United League Baseball
United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American League from 2011–2012. However, after the North American League folded at the end of the 2012 season, ULB was reformed. It dissolved for a second time in January 2015.
 United League Baseball logo | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Ceased | 2015 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Country | USA |
| Last champion(s) | Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings |
| Most titles | Amarillo Dillas (3) |
| Official website | Official website |
History
The league began its first season on May 16, 2006, with six teams: the Alexandria Aces, Amarillo Dillas, Edinburg Coyotes, Laredo Broncos, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings and San Angelo Colts. The San Angelo franchise previously played in the now-defunct Central Baseball League, while the Amarillo Dillas previously played in the now-defunct Texas–Louisiana League. The United League was originally owned by an investor group United Sports Equity LLC followed by former Congressman John Bryant.
In 2013, following the dissolution of the North American League, United League Baseball was reincorporated. The league played an 80-game season from late May to the middle of August, and featured the Edinburg Roadrunners, the Fort Worth Cats, the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, the San Angelo Colts, the Texas Thunder, and the Alexandria Aces. Alexandria and Texas were shut down mid-season. Edinburg did not field a team for 2014 and they were replaced by the Brownsville Charros.
The San Angelo Colts announced on July 2, 2014, that they had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[1] Although it was stated at the time that operations would not be affected, the team announced on August 11, 2014, that the final eight games of the 2014 regular season would not be played.[2] Originally scheduled to end August 24, the league's 2014 regular season ended August 15, with the best-of-five championship series between the Cats and the WhiteWings starting August 16.[3] The United League Baseball was looking into possibly expanding to Del Rio, Texas, and was scheduled to meet with city officials in October 2014.
In November 2014, it was announced that the City of Ft. Worth had not renewed the lease at LaGrave Field for the Ft. Worth Cats, thus leaving them without a home for the 2015 season. Through the mismanagement of the league by Bryant and Pierce and having one remaining stadium lease in Harlingen the league was formally disbanded in January 2015.[4]
Franchises
| United League Baseball | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Years played | Location | Homefield | Capacity | Notes | |
| Alexandria Aces | 2006–2008, 2013 | Alexandria, Louisiana | Bringhurst Field | 3,500 | Charter member, moved to the Continental Baseball League and later the Texas Collegiate League. Disbanded mid-way through the 2013 season. | |
| Amarillo Dillas | 2006–2010 | Amarillo, Texas | Potter County Memorial Stadium | 8,500 | Charter member | |
| Brownsville Charros | 2014 | Harlingen, Texas | Harlingen Field | 4,500 | ||
| Coastal Bend/McAllen/Texas Thunder | 2009–2010, 2013 | Robstown, Texas McAllen, Texas |
Fairgrounds Field | 5,200 | Played in the North American League from 2011–2012 | |
| Edinburg Coyotes/Roadrunners | 1996–2010, 2013 | Edinburg, Texas | Edinburg Stadium | 4,000 | Charter member, Played in North American League from 2011–2012, rejoined in 2013 and folded after the season. | |
| Fort Worth Cats | 2013–2014 | Fort Worth, Texas | LaGrave Field | 4,100 | Previously played in the All-American Association, Central Baseball League, American Association and North American League. | |
| Harlingen/Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 2006–2010, 2013–2014 | Harlingen, Texas | Harlingen Field | 4,500 | Charter member, played in the North American League from 2011–2012 | |
| Laredo Broncos | 2006–2010 | Laredo, Texas | Veterans Field | 5,000 | Charter member | |
| San Angelo Colts | 2006–2010, 2013–2014 | San Angelo, Texas | Foster Field | 4,200 | Charter member, had previously played in the Texas–Louisiana League and the Central Baseball League. Played in the North American League from 2011–2012. | |
Standings
2006 season
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *** Edinburg Coyotes | 57 | 33 | .633 | --- |
| ^ San Angelo Colts | 46 | 44 | .511 | 11 |
| ^ Alexandria Aces | 45 | 44 | .506 | 11.5 |
| ^ Laredo Broncos | 44 | 46 | .489 | 13 |
| Amarillo Dillas | 39 | 50 | .438 | 17.5 |
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 38 | 52 | .422 | 19 |
2007 Winter Season
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *** Brownsville Toros | 17 | 3 | .850 | --- |
| ^ Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 10 | 10 | .500 | 7 |
| Laredo Broncos | 8 | 12 | .400 | 9 |
| Edinburg Coyotes | 5 | 15 | .250 | 12 |
2007 season
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| * Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 29 | 21 | .580 | --- |
| Alexandria Aces | 27 | 22 | .551 | 1.5 |
| Amarillo Dillas | 26 | 24 | .520 | 3 |
| Edinburg Coyotes | 25 | 25 | .500 | 4 |
| San Angelo Colts | 22 | 28 | .440 | 7 |
| Laredo Broncos | 20 | 29 | .408 | 8.5 |
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ** Alexandria Aces | 32 | 13 | .711 | --- |
| San Angelo Colts | 22 | 22 | .500 | 9.5 |
| Amarillo Dillas | 21 | 24 | .467 | 11 |
| * Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 21 | 24 | .467 | 11 |
| Laredo Broncos | 21 | 25 | .457 | 11.5 |
| Edinburg Coyotes | 18 | 27 | .400 | 14.5 |
^ Clinched Playoff Spot
* Clinched 1st Half Title
** Clinched 2nd Half Title
*** Clinched Regular Season Title
2008 season
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^** San Angelo Colts | 54 | 29 | .651 | --- |
| *** Alexandria Aces | 50 | 35 | .588 | 5 |
| * Amarillo Dillas | 50 | 36 | .581 | 5.5 |
| **** Edinburg Coyotes | 41 | 44 | .482 | 14 |
| Laredo Broncos | 39 | 48 | .448 | 17 |
| Harlingen WhiteWings | 20 | 62 | .244 | 33.5 |
* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed
** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed
*** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed
**** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed
^ Clinched Regular Season Championship
2009 season
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Angelo Colts*^ | 48 | 32 | .600 | --- |
| Edinburg Roadrunners** | 46 | 34 | .575 | 2 |
| Amarillo Dillas*** | 44 | 35 | .557 | 3.5 |
| Coastal Bend Thunder**** | 39 | 40 | .494 | 8.5 |
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 39 | 41 | .488 | 9.5 |
| Laredo Broncos | 23 | 57 | .288 | 25 |
* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed
** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed
*** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed
**** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed
^ Clinched Regular Season Championship
2010 season
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarillo Dillas*^ | 52 | 39 | .571 | --- |
| Edinburg Roadrunners** | 50 | 39 | .561 | 1 |
| Laredo Broncos*** | 47 | 45 | .511 | 5.5 |
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings**** | 47 | 45 | .511 | 5.5 |
| San Angelo Colts | 46 | 45 | .505 | 6 |
| Coastal Bend Thunder | 31 | 60 | .342 | 21 |
* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed
** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed
*** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed
**** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed
^ Clinched Regular Season Championship
Playoffs
2013 Playoff Results
Format: When the league returned for the 2013 season the United League paired the top two regular season teams in a best of 5 ULB Championship series.
| ULB Championship |
|---|
| Edinburg Roadrunners | 3 |
|---|---|
| Fort Worth Cats | 2 |
2010 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2010 season the United League playoffs consisted of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds, with the top 4 regular season teams making the playoffs. In the first round the regular season champion faced the 4th seed while seed 2 faced seed 3 in the best of 3 series. The winners then advanced to the championship best-of-five series.
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | ||||||||
| 1 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Amarillo Dillas | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Edinburg Roadrunners | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Edinburg Roadrunners | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Laredo Broncos | 1 | |||||||
2009 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2009 season the United League playoffs consisted of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds, with the top 4 regular season teams making the playoffs. In the first round the regular season champion faced the 4th seed while seed 2 faced seed 3 in the best of 3 series. The winners then advanced to the championship best-of-five series.
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | ||||||||
| 1 | San Angelo Colts | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Coastal Bend Thunder | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | San Angelo Colts | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Amarillo Dillas | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Edinburg Roadrunners | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | |||||||
2008 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2008 season the United League playoffs will consist of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds. In the first round the top two teams at the end of the first half of the season will host the two remaining teams with the best overall winning percentage throughout the season in a best-of-three series. The winners then advance to the championship which will be played at both parks, with the lower seed hosting game one and the higher seed hosting games two and three of the best-of-three series.
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | ||||||||
| 1 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Edinburg Coyotes | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | San Angelo Colts | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 2 | |||||||
2007 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2007 season the United League played in a split season format, crowning a first half champion and a second half champion. The champions then played for the ULB Championship. If one team was to win both halves, the team with the second-best overall season record would have qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. The championship series was the best 4 out of 7 games, to be played home and away in a 2–3–2 site format, with home field advantage awarded to the first half champion.
| ULB Championship |
|---|
| Alexandria Aces | 4 |
|---|---|
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 0 |
2006 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2006 season the top four teams in the regular season standings made the playoffs, including the regular season champion and 3 wild card teams. The playoffs then commenced with two rounds of games to determine the United League champion:
- 1st Round – Best 2 out of 3 games
- Championship – Best 3 out of 5 games
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | ||||||||
| 1 | Edinburg Coyotes | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Laredo Broncos | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Edinburg Coyotes | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | San Angelo Colts | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 2 | |||||||
ULB Champions
- 2006 – Alexandria Aces
- 2007 – Alexandria Aces
- 2008 – Amarillo Dillas
- 2009 – Amarillo Dillas
- 2010 – Amarillo Dillas
- 2013 – Edinburg Roadrunners
Most Valuable Players
- 2006 – Josh Tranum, Alexandria Aces
- 2007 – Palmer Karr, Alexandria Aces
- 2008 – Danny Bravo, Amarillo Dillas
- 2009 – (tie) Keanon Simon and Dustin Taylor, Amarillo Dillas
- 2010 – (tie) Kevin Butler and Carlos Figueroa, Amarillo Dillas
All-star game
United League Baseball hosted an annual All-Star Game which rotated host cities throughout the league. Its format in 2008 featured the United League all-stars versus the Golden League all-stars. In 2006 the first All-Star Game pitted the best team against the all-stars from the rest of the United League. In 2007 the second All-Star Game pitted Team North (All-Stars from Alexandria, Amarillo and San Angelo) against Team Rio Grande (All-Stars from Edinburg, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley).
The ULB's all-star festivities were a two-day event, the first day featuring various celebrations and recognitions, followed on the second day by the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
Game Results
- 2006 – United League Baseball All-Stars 12, Edinburg Coyotes 2 (Edinburg, Texas)
- 2007 – Team North 10, Team Rio Grande 1 (Amarillo, Texas)
- 2008 – United League Baseball All-Stars 8, Golden League 5 (San Angelo, Texas)
Most Valuable Players
- 2006 – Edwin Maldonado, Laredo Broncos
- 2007 – Jonathan Reynoso, Amarillo Dillas
- 2008 – Luany Sanchez, Laredo Broncos
Home Run Derby Winners
- 2006 – Jose Olmeda, Edinburg Coyotes
- 2007 – Juan Lebron, Laredo Broncos
- 2008 – Andres Rodriguez, San Angelo Colts
League Awards
Most Valuable Player
- 2006 – John Anderson, San Angelo Colts
- 2007 – Nelson Teilon, Edinburg Coyotes
- 2008 – Danny Bravo, Amarillo Dillas
- 2010 – Levy Ventura, Rio Grande Valley
Manager of the Year
- 2006 – Vince Moore, Edinburg Coyotes; Ricky VanAsselberg, Alexandria Aces
- 2007 – Ricky VanAsselberg, Alexandria Aces
- 2008 – Brady Bogart, Amarillo Dillas
- 2009 – Doc Edwards, San Angelo Colts
- 2010 – Dan Friova, Laredo Broncos
Pitcher of the Year
- 2006 – Ryan Harris, Edinburg Coyotes; Santo Hernandez, Alexandria Aces
- 2007 – Adam Cox, Alexandria Aces
- 2009 – Brian Henschel, San Angelo Colts
- 2010 – Wardell Starling, Edinburg Roadrunners
Rookie of the Year
- 2007 – Ronnie Gaines, San Angelo Colts
- 2009 – Trent Lockwood, Amarillo Dillas
- 2010 – Adam De La Garza, Amarillo Dillas; Jonathan Cisneros, Laredo Broncos
Playing Surface of the Year
- 2007 – Foster Field, San Angelo Colts
- 2010 – Foster Field, San Angelo Colts
References
- "SAN ANGELO COLTS: Colts file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – San Angelo Standard Times". gosanangelo.com. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- "Colts bankruptcy update". gosanangelo.com. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- "2014 ULB Championship Series Starts Tonight In Fort Worth". pointstreaksites.com. 2014-08-16. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
- Joe, Anton (January 15, 2015). "United League Baseball Folds After Seven Seasons". Baseball Essential. Retrieved March 1, 2015.