Diablos join American Association

Published on October 24, 2005 under American Association (AA)
El Paso Diablos News Release

EL PASO- The El Paso Diablos have officially announced their membership in a new professional baseball league, the "American Association of Independent Professional Baseball."

"This is an exiting move for the Diablos and for the city of El Paso," said Mark Schuster president of the El Paso Diablos. "Fans will be able to see first class teams and high quality players in this new league."

The league will commence play in early May of 2006 and will consist of 10 franchises in a 96 game divisional format. The Diablos will be joined by the Fort Worth Cats, Shreveport Sports, Pensacola Pelicans and Coastal Bend Aviators all formerly of the Central League. The St. Paul Saints, Sioux City Explorers, Sioux Falls Canaries and Lincoln Saltdogs announced their membership earlier this month. The league expects to announce the tenth team within the next month.

The league has also announced that Miles Wolff will serve as Commissioner of the league. Wolff, the founding commissioner of the Northern League, has been credited by many as the father of the independent professional baseball industry.

"These clubs are a great addition to the American Association," said Wolff. "It's an exciting day for the league and an exiting day for Independent Baseball."

The original American Association existed from 1902-1962 and again from 1969-1997 as a Triple A league before being merged in the International and Pacific Coast Leagues. Both St. Paul and Fort Worth were at one time members of the American Association.

The league also announced that the Diablos will host the All-Star game versus the Canadian-American Baseball Association in July, 2006.

American Association Stories from October 24, 2005

• Pelicans Join American Association of Professional Baseball - Pensacola Pelicans
• Diablos join American Association - El Paso Diablos
• Saltdogs welcome new teams to league - Lincoln Saltdogs
• American Association expands by five teams - AA
• American Association expands by five teams - AA
• Cats join American Association - Fort Worth Cats
• Aviators tab Chad Tredaway as director of baseball operations for 2006 - Coastal Bend Aviators

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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