Lacrosse in different cities, flying into town for games. Canadians and Native Americans make up over 90% of the players. The NLL started in 1987 as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. Teams in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Baltimore and Washington, DC, played a 6-game season. The league operated as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1997, when there were six teams playing a 10-game schedule. The current NLL name began in the 1998 season, which included the first Canadian team. The most successful franchises have been the Toronto Rock and the now-defunct Philadelphia Wings, each has won six championships.
Box lacrosse use a lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by shooting a solid rubber lacrosse ball into the opponent's goal. The highest levels of box lacrosse are the National Lacrosse League (NLL) (professional), Box Lacrosse League (semi-pro), Senior A divisions of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (semi-pro), the Western Lacrosse Association (semi-pro), and Major Series Lacrosse (semi-pro). While there are 59 total members of the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), only fifteen have competed in international box lacrosse competition. Only Canada, the Iroquois Nationals and the United States have finished in the top three