In an email sent Monday United Sports Equities CEO Brad Wendt announced the seven teams in independent United League Baseball -- the Alexandria Aces, Amarillo Dillas, Brownsville Charros, Edinburg Coyotes, Laredo Broncos, San Angelo Colts, and Harlingen WhiteWings -- as well as the league itself are on the market and available for purchase. The announcement came after the league declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Broward County (Fla.) court on Dec. 29, 2008.
The sale means many things. But most assuredly we're seeing the end of United League Baseball as we know it, with the most likely outcome four teams being absorbed into the Golden Baseball League or the American Association, perhaps as early as the 2009 season. But nothing is assured, and it would not surprise any insiders if the bankruptcy proceedings took longer than expected, forcing the buyer to wait for a 2010 opener.
(A note on the bankruptcy: Chapter 11 is a less-severe version, allowing a corporation to reorganize and shed assets. Litigation against a company filing for bankruptcy is suspended, with the federal bankruptcy court assuming control of the legal situation. So by filing in bankruptcy court, United League Baseball basically cut off the three existing lawsuits against it, as well as superceding the temporary restraining order.)
That the league is facing many issues is a matter of public record: league founders John Bryant and Byron Pierce as well as former San Angelo Colts owner Harlan Bruha have three lawsuits filed against the league. Bryant says his ownership of North Texas franchises and a small stake in the league are imperiled by the potential sale of the league, Pierce says he's still owed monies from the original purchase of the league, and Bruha wants to regain control of the Colts and Foster Field because of alleged nonpayment by the league. Pierce and Bryant won a temporary injunction in the fall, preventing any changes to the league; a bankruptcy filing by the United Baseball League supercedes that injunction, freeing the way for United Sports Equities to sell the assets of the league.
But the story goes far deeper than just a bankruptcy filing.
United League united no more....
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