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List Of Professional Sports Leagues
This is a list of professional sports leagues. A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams. They make the rules for competition and behavior and disciplines its members as necessary. This is done through a structure that varies by league. Some are made up of a board of governors that have a commissioner or president, while others are single entity organizations where the league owns the franchises and therefore does not have a board of governors. This list attempts to show those sports leagues for which all players and teams are paid to play. In other words, these players can be considered to play their chosen sport as their profession. Some leagues do not pay well enough to allow players to use them as their primary or only source of income, but because the players are paid, it is still considered professional, or semi-professional. As such, some leagues listed here may not be fully professional. Basketball Bat and ball games: Baseball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Sports
In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations or teams can command large incomes. As a result, more sportspeople can afford to make sport their primary career, devoting the training time necessary to increase skills, physical condition, and experience to modern levels of achievement. This proficiency has also helped boost the popularity of sports.Andy Miah Sport & the Extreme Spectacle: Technological Dependence and Human Limits' (PDF) Unpublished manuscript, 1998 In most sports played professionally there are many more amateur than professional players, though amateurs and professionals do not usually compete. History American football American football (commonly known as football in the United States) was professionalized in the 1890s as a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern League (1938–present)
The Eastern League (EL) is a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) league that has operated under that name since 1938, with the exception of the 2021 season, during which the league operated under the moniker Double-A Northeast. The league has played at the Double-A level since 1963, and consists primarily of teams located in the Northeastern United States. Prior to 1963, the league operated at the Class A level. History The league was founded in 1923 as the New York–Pennsylvania League. The first team outside the two original states was created in 1936 when the York White Roses of York, Pennsylvania, moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and were renamed the Trenton Senators. The league was renamed as the Eastern League in 1938 when the Scranton Miners of Scranton, Pennsylvania, moved to Hartford, Connecticut, and became the Hartford Bees. The league has had teams in a total of 52 different cities, located in 12 different states and two Canadian provinces. The league consisted of six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominican Summer League
The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only Latin America-based rookie league. Teams in the DSL are owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. The league's season typically begins in June, with each team playing a 72-game schedule, and ends in late August. The start of the 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ..., with the season being cancelled entirely on 30 June. The start of the 2021 season was delayed until 12 July, with the season ultimately concluding on 2 October with no postseason; a total of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida Complex League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lowest rung on the North American minor-league ladder. FCL teams play at the minor league spring training complexes of their parent Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs and are owned by those parent clubs. Admission is not charged to FCL games, and no concessions are sold. Every Grapefruit League team fields at least one team in the league. Night games are commonly played in the spring training stadium, although games may also be played at the team's practice fields. As of the 2021 season, there is no league limit to how many players can be on an active roster, but no team can have more than three players with four or more years of minor-league experience. Major-league players on rehabilitation assignments may also appear in the league. Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arizona Complex League
The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it forms the lowest rung on the North American minor-league ladder. ACL teams play at the minor league spring training complexes of their parent Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs and are owned by those parent clubs. Admission is not charged and no concessions are operated at the teams' games. Every Cactus League team fields at least one team in the league. Night games are commonly played in the spring training stadium, although games may also be played at the team's practice fields. As of the 2021 season, there is no league limit to how many players can be on an active roster, but no team can have more than three players with four or more years of minor-league experience. Major-league players on rehabilitation assignments may also appear in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. Each league member is affiliated with a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and most play in their affiliate's spring training facility. History The league originated in 1919 with teams in Bartow, Bradenton, Lakeland, Orlando, Sanford, and Tampa, Florida. The league closed down in 1928 and resumed play in 1936. It has continued uninterrupted, except for a four-year (1942–1945) suspension during World War II. Initially, the FSL was classified as a Class D circuit, roughly equivalent to a Rookie-level league today. It was elevated to Class C from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just as World War II was ending, and consisted of eight teams, six from North Carolina and two from southern Virginia. This later grew to as many as 12 teams at times. History The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting at Durham, North Carolina. It was a successor to the Class D Bi-State League that existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based in Burlington, Durham, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California League
The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A West before re-assuming its original moniker in 2022. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, league attendance continued to increase each season, with over one million fans attending games per year, part of a general nationwide growth and expansion to smaller towns, cities, and regions below those in the National League or American League with Minor League Baseball at various levels of play in growing popularity in the last few decades. History There were various attempts in the late 1800s and early 1900s to form a "California League" on the West Coast, considering the distance of the two current major leagues which generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Single-A
Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball (MLB), organized into three leagues: the California League, Carolina League, and Florida State League. History Class A was originally the highest level of Minor League Baseball, beginning with the earliest classifications, established circa 1890. Teams within leagues at this level had their players' contracts protected and the players were subject to reserve clauses. When the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues – the formal name of Minor League Baseball – was founded in 1901, Class A remained the highest level, restricted to leagues with cities that had an aggregate population of over a million people. Entering the 1902 season, the only Class A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. A number of different leagues known as the South Atlantic League (SAL) have existed since 1904. The most recent SAL adopted the moniker in 1980, having previously been the Western Carolinas League, founded in 1963. All of these have been nicknamed "Sally League". History There have been several South Atlantic Leagues in the history of minor league baseball, spanning from 1904 to the present with a few breaks. The league ran from 1904 to 1917 as a class C league, then started up again in 1919, also clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league operated as the High-A West in 2021, then resumed its original moniker in 2022. History The Northwest League (or the ''Northwestern League'') has existed in various forms since 1890, and has been in its current incarnation since 1955. The current NWL is the descendant of the Western International League (WIL), a Class B league from 1937 to 1951 (with a stoppage during World War II) and Class A from 1952 to 1954. The league reformed as the Northwest League and dropped to Class B for the 1955 season. The WIL had ten teams in its final season, with four in Canada. In 1955, the Northwest League was formed, with seven charter teams: Salem Senators, Eugene Emeralds, Yakima Bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The Midwest League began as the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and then became the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1955). In 1956, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was renamed the Midwest League. The circuit temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The Lansing Lugnuts and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers franchises jointly have won the most Midwest League championships, with nine each. History The Midwest League directly evolved from two earlier leagues in the region. In 1947, the Class D Illinois State League (ISL) began operation with six Illinois teams: the Belleville Stags, Centralia Cubs, Marion Indians, Mattoon India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
