Pride and Tradition
In 1984, Chris Fritz, a concert promoter, and Russ Cline, a former Kansas
City Chiefs Executive, became partners to develop entertainment and sports
events. Always looking for cutting
edge opportunities, the two had a mission from the start to develop and debut a
new sport for the 21st century. In 1986, Fritz happened upon a
playground game of rollercrosse, lacrosse on roller skates, in his hometown of
Kansas City. After watching the
game, Fritz shared his enthusiasm for what he saw with Cline. Both agreed this sport was compelling
and decided to consider pursuing it further.
After speaking with Ira Blumenthal, owner of the then Kansas City Comets
soccer team, Fritz went on to meet with the staff of US Lacrosse in Baltimore,
MD. He attended the US
Lacrosse Coaches Convention in Cherry Hill, NJ, where he continued to pursue a
version of the sport that integrated skates. At the convention he met Orin Lyons who
showed him a video of the 1974-1975 Philadelphia Wings indoor lacrosse
team. Fritz brought the tape back
to share with Cline, who was equally impressed with this sport that neither of
them had played or actually seen in person. Both agreed that indoor lacrosse didn’t
need skates and the basis for the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League was
born.
Cline and Fritz
owned the four team Eagle League, which included among its teams, the
Philadelphia Wings. The league
changed its name to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League in 1988, then to the
National Lacrosse League in 1997 when Cline and Fritz sold the MILL properties
to franchisees. The partners
continued as the owners of the Philadelphia Wings, who they considered the
pillar of the league.
The Wings would go on to capture six world Championships from
1989 through 2001, more than any other NLL team.
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World Championship Appearances
The Wings have made nine world championship appearances, taking away six titles. Revisit each Championship win with stats and recaps. [more] |
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Wings Time Capsule
Start from the very beginning when Russ Cline and Chris Fritz founded the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. [more] |
