United League Baseball was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

baseball league that operated in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

to form the North American League from 2011–2012. However, after the North American League folded at the end of the 2012 season, ULB was reformed. It dissolved for a second time in January 2015.

History

The league began its first season on May 16, 2006, with six teams: the Alexandria Aces, Amarillo Dillas,

Edinburg Coyotes __NOTOC__ Edinburg may refer to the following places: South Africa * Edinburg, North West * Edinburg, Mpumalanga United States * Edinburg, Illinois * Edinburg, Iowa * Edinburg, Maine * Edinburg, Mississippi * Edinburg, Missouri * Edinburg, S ...

Laredo Broncos The Laredo Broncos were a professional baseball team based in Laredo, Texas, in the United States. The Broncos were a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or Min ...

, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings and

San Angelo Colts The San Angelo Colts were a professional baseball team based in San Angelo, Texas, in the United States. The Colts were most recently a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which was not affiliated with Major Leagu ...

. The San Angelo franchise previously played in the now-defunct

Central Baseball League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

, while the Amarillo Dillas previously played in the now-defunct

Texas–Louisiana League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

. The United League was originally owned by an investor group United Sports Equity LLC followed by former Congressman John Bryant. In 2013, following the dissolution of the North American League, United League Baseball was reincorporated. The league played an 80-game season from late May to the middle of August, and featured the

Edinburg Roadrunners The Edinburg Roadrunners were a professional baseball team based in Edinburg, Texas, in the United States. The Roadrunners were a member of the United League Baseball, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with Major League B ...

, the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Basebal ...

, the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, the

, the

Texas Thunder Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

, and the Alexandria Aces. Alexandria and Texas were shut down mid-season. Edinburg did not field a team for 2014 and they were replaced by the Brownsville Charros. The San Angelo Colts announced on July 2, 2014, that they had filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy protection. Although it was stated at the time that operations would not be affected, the team announced on August 11, 2014, that the final eight games of the 2014 regular season would not be played. Originally scheduled to end August 24, the league's 2014 regular season ended August 15, with the best-of-five championship series between the Cats and the WhiteWings starting August 16. The United League Baseball was looking into possibly expanding to Del Rio, Texas, and was scheduled to meet with city officials in October 2014. In November 2014, it was announced that the City of Ft. Worth had not renewed the lease at

LaGrave Field LaGrave Field is an abandoned baseball park in Fort Worth, Texas. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home field of the Fort Worth Cats independent minor league baseball team. Its original version was the home of the predecessor Panthers ...

for the Ft. Worth Cats, thus leaving them without a home for the 2015 season. Through the mismanagement of the league by Bryant and Pierce and having one remaining stadium lease in Harlingen the league was formally disbanded in January 2015.

Franchises

Standings

2006 season

2007 Winter Season

2007 season

''^ Clinched Playoff Spot''
''* Clinched 1st Half Title''
''** Clinched 2nd Half Title''
''*** Clinched Regular Season Title''

2008 season

''* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed''
''** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed''
''*** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed''
''**** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed''
''^ Clinched Regular Season Championship''

2009 season

''* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed''
''** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed''
''*** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed''
''**** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed''
''^ Clinched Regular Season Championship''

2010 season

''* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed''
''** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed''
''*** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed''
''**** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed''
''^ Clinched Regular Season Championship''

Playoffs

2014 Playoff Results

2013 Playoff Results

Format: When the league returned for the 2013 season the United League paired the top two regular season teams in a best of 5 ULB Championship series.

2010 Playoff Results

Format: for the 2010 season the United League playoffs consisted of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds, with the top 4 regular season teams making the playoffs. In the first round the regular season champion faced the 4th seed while seed 2 faced seed 3 in the best of 3 series. The winners then advanced to the championship best-of-five series.

2009 Playoff Results

Format: for the 2009 season the United League playoffs consisted of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds, with the top 4 regular season teams making the playoffs. In the first round the regular season champion faced the 4th seed while seed 2 faced seed 3 in the best of 3 series. The winners then advanced to the championship best-of-five series.

2008 Playoff Results

Format: for the 2008 season the United League playoffs will consist of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds. In the first round the top two teams at the end of the first half of the season will host the two remaining teams with the best overall winning percentage throughout the season in a best-of-three series. The winners then advance to the championship which will be played at both parks, with the lower seed hosting game one and the higher seed hosting games two and three of the best-of-three series.

2007 Playoff Results

Format: for the 2007 season the United League played in a split season format, crowning a first half champion and a second half champion. The champions then played for the ULB Championship. If one team was to win both halves, the team with the second-best overall season record would have qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. The championship series was the best 4 out of 7 games, to be played home and away in a 2–3–2 site format, with home field advantage awarded to the first half champion.

2006 Playoff Results

Format: for the 2006 season the top four teams in the regular season standings made the playoffs, including the regular season champion and 3 wild card teams. The playoffs then commenced with two rounds of games to determine the United League champion: *''1st Round'' – Best 2 out of 3 games *''Championship'' – Best 3 out of 5 games

ULB Champions

Key

All-star game

United League Baseball hosted an annual All-Star Game which rotated host cities throughout the league. Its format in 2008 featured the United League all-stars versus the Golden League all-stars. In 2006 the first All-Star Game pitted the best team against the all-stars from the rest of the United League. In 2007 the second All-Star Game pitted Team North (All-Stars from Alexandria, Amarillo and San Angelo) against Team Rio Grande (All-Stars from Edinburg, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley). The ULB's all-star festivities were a two-day event, the first day featuring various celebrations and recognitions, followed on the second day by the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.

Game Results

*2006 –

United League Baseball All-Stars United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...

12,

2 ( Edinburg, Texas) *2007 – Team North 10, Team Rio Grande 1 (

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

) *2008 –

8, Golden League 5 (

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

)

Most Valuable Players

*2006 – Edwin Maldonado,

*2007 – Jonathan Reynoso, Amarillo Dillas *2008 – Luany Sanchez,

Home Run Derby Winners

*2006 – Jose Olmeda,

*2007 – Juan Lebron,

*2008 – Andres Rodriguez,

League Awards

Most Valuable Player

*2006 – John Anderson,

*2007 – Nelson Teilon,

*2008 –

Danny Bravo Danny Bravo (born January 29, 1948) is an American former child actor, best known as the voice of Hadji in the TV series ''Jonny Quest (TV series), Jonny Quest''. Early life He was born Daniel Zaldivar in Los Angeles, California. Career After ...

, Amarillo Dillas *2010 – Levy Ventura,

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. Th ...

Manager of the Year

*2006 – Vince Moore,

; Ricky VanAsselberg, Alexandria Aces *2007 – Ricky VanAsselberg, Alexandria Aces *2008 – Brady Bogart, Amarillo Dillas *2009 –

Doc Edwards Howard Rodney "Doc" Edwards (December 10, 1938 – August 20, 2018), was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, ...

*2010 – Dan Friova,

Pitcher of the Year

*2006 – Ryan Harris,

; Santo Hernandez, Alexandria Aces *2007 – Adam Cox (baseball), Alexandria Aces *2009 – Brian Henschel,

*2010 – Wardell Starling,

Rookie of the Year

*2007 – Ronnie Gaines,

*2009 – Trent Lockwood, Amarillo Dillas *2010 – Adam De La Garza, Amarillo Dillas; Jonathan Cisneros,

Playing Surface of the Year

*2007 – Foster Field,

*2010 – Foster Field,

References

External links

United League Baseball official website
{{United League Baseball 2006 establishments in Texas Defunct independent baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Louisiana Baseball leagues in Texas Sports leagues established in 2006 2015 disestablishments in Texas Sports leagues disestablished in 2015