Major League Lacrosse

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Lore & Background

Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men’s field lacrosse league that operated across the United States, with its first season taking place in 2001. The league’s regular season was held during the summer, with teams playing between ten and sixteen games. Following the regular season, a four-team playoff determined the champion, who received the Steinfeld Trophy, named after league founder Jake Steinfeld. Attendance figures show that the league’s highest average attendance was 6,417 in 2011, while the average in 2019 had fallen to 4,587. The Chesapeake Bayhawks and New York Lizards were the only two franchises to remain in the league for its entire existence, and they faced each other in the first three championship games, with the Lizards winning two. The Boston Cannons, the last of the six original charter franchises to stay in their original market with their original name, won their first title in 2011. The Philadelphia Barrage returned to the league in 2020 after an eleven-season absence; earlier, after moving from Bridgeport to Philadelphia, the Barrage had won three championships in four years between 2004 and 2007. For much of the league’s history, the Denver Outlaws were the only team located west of the Mississippi River, having joined during an ambitious westward expansion in 2006. Owned by the Pat Bowlen family and the Denver Broncos, the Outlaws were highly successful, missing the postseason only once in fourteen seasons and winning three championships in ten playoff appearances. The Connecticut Hammerheads were the youngest franchise, originally scheduled to play at Rafferty Stadium near Bridgeport in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shortened, quarantined season. The final champions were the Boston Cannons, who defeated the Denver Outlaws at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. On December 16, 2020, the league announced a merger with the Premier Lacrosse League, with the Boston Cannons being the only team to continue play in the 2021 season as the Cannons Lacrosse Club, dropping the city name in accordance with PLL style.

Reader's Guide

The lacrosse ball used in Major League Lacrosse is a solid rubber ball, typically white, though the PLL uses optic yellow for TV visibility. The ball's specifications are set by World Lacrosse, NCAA, and NFHS: diameter 2.47–2.55 inches, weight 5–5.5 ounces, and a bounce of 43–51 inches from a 72-inch drop. Since 2014, all three U.S. governing bodies (US Lacrosse, NFHS, NCAA) mandate only NOCSAE-standard balls for competition, marked with "Meets NOCSAE Standard." Starting June 2016, all balls for NCAA and NFHS play must meet the new NOCSAE Standard. Canadian official games require CLA approvals. A new ball has a textured feel and is slightly squishy; over time, it becomes "greasy" and hardens as oils surface, causing inaccurate throws. In December 2015, Guardian Innovations released the greaseless Pearl X ball, made from cross-linked polyurethane, which lacks oils. On July 27, 2016, US Lacrosse named The Pearl by Guardian the official ball for all US Lacrosse events, renewed in 2021. In March 2019, Guardian released the first textured ball approved for play, the Pearl LT, made of rubber, which will grease but retains its textured surface. On January 14, 2022, REPS Lacrosse revealed the first smart lacrosse ball, the R1 by REPS, with embedded sensors tied to the REPS Lacrosse App. As of August 2023, ball brands meeting NOCSAE standards include BSN Sports, Champion Sports, Champro, CrankShooter, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gait, Gladiator Lacrosse, Lacrosse Unlimited, Martin Sports, Mint by East Coast Dyes, Pearl LT and Pearl X, Signature Lacrosse, STX, Union, Velocity, and Wolf Athletics. PEARL Lacrosse is the official ball supplier of the Premier Lacrosse League.

Did You Know?

• The original lacrosse balls were made from wood and egg-shaped, later from buckskins filled with fur, and in Seneca folklore, human heads were used as lacrosse balls.
• In 1860, Dr. William George Beers codified lacrosse rules requiring the ball to be made with rubber.
• The Pearl X greaseless ball, released in December 2015, is made from a cross-linked polyurethane formula that lacks the oils found in typical lacrosse balls.
• The first smart lacrosse ball, the R1 by REPS, was revealed on January 14, 2022, at the US Lacrosse Convention and includes a patented embedded suite of sensors.
• As of August 2023, 17 ball brands meet NOCSAE standards and are SEI certified, including Pearl LT and Pearl X.