pele, but they expanded like crazy, ran up huge debts, tried to run a winter indoor season to compete with the similarly ill-fated MISL, and – worst of all – named a team the Tea Men, which was marginally acceptable when they were in New England, but just plain stupid when the team moved to Jacksonville and kept the nickname.
- The American Lacrosse League. This ALL didn’t finish its first season, in 1988, because the entire operation was a financial scam run by the two founders. As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, the league included five teams in the northeast … and one in Denver. That’s a good way to manage your travel costs.
- The National Professional Soccer League. Originally called the American Indoor Soccer Association, the NPSL used a weird scoring system where goals could be worth more points if they were shot from farther away. It didn’t help.
- Major League Volleyball. A women’s volleyball league that lasted a year and a half, and part of the now-quaint trend of giving women’s sports teams feminine names like the Dallas Belles. I actually am surprised that there hasn’t been an effort to start a men’s professional volleyball league in the United States; while it may always be a fringe sport, it’s very popular in other countries (face it – we are a country of people from other countries), is fun to watch, and doesn’t require construction of giant or single-use facilities. But if there’s been a financially successful women’s pro league in any sport in the U.S., it’s news to me – and no, the WNBA doesn’t count.
- World Basketball League. Another of my all-time favorite wacko sports leagues, for two reasons. First, the league had a height restriction: Players over 6’5″ were ineligible to play in the league. Second, the league was funded with money the founder had embezzled from his other company, the discount pharmacy chain Phar-Mor. I thought that Bo Jackson was drafted by an Orange County entry in this league, although the one article I managed to find on the subject identifies that league as the International Basketball Association, which appears to have held a draft (easy) but not to have played a game (hard).
What about the WNBA? Do they have next at #6?
I can remember going to about 4 NPSL games at the old Arena in St Louis at the age of 9-11 and thinking the scoring system was super sweet. I believe the situation in the game (time left, power play, short-handed, etc) also determined the value of a goal in addition to distance.
I’m pretty sure the fact that the Ambush (St. Louis’ team) also had a player/coach was something that impressed me.
Looking back on it, what a terrible idea it was. I’m sure my father’s distain for the premise is why I maxed out my games attended at 4. He could only take so much.
You’ll probably be able to add the AFL to this list soon.
Hopefully the NHL never goes down. I know it’s not insanely popular, but hockey fans are very passionate.
On the topic of readers loving lists, can you settle a debate?
True or false: The Tigers farm system is bottom 5 in the majors.
Marco: I’d have to go with true.
Hey Marco – Polo!
No, seriously. there is actually a National Water Polo League that has been going since 1962. While this doesn’t fit Keith’s profile as it hasn’t failed (remarkably, IMO), here is one interesting fact. Talk about the NY Yankees domination in MLB: Polytechnic has been the champions in 17 of the 47 years the NWPL has been in existance.
What about Slamball. I don’t think the league had a different name. It failed and has made a comeback in the last little while.
Off topic but still:
Sad Giants Fan (sf): What do you see as Pablo Sandovals ceiling?
Keith Law: About 300 pounds.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
What was shocking for me was WUSA (women’s soccer league) I found the 100 million dollar losses in 3 years staggering but I guess the US is a huge country with expensive logistics.
I was wondering how many UK sports could run for a year or so on that. Even Cricket and Rubgy Union 2nd and 3rd sports (arguably) don’t spend anywhere near that in a year on wages – certainly not 2 or 3 years ago when WUSA folded.
What is wrong with starting small and expanding slowly? Keep costs down and move from a position of local strength? People seem to want to go from 0-60 without accelerating.
Does anyone think a women’s league style sport that could be successful on any scale?
Beach Volleyball?
Keith,
World Team Tennis from the 1970’s deserves a mention. Any league with team nicknames like the Loves, the Oranges and the Soviets needs to be recognized. Weren’t you a fan of the Boston Lobsters?
Jon UK,
As a soccer and MLS (still going strong, whoo hoo!) fan, I got to see what went wrong with the WUSA. Most of that $100 million went towards hubris. Yes, the USA is a very big country, which is one of the first things Beckham commented on when he came to play here. The WUSA didn’t help matters when they decided to put 5 teams on one side of the country, 3 on the other, and absolutely nothing between them. That means a lot of 3,000 mile road trips.
The other thing they wanted was the best of everything. One of the league’s founders even stated that working with MLS was beneath them. They paid salaries that were out of control, especially to the recent Women’s World Cup winning team.
The biggest thing, though, in US sports is that you have to control your own stadium (for a baseball analog, look at the Florida Marlins). The WUSA was getting raked over the coals for rent. There’s a new league starting here next year, called the WPS, that has a much more modest arrangement than the WUSA had. We’ll see what happens with that.
XFL. He Hate Me.
@John: Does it make me a sad person to know not only the Ambush, but also the St. Louis Steamers… and the name of the player/coach in question (Mark Moser) off the top of my head?
Nah.
Keith,
Off topic – any chance you will sneak in a non-Thursday chat over the next two weeks or are we forced to wait until Jan 8 for another Klaw chat?
Thanks for the funny post.
JR – no, sorry, going to be running around too much to try to fit a chat in. I’d rather just get back on the regular schedule on the 8th, and at some point in the two weeks after that I’ll do the top 100 prospects list and have a chat that same day.
Keith,
If the Yankees were to sign Teix as well (or Lowe for that matter), how would that change who gets which Yankee picks as compensation?
I’m guessing Teix would be higher ranked than Burnett, so would the Blue Jays be SOL on the Yanks 2nd rounder?
John:
According to a note on mlbtraderumors both the Brewers and Jays get hurt by this. The post says the Brewers get a second rounder and the Jays a third so Teix must somehow get rated ahead of Sabathia.
I know the Sox didn’t have to have Teixera, but this is tough to swallow.
What about these stupid independent baseball leagues? Out in California, we have the Golden Baseball League. I feel like every other year our San Diego team folds, then comes back, and then folds again. I went to a game once, when the Surf Dawgs signed Canseco, and it was a complete waste of time. I’ve seen equal talent in the adult baseball league I play in.
Same with our independent hockey team, the San Diego Gulls. I never know, year to year, if they’re actually a team or not. Funny entry, Keith!
True story about the Women’s Football League: I once received a phone call asking about interest in being part owner of a team. I said no.
Keith,
In the “conversations” on your Teix piece I was trying to explain to people how the salary cap was not a good savior. You actually backed me up once.
But, did you see where the guy said “keep your economics comments to yourself wiseass” when we were talking about the salary cap. That killed me.
Matt,
I just took a look. All i can say is, WOW. There are some brilliant comments on there.
This was my favorite:
“Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for a 8th grade basketball team against the 6th graders – no fun. It doesn’t mean the Yanks will always win, but it gives them a huge head start. The Yanks are the 8th grade, Boston, Mets and Cubs are the 7th grade, most of the rest are 6th graders and some are 5th graders. I’m a Red Sox fan and almost felt guilty rooting for them against Tampa Bay. I don’t see how rooting for the Yankees is enjoyable. ”
I’m proud to say as a Mets fan, I’m throughly enjoying 7th grade.
I love the Marlins, by payroll standards that is what, conception?
Doesn’t the Yankees as 8th graders argument fall apart solely on the basis that they haven’t won anything since they were in kindergarten, apparently playing against 1, 2, 3 and 4-year olds?
I remember a women’s basketball league that lasted 1 game in the early nineties (LBA?). They tried to lure in an audience by requiring the women to play in unitards that were ultra-tight and they had rims that were between 9″ and 9’5″…so the women could dunk.
Apparently they thought they needed an all-male audience to be successful.
Does anyone remember the World Football League from the seventies?
There had been some pretty good football, at first – until it was revealed that two of the teams were literally giving the tickets away, and it was all downhill from there.
Only a season-and-a-half in the seventies, but it was memorable.