The Northern Elite League (NEL) was created in 1992, as a way of giving Northern Ontario baseball players a competitive league of their own. This task was spearheaded by North Bay's Peter Topolie, who is the current president of Baseball Ontario. The NEL originally had 6 teams competing for the Blue Jay Cup. They were: * North Bay Jays * Sault Ste. Marie Cambrian Nissan * Sudbury Lakers * Timmins Whiskey Jacks * Garson Tigers * North Shore Knights This league features teams playing in a Showcase Tournament, a 15-game regular season, and playoffs at the home of the 1st place team.