The term National League generally refers to the organization more properly referred to as the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the older (founded on February 2, 1876) of the two leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. (The other major league is the American League.)

There is also the National Hockey League, the major league of ice hockey in the United States and Canada, and the National Football League, the major league of American football.

There was once the National Basketball League, which merged with its rival, the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association, the surviving major league of basketball in the United States and Canada.

The National League is also known as the Senior Circuit, due to the fact that it has existed 25 years longer than the American League.\n