Editing National Lacrosse League (section)

===Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League===
{{Main|1987 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season}}
The rebirth of major professional box lacrosse in the United States came on March 13, 1986, with the formation of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (EPBLL), which was incorporated by [[Russ Cline]] and [[Chris Fritz]].<ref name="hist">{{cite web |url=http://nll.com/laxhistory.php |title=Lax 101: League History |work=NLL.com |access-date=27 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014181144/http://nll.com/laxhistory.php |archive-date=2008-10-14 }}</ref> The "Eagle League" moniker was inspired by a meeting with [[Iroquois]] leaders, whose culture views the animal as a [[totem|tutelary spirit]].<ref name="gssa">{{cite podcast | url=https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/listen/2018/3/31/episode-55-russ-cline-and-the-birth-of-modern-day-indoor-box-lacrosse | title=Episode 55: Russ Cline and the Birth of Modern-Day Indoor Box Lacrosse| work=Good Seats Still Available | host=Tim Hanlon | date=31 March 2018 | time=41m53s | access-date=2 November 2022}}</ref> Previously, in 1985, box lacrosse sponsored an event played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The USA/Canada Superseries was an eight-game series seen as a precursor to the new league.

Darrell Russell was named Commissioner of the league, which had four teams based in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and East Rutherford, New Jersey. The EPBLL opened play for the [[1987 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season|1987 season]] with two games on 10 January 1987: the [[Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014)|Philadelphia Wings]] at the [[New Jersey Saints]] (Philadelphia defeated New Jersey 11–8) and the [[Baltimore Thunder]] at the [[Washington Wave]].

The four teams contested a six-game regular season before a postseason that saw all four teams qualify for a single knockout tournament, which ended with the Baltimore Thunder being crowned as the EPBLL's first champion.<ref name="hist" /> Coached by Bob Griebe, the Baltimore Thunder defeated the Washington Wave by a score of 11–10 to capture the league's first championship.

The league announced that a total of 124,536 fans attended Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League games in its first season.

====1988====
{{Main|1988 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season}}

The same four teams played in the [[1988 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season|second season]] of the EPBLL.<ref name="hist" /> The teams expanded to an eight-game schedule, and set up a three-team playoff with the regular season winner claiming a bye to the title game. The [[New Jersey Saints]] became the second league champions by defeating the [[Washington Wave]] 17–16 before 8,125 fans at the [[Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)|Capital Centre]]. For the Wave, it was the second time in as many years they reached the championship game, only to lose a one-goal game.

After the season, the league announced that the champion Saints would relocate to the [[Nassau Coliseum]] on [[Long Island]] and be called the [[New York Saints]] beginning in the 1989 season. Moreover, the league itself would be changing its name, adopting the more conventional Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) name, as the spiritual implications of its original name proved too cryptic for most people to understand.<ref name="gssa" />

The MILL announced that it awarded expansion teams to Detroit and Boston, to begin play in the 1989 season. The Detroit team was named the [[Detroit Turbos|Turbos]], and played at [[Joe Louis Arena]]; the Boston entry was called the [[New England Blazers]] and they played their home games at the [[Worcester Centrum]].