Every Friday we look at Independent Baseball. Today, I take a look at the now defunct Northern League, which is arguably where independent baseball began.

Both the Northern and Frontier Leagues were born in 1993, but it was the success of the Northern League that paved the way for other independent leagues to crop up across the country. 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 players,” each having a number from 1 through 5 attached depending on how long they had been in pro baseball.

To put this in perspective, six years earlier (1987) an independent league was formed on Long Island called the Empire State League. It played 50 games in 50 days at Hofstra University. Former big leaguers Paul Blair and George Scott were managers. The league would move to Staten Island the following season, but folded after two weeks of competition. In other words, baseball failed in the biggest city in the country so how could it survive with franchises in these tiny Midwest towns.

Many predicted the league wouldn’t work, some even comparing it to a “beer league.” Early success was helped by former stars such as the J.D. Drew, Darryl Strawberry,Oil Can Boyd, and Jack Morris. Future big leaguers like Kevin Millar, Rey Ordonez, and Jeff Zimmerman got their start as well. In total 41 players would star in the Northern League and go on to play Major League Baseball.  They drew over 600,000 that first year led by the St. Paul Saints, and would grow to over a million by 1998.

Expansion started in 1996 as they went from six to eight teams. In 1999 they merged with the Northeast League, which was started in 1995 and created an eight team East Division. The East would play the Central (which were the original Northern League teams) for the championship at the end of the year.

The merger would end in 2002 and the Northeast teams left to form what is now the Canadian-American Association. The Northern League would expand to two teams in Canada (Calgary and Edmonton), but the real troubles began in 2005 when St. Paul, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, and Lincoln left to former their own league. By 2007 there were only six teams remaining as Calgary and Edmonton left to join the Golden Baseball League. There would be two more addition over the next couple of seasons due to expansion (Lake County Fielders) and importing the Rockford Riverhawks from the Frontier League.

The Northern League would disband after the 2010 season. Winnipeg, Kansas City, Fargo-Moorhead, and Gary SouthShore left to join the American Association. Joliet and Schaumburg went out of business. Rockford returned to the Frontier League. The remaining teams merged with the Golden Baseball and United Leagues to form the North American League.

When the Northern League started in 1993 it was one of two independent baseball leagues in the country. There have been 25 other leagues since. Currently only six remain (Frontier League, Atlantic League, Canadian-American Association, American Association, Pecos League, and North American League). On Monday, Nassau County voters will be asked to approve a project that includes a ballpark for a second independent team on Long Island. Independent baseball has certainly come a long way since 1993 and is now a viable alternative option to affiliated baseball for both players and fans. The success of the Northern League certainly has played a part in it.

If you want to read more about the history of the Northern League go to nlfan.com

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Darryl Strawberry, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, George Scott, J.D. Drew, Jack Morris, Jeff Zimmerman, Kevin Millar, Long Island Ducks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Northern League, Oil Can Boyd, Paul Blair, Philadelphia Phillies, Rey Ordonez, San Francisco Giants, St. Paul Saints, Stephen Drew, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays