Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in America. Lacrosse history goes back as early as 1100AD where it was played by Native Americans in North America. The origin of lacrosse has a rich history in the Native American cultures.

Todays lacrosse game is based on the games that were invented by Native Americans. It was referred to as “The Creator’s Game.” American Indian lacrosse had important connections to religious, cultural, and spiritual life. These games were big events and some of would last as long as several days. Lacrosse had many different purposes. Games were played to settle disputes, train in combat, recreation, parts of festivals, to settle bets, or religious reasons. Early lacrosse equipment was hand made. Balls were made from wood or deerskin stuffed with hair. Lacrosse sticks were made from wood carved to hold the ball or netting made from wattup or deer sinew.

The origins of lacrosse can be traced back to North America. A French Jesuit missionary, Jean de Brébeuf saw it played in 1637 in present day Ontario and called the game la crosse, “the stick” in French. It became popular in Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. In the 1800s and 1900s lacrosse was predominately played in the Mid-Atlantic states, especially New York and Maryland.

Lacrosse goes back as early as 1100AD where it was played by the Native Americans and Aboriginal Canadians. By 1900 there were many men’s clubs across the English speaking world. Women’s lacrosse was introduced in Scotland in 1890 and the first women’s club in the US was started at Bryn Mawr School (Maryland) in 1926.

Newer versions of the game, like box lacrosse, background comes from the traditional games. Box lacrosse started in Canada in the 1930s with the formation of the first box lacrosse league. In 1986 the Major Indoor Lacrosse League was founded. It ran until 1997 when the league was reconstituted with a new name, the NLL, National Lacrosse League, is the men’s professional box lacrosse league. It now has teams across the United States and Canada. It now consists of 14 teams with three divisions, North, East, West. The Buffalo Bandits, Halifax Thunderbirds, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock make up the North. Georgia Swarm, New England Black Wolves, New York Riptide, Philadelphia Wings in the East. Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Vancouver Warriors. The newest team to join the league is the Panther City Lacrosse Club in Fort Worth, TX for the 2021 season.

The professional field game became popular with the founding of Major League Lacrosse, MLL, in 1999. Major League Lacrosse began play in 2001 consisting of six teams. Boston, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Long Island made up the American Division. Baltimore, New Jersey, and Rochester made up the National Division. In 2006 the MLL added four teams, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and San Francisco. In 2008 Los Angeles, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and San Francisco teams were shut down due to money and poor attendance. In 2011 North Carolina and Ohio added expansion teams. In 2014 the Hamilton Nationals folded and became the Florida Launch. Atlanta became the ninth team to join in 2016. In 2018 The Rattlers relocated to Dallas from New York. In 2019 the MLL announced that the Charlotte Hounds, Florida Launch, and Ohio Machine were not playing in the 2019 season. Although the MLL was one of the longest running and most famous field lacrosse leagues, most of the players in the league had to work multiple jobs. The salary range in the MLL was between $10,000 and $25,000 with no benefits. However, after newer competition in field lacrosse they stated the intent to raise the salary range by 51%.

In 2018 Paul Rabil announced he would be starting a new professional league. The newest iteration of professional lacrosse began in 2019 with the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The PLL would be a direct field lacrosse competitor to Major League Lacrosse. The PLL promised its players salaries, health care, and league equity. Unlike the MLL, the PLL did not base its teams in specific cities across the country. Rather it employed a 14 week tour based schedule in 12 cities. All teams traveled and played in a new city during the weekend. The 2019 PLL season began with 6 teams. Archers Lacrosse Club, Atlas Lacrosse Club, Chaos Lacrosse Club, Chrome Lacrosse Club, Redwoods Lacrosse Club, and Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club. The 2019 PLL season ended with the Whipsnakes LC winning the Championship 12-11 (OT) against the Redwoods LC. In 2020 an expansion brought the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club into the PLL for the 2020 season. With the onset of COVID 19, the PLL shifted its season to a bubble format. The Whipsnakes LC eventually won the 2020 Championship 12-6 against the Chaos LC.