National Lacrosse League (1974–1975)

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National Lacrosse League
Sport	Box lacrosse
Founded	1974
No. of teams	6
Country(ies)	United States and  Canada
Ceased	1976
Last champion(s)	Quebec Caribous

The National Lacrosse League was a box lacrosse league that lasted two seasons: 1974 and 1975. It is not related to the modern National Lacrosse League.

Originally conceived by hockey owners as a means to fill their arenas in the summer months, the league was not very successful, with only Philadelphia and Montreal drawing sizeable crowds. The league folded in 1976 after the demise of several franchises and the inability of the Montreal franchise to play home games in 1976 because of the Summer Olympics.

Like the NHL, the league was dominated by Canadian players--approximately 60% of the league's players were from Canada.

Besides featuring NHL players such as Rick Dudley (Rochester) and Doug Favell (Philadelphia), the league also included Bruce Arena (Montreal)—who went on to greater fame as a United States soccer coach.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Teams 3 Champions 4 1975 National Lacrosse League season

[edit] Overview

The type of play during this short lived era of the NLL was a faster paced game, played more like an NHL style as opposed to the basketball style of the current league. Equipment differences include no face guards and wooden sticks. The 1976 season was cancelled due to three of the six teams going bankrupt and the Montreal team having to go two months without a home game because the 1976 Olympics would be using the Montreal Forum for boxing. After the 1975 season, there would not be another professional lacrosse league in North America until the birth of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in January of 1987.

[edit] Teams

• Maryland Arrows (1974-1975)
• Montreal Quebecois (1974-1975)
• Philadelphia Wings (1974-1975) ¹
• Rochester Griffins (1974)/Long Island Tomahawks (1975) ²
• Syracuse Stingers (1974)/Quebec Caribous (1975)
• Toronto Tomahawks (1974) ²/Boston Bolts (1975)

¹The Philadelphia Wings in this league is not related to the modern Philadelphia Wings of the modern National Lacrosse League.

²The 1974 Toronto team and the 1975 Long Island team had the same name (Tomahawks), but they were separate franchises.

[edit] Champions

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	Games
1974	Rochester Griffins	Philadelphia Wings	4-2
1975	Quebec Caribous	Montreal Quebecois	4-2

[edit] 1975 National Lacrosse League season

                   1975 NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE
                   -----------------------------
                        PROFESSIONAL LACROSSE
                        ---------------------
                           FINAL STANDINGS
                           ---------------
                                                    GOALS  GOALS
                            GAMES  WON  LOST  TIED  FOR    AGAINST  POINTS
                            -----  ---  ----  ----  -----  -------  ------
   LONG ISLAND TOMAHAWKS     48    31    17     0    802     702      62
   MONTREAL QUEBECOIS        48    24    24     0    643     649      48
   BOSTON BOLTS              48    22    24     2    735     741      46
   QUEBEC CARIBOUS           48    22    24     2    729     694      46
   PHILADELPHIA WINGS        48    21    25     2    690     713      44
   MARYLAND ARROWS           48    21    27     0    670     770      42

                              PLAYOFFS
                              --------
                             SEMI-FINALS
            QUEBEC CARIBOUS DEFEATED LONG ISLAND TOMAHAWKS 4 GAMES TO 2.
            MONTREAL QUEBECOIS DEFEATED BOSTON BOLTS 4 GAMES TO 3.
                             FINALS
            QUEBEC CARIBOUS DEFEATED MONTREAL QUEBECOIS 4 GAMES TO 2.

                          TOP TEN SCORERS
                          ---------------
                                    GAMES  GOALS  ASSISTS  POINTS  PEN.MIN
                                    -----  -----  -------  ------  -------
   Doug Hayes - Long Island          48     104     126     230      52
   Paul Suggate - Maryland           48      92     127     219      71
   John Davis - Montreal             48      79     129     208      16
   Ivan Thompson - Boston            46      91     116     207      45
   Dave Durante - Quebec             48      89     117     206      22
   Brian Tasker - Maryland           48      73     125     198      58
   John Grant - Philadelphia         47      64     134     198      52
   Terry Lloyd - Philadelphia        48     113      56     169      54
   Jim J. J. Johnston - Long Island  38      79      87     166      26
   Jan Magee - Long Island           47      57     103     160      49

• 1974 AND 1975 NLL PRO STATS from Bible of Lacrosse