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United League Baseball

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United League Baseball
United League Baseball logo
SportBaseball
Founded2006
Ceased2015
No. of teams4
CountryUSA
Last
champion(s)		Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings
Most titlesAmarillo Dillas (3)
Official websiteOfficial website

United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League 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, Laredo Broncos, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings and San Angelo Colts. The San Angelo franchise previously played in the now-defunct Central Baseball League, while the Amarillo Dillas previously played in the now-defunct Texas–Louisiana League. The United League was originally owned by an investor group United Sports Equity LLC followed by former Congressman John Bryant.[citation needed]

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 Fort Worth Cats, the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, the San Angelo Colts, the Texas Thunder, 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 bankruptcy protection.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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 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.[4]

Franchises

United League Baseball
Team Years played Location Homefield Capacity Notes
Alexandria Aces 2006–2008, 2013 Alexandria, Louisiana Bringhurst Field 3,500 Charter member, moved to the Continental Baseball League and later the Texas Collegiate League. Disbanded mid-way through the 2013 season.
Amarillo Dillas 2006–2010 Amarillo, Texas Potter County Memorial Stadium 8,500 Charter member
Brownsville Charros 2014 Harlingen, Texas Harlingen Field 4,500
Coastal Bend/McAllen/Texas Thunder 2009–2010, 2013 Robstown, Texas
McAllen, Texas 		Fairgrounds Field 5,200 Played in the North American League from 2011–2012
Edinburg Coyotes/Roadrunners 1996–2010, 2013 Edinburg, Texas Edinburg Stadium 4,000 Charter member, Played in North American League from 2011–2012, rejoined in 2013 and folded after the season.
Fort Worth Cats 2013–2014 Fort Worth, Texas LaGrave Field 4,100 Previously played in the All-American Association, Central Baseball League, American Association and North American League.
Harlingen/Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 2006–2010, 2013–2014 Harlingen, Texas Harlingen Field 4,500 Charter member, played in the North American League from 2011–2012
Laredo Broncos 2006–2010 Laredo, Texas Veterans Field 5,000 Charter member
San Angelo Colts 2006–2010, 2013–2014 San Angelo, Texas Foster Field 4,200 Charter member, had previously played in the Texas–Louisiana League and the Central Baseball League. Played in the North American League from 2011–2012.

Standings

2006 Season

Team W L Win % GB
*** Edinburg Coyotes 57 33 .633 ---
^ San Angelo Colts 46 44 .511 11
^ Alexandria Aces 45 44 .506 11.5
^ Laredo Broncos 44 46 .489 13
Amarillo Dillas 39 50 .438 17.5
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 38 52 .422 19

2007 Winter Season

Team W L Win % GB
*** Brownsville Toros 17 3 .850 ---
^ Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 10 10 .500 7
Laredo Broncos 8 12 .400 9
Edinburg Coyotes 5 15 .250 12

2007 season

Team W L Win % GB
* Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 29 21 .580 ---
Alexandria Aces 27 22 .551 1.5
Amarillo Dillas 26 24 .520 3
Edinburg Coyotes 25 25 .500 4
San Angelo Colts 22 28 .440 7
Laredo Broncos 20 29 .408 8.5
Team W L Win % GB
** Alexandria Aces 32 13 .711 ---
San Angelo Colts 22 22 .500 9.5
Amarillo Dillas 21 24 .467 11
* Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 21 24 .467 11
Laredo Broncos 21 25 .457 11.5
Edinburg Coyotes 18 27 .400 14.5

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

2008 season

Team W L Win % GB
^** San Angelo Colts 54 29 .651 ---
*** Alexandria Aces 50 35 .588 5
* Amarillo Dillas 50 36 .581 5.5
**** Edinburg Coyotes 41 44 .482 14
Laredo Broncos 39 48 .448 17
Harlingen WhiteWings 20 62 .244 33.5

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

2009 season

Team W L Win % GB
San Angelo Colts*^ 48 32 .600 ---
Edinburg Roadrunners** 46 34 .575 2
Amarillo Dillas*** 44 35 .557 3.5
Coastal Bend Thunder**** 39 40 .494 8.5
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 39 41 .488 9.5
Laredo Broncos 23 57 .288 25

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

2010 season

Team W L Win % GB
Amarillo Dillas*^ 52 39 .571 ---
Edinburg Roadrunners** 50 39 .561 1
Laredo Broncos*** 47 45 .511 5.5
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings**** 47 45 .511 5.5
San Angelo Colts 46 45 .505 6
Coastal Bend Thunder 31 60 .342 21

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

Playoffs

2014 Playoff Results

ULB Championship
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 3
Fort Worth Cats 0

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.

ULB Championship
Edinburg Roadrunners 3
Fort Worth Cats 2

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.

1st Round ULB Championship
      
1 Amarillo Dillas 2
4 Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 0
1 Amarillo Dillas 3
2 Edinburg Roadrunners 1
2 Edinburg Roadrunners 2
3 Laredo Broncos 1

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.

1st Round ULB Championship
      
1 San Angelo Colts 2
4 Coastal Bend Thunder 0
1 San Angelo Colts 2
3 Amarillo Dillas 3
2 Edinburg Roadrunners 1
3 Amarillo Dillas 2

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.

1st Round ULB Championship
      
1 Amarillo Dillas 2
4 Edinburg Coyotes 0
1 Amarillo Dillas 2
3 Alexandria Aces 1
2 San Angelo Colts 1
3 Alexandria Aces 2

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.

ULB Championship
Alexandria Aces 4
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings 0

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
1st Round ULB Championship
      
1 Edinburg Coyotes 2
4 Laredo Broncos 1
1 Edinburg Coyotes 1
3 Alexandria Aces 3
2 San Angelo Colts 1
3 Alexandria Aces 2

ULB Champions

Most Valuable Players

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

Most Valuable Players

Home Run Derby Winners

League Awards

Most Valuable Player

Manager of the Year

Pitcher of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Playing Surface of the Year

References

  1. ^ "SAN ANGELO COLTS: Colts file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – San Angelo Standard Times". gosanangelo.com. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  2. ^ "Colts bankruptcy update". gosanangelo.com. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  3. ^ "2014 ULB Championship Series Starts Tonight In Fort Worth". pointstreaksites.com. 2014-08-16. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  4. ^ Joe, Anton (January 15, 2015). "United League Baseball Folds After Seven Seasons". Baseball Essential. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
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