Former Teams

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Defunct, Folded, Former Professional Independent Baseball Teams From 1993 Through 2023

This page is dedicated to the former (folded, defunct) independent professional baseball teams which played at least one game from the current inception of independent minor league baseball. This website defines that era as being from 1993 (when the Northern League and Frontier League started) through today. At this time, there are over 300 former teams which played at least one game.

Considerations And Exceptions

Since this list is not a list maintained elsewhere, it is subject to criticism and concern about what was a “professional” independent baseball league and how this list is compiled. Here are a few notes what has been considered in compiling this list:

  • No “winter”, “spring” or “fall” development leagues are added to this list as, by their nature, they are off-season leagues. Most of those leagues are/were pay-to-play developmental (instructional) leagues. Examples of teams from leagues not on this list are the California Winter League, Pecos Spring League, Super Independent Baseball League (an off-season developmental league which operated in Joliet, Illinois), etc.
  • Some teams may appear to be represented twice such as the “Newburgh Newts” and the “NY Newts”. In this instance the team started the season as a traditional team with a home stadium in Newburgh (New York) and then became a road (travel) team midway during the season. Instead of keeping the “Newburgh” name, the team became known as the “NY Newts” (winning that league’s championship that season). Since the team played under both names, both team names are included in the list.
  • Some teams had uncertain names in the historical records such as the Big South League’s Tennessee Walkers also were known as the Tullahoma Walkers. In this case, the “Tennessee Walkers” will be counted but “Tullahoma Walkers” will not (pending any official confirmation to the contrary)
  • Teams which were supposed to be an independent professional baseball team, but didn’t, are not included. An example would be the Ottawa Voyageurs, a team that was to replace the Ottawa Rapidz in the Can-Am League. That team never materialized so it is not on this list.
  • The lower-level independent leagues, which many would question the inclusion on a “professional” list, have their teams included for now if they were considered professional either by:
    • paying their players, and/or
    • were represented as professional in the statistics archives
  • Some leagues had specific seasons where this was in question (the CBL’s 2010 season and others where some players didn’t get paid) so they are included for now; but this can change if it is truly necessary for legitimate baseball historians (those endorsed by SABR and others) to have accuracy.
  • Some teams, even with the same ownership and stadium location, changed names. Any such team no longer operating (such as the current New York Boulders formerly were known as the “Rockland Boulders”) are included on the list since those teams played at least one game under the former name.
  • Some teams used a unique team name during the season as a promotional name. These names are not included in the list
  • The 1987 and 1988 Empire State League is not included, even though it operated as an independent league for its 1+ seasons (folded early in the second season, 1988). Here is more about that league: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_League_(1987)
  • Mexican League teams are not included at this time. This list does include the Tijuana Cimarrones as the team played games under that name in the Golden Baseball League, but not the Tijuana Potros team (see here)
  • *** Due to the 2020 pandemic-era season, teams which played in the last-minute leagues are counted in this list – despite the fact that entering 2020 the new teams weren’t intended to exist. These teams are counted because the teams did play under those names and, at the time, there was no idea of what the 2021 season would look like. Therefore some of those last-minute teams could have come back depending on geographic restrictions had 2020’s local regulations continued into the 2021 regular season.
  • The Portland Mavericks team which played in the 1970’s (in the “Battered Bastards of Baseball” documentary) is not on this list since the team didn’t play during the 1993-present era of independent professional baseball teams. The Mavericks could be added to this list in the future should the current Mavericks League (which started playing in Salem, Oregon in 2021) ever fold the new version of the Portland Mavericks.

Non-Official Merchandise For The Folded Independent Professional Baseball Teams

It is difficult to find official merchandise of any kind for many of these teams, regardless if you are looking for t-shirts, caps, baseball cards, or anything else. However, there is an option for non-official merchandise on these team names if you are looking for something related to a folded team because:

  • You played or worked for a particular team
  • You attended games as a fan
  • You are a fan of professional baseball players, some of whom may have played for a now-former independent minor league team
  • You want to get a gift for someone who enjoyed a particular team when it was still playing games
  • You enjoy collecting unique sports memorabilia and merchandise for when talking with other sports fans
  • Any other reason

texarkana gunslingers cbl t-shirts, caps, merchandise

The above image shows examples of the kinds of currently available (but not official) merchandise for folded independent teams. In this example it is of the Texarkana Gunslingers, a team which played in the Continental Baseball League from 2008-2009 (see here).

If you click the image above or the link below you will be taken to the website which offers the kinds of items you see. There are roughly 200 of the 300+ folded independent baseball teams which operated since 1993. Start by clicking the link below and then choosing the state in which your desired team played:

Folded professional independent baseball team merchandise – Click Here

List Of Former Independent Professional Baseball Teams From 1993 To The Present (Alphabetical Order)

GET MERCHANDISE FOR FOLDED (DEFUNCT) INDEPENDENT MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAMS (SINCE 1993) AT THIS LINK — JUST TYPE IN YOUR PREFERRED FORMER TEAM IN THE SEARCH FIELD

Leagues and years in which the teams operated will come in time, so for now this list simply is in alphabetical order. It is not sorted by years of operation, league(s) in which the team played nor any other manner.

GET MERCHANDISE FOR FOLDED (DEFUNCT) INDEPENDENT MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAMS (SINCE 1993) AT THIS LINK — JUST TYPE IN YOUR PREFERRED FORMER TEAM IN THE SEARCH FIELD

Teams marked with an asterisk “*” were only made at the last minute to play during the COVID/pandemic regulations of 2020 (and 2021 due to Canadian laws forcing the creation of Equipe Quebec). Several leagues either played with only certain established teams for limited number of games, or new leagues were formed temporarily with a mix of established and temporary teams. The leagues which operated in 2020 (established or temporary leagues) can be found on the Champions page and going to the 2020 season: See The Independent Baseball Champions Here

Thank you to those so far who helped to review the list and offer reminders or corrections:

  • Ed Kautz
  • Mike Pinto
  • Charles Rozek
  • Ronald Harvin, Jr.
  • “BaseballFanKC” (on Twitter)
  • Leon DeHaven
  • Roger Katz
  • Ed Kautz
  • David Scrivines
  • Craig Lichtenwalter
  • David Zanko
  • Louis Abbatepaolo
  • Frank Lange
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Get notified of upcoming independent baseball tryouts from either of these services: first service or the second service. Prospective players can find some helpful resources here

See the list of former / folded independent baseball teams since 1993 and get non-official merchandise featuring those teams: Former Independent Baseball Teams And Merchandise

Do you collect or sell baseball cards and other sports memorabilia? If so, then here are some helpful resources plus where to get independent baseball merchandise from folded teams. Click Here to discover more.