Northeast League

WHY THE NORTHEAST LEAGUE
IS CONSIDERED DEFUNCT

June 2, 2006

Question:

Why is the Northeast League considered defunct? Was it not renamed the Can-Am League?

Answer:

As webmaster of Indy Leagues Graveyard, it's my policy not to declare an independent league defunct until it suspends operations, closes shop, or does not field teams the following season.

This was the policy I followed when, without explanation, the All American Association simply disappeared after its inaugural 2001 season. If it's not scheduling games (and as a result, not making money), it's defunct as far as I'm concerned.

But what do you do when an existing league changes its name yet essentially has the same teams it had before?

This was the situation when the Texas-Louisiana League became the Central Baseball League in 2002. Initially, I felt the name change made the TLL non-existent. But a CBL official corrected my reasoning, stating that the league was still the same. Only the name had changed.

When the Northeast League went through a similar reorganization, I followed the TLL precedent. Then I decided to ask the source how I should treat the situation. Miles Wolff, commissioner of the Can-Am League, kindly offered the following explanation:

"Legally, the Can-Am is an entirely new league with no ties to the
Northeast League. Practically, it is probably the same league with a new name. I would think you could treat it either way, but it might be best to treat it as a new league."

I hope this explains my reasoning for adding the Northeast League to the defunct leagues section of the website.