MILL 1992 Pittsburgh Bulls Program

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EPISODE #55: Russ Cline and the Birth of Modern-Day Indoor Box Lacrosse

Our first-ever (and long-overdue) exploration of the sport of professional lacrosse begins with a conversation with one of the godfathers of the modern indoor game, Russ Cline – founder (along with partner and fellow Kansas City sports promoter Chris Fritz) of 1987’s seminal four-team Eagle Pro Box

The Pittsburgh Bulls were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1990 to 1993, based in Pittsburgh, PA. The National Lacrosse League (NLL) eventually returned to Pittsburgh in 2000 with the Pittsburgh Crossefire, but the team would only stay for one season before moving to become the Washington Power for two seasons, and eventually becoming the Colorado Mammoth in 2003. For the Wiki IPFS report on the Pittsburgh Bulls Click Here.

The sport of professional lacrosse begins with a conversation with one of the godfathers of the modern indoor game, Russ Cline. Check out the excellent Podcast from our friends at GoodSeatsStillAvailable.com.

Genial host Tim Hanlon talks with Cline about how he and partner, fellow Kansas City sports promoter Chris Fritz, came up with the original Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (soon renamed the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL). The duo’s rationale behind choosing lacrosse as the focus of their entrepreneurial efforts; the slow-growth approaches to expansion beyond the lacrosse-rich Northeast and national television coverage; the business model battle between single-entity and individually-owned franchises; and the delicate balance between maintaining the integrity of the sport’s rich history and marketing a hard-hitting, high-scoring, action-packed entertainment product.

Plus: playing surfaces borne of carpet remnants and Coca-Cola; robbing Philadelphia to pay Baltimore; becoming ESPN2’s first-ever scheduled pro league; and turning down a very tempting birthday gift!

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