Box lacrosse 1998, the NLL entered into the Canadian market for the first time with the Ontario Raiders. Although 5 of the league's 9 teams are based in American cities, more than two-thirds of the players are Canadian. During play, a team consists of six players: a goaltender and five "runners". A runner is any non-goalkeeper position player, including forwards, transition players, and defenders. Runners usually specialize in one of these roles and substitute off the field when the ball moves from one end to the other. When the sport originated teams played with six runners. However, in 1953 the sixth runner,
Box lacrosse Games, the league folded after two seasons due to financial uncertainty. The rebirth of professional box lacrosse in the United States came on March 13, 1986, with the formation of the "Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League", which was incorporated by Russ Cline and Chris Fritz. The league originated with four teams: the Philadelphia Wings, New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder, and unlike box lacrosse generally, was played during the winter. The league rebranded itself as the "Major Indoor Lacrosse League" (MILL) immediately after its inaugural season, and in 1998 renamed itself again, this time to the NLL. In