Western League (1939–1941)
American minor league baseball league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Western League of 1939–1941 was a low-level American circuit in Minor League Baseball. The Class D level league was born when the Nebraska State League changed its identity after the 1938 season. It is not related to the Class A level Western League of 1900–1937 and 1947–1958, a higher-level league that suspended operations during the latter years of the Great Depression through World War II.
| Most recent season or competition: 1941 Western League season | |
| Formerly | Nebraska State League |
|---|---|
| Classification | Class D (1939–1941) |
| Sport | Minor League Baseball |
| First season | 1939 |
| Folded | 1941 |
| Replaced by | Nebraska State League |
| President | J. Roy Carter (1939–1941) |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Most titles | 1 Sioux City Soos Sioux Falls Canaries Pueblo Rollers |
The 1939–1941 Western League included teams based in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming. After the United States entered the war, the league did not return for 1942 and was succeeded by its revived Class A namesake in 1947. The Nebraska State League was revived as a Class D circuit from 1956 to 1959.
Member clubs
- Cheyenne, Wyoming: Cheyenne Indians 1941
- Denver, Colorado: Denver Bears 1941
- Lincoln, Nebraska: Lincoln Links 1939
- Mitchell, South Dakota: Mitchell Kernels 1939–1940
- Norfolk, Nebraska: Norfolk Elks 1939; Norfolk Yankees 1940–1941
- Pueblo, Colorado: Pueblo Rollers 1941
- Sioux City, Iowa: Sioux City Soos 1939-1940; Sioux City Cowboys 1941
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Sioux Falls Canaries 1939–1941
- Worthington, Minnesota: Worthington Cardinals 1939–1940
Standings & statistics
1939 Western League
| Team Name | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Elks | 75 | 44 | .630 | - | Doc Bennett |
| Sioux Falls Canaries | 66 | 52 | .559 | 8½ | Ralph Brandon |
| Sioux City Soos | 63 | 52 | .548 | 10 | Pete Monahan |
| Lincoln Links | 64 | 55 | .538 | 11 | Pug Griffin |
| Mitchell Kernels | 49 | 69 | .415 | 25½ | Red Davis (8/1) / Charles Moglia |
| Worthington Cardinals | 36 | 81 | .308 | 38 | Joe McDermott |
Playoffs: Sioux City 3 games, Norfolk 2; Lincoln 3 games, Sioux Falls 2
Finals: Sioux City 4 games, Lincoln 2.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Conners | Sioux Falls | BA | .365 | Ox Miller | Lincoln | W | 21 | |
| Wendell Finders | Norfolk | Hits | 167 | Ox Miller | Lincoln | SO | 208 | |
| Bob Dillinger | Lincoln | Runs | 139 | Lawrence Kempe | Sioux Falls | ERA | 3.02 | |
| Ted Kakaloris | Lincoln | RBI | 114 | Leonard Bobeck | Norfolk | PCT | .864 19-3 | |
| William Morgan | Norfolk | HR | 17 |
1940 Western League - schedule
| Team Name | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Yankees | 73 | 39 | .652 | - | Doc Bennett |
| Sioux Falls Canaries | 59 | 58 | .504 | 16½ | Robert Fenner |
| Worthington Cardinals | 50 | 59 | .459 | 21½ | Ray Martin / George Payne |
| Sioux City Soos / Mitchell Kernels | 44 | 70 | .386 | 30 | Jimmy Zinn / Ed Grayston |
Sioux City moved to Mitchell July 24
League played four quarters: Norfolk won the first, second and fourth quarters, Sioux Falls won the third quarter.
Playoff: Sioux Falls 4 games, Norfolk 2.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Lucas | Worthington | BA | .356 | Frank Wagner | Sioux Falls | W | 17 | |
| Leo Bohanan | Sioux Falls | Hits | 158 | Frank Wagner | Sioux Falls | SO | 193 | |
| Robert Duby | Norfolk | Runs | 112 | Fred Whalen | Norfolk | ERA | 1.36 | |
| Fred Schenk | Norfolk | RBI | 97 | Fred Whalen | Norfolk | PCT | .786 11-3 | |
| Russell Burns | Norfolk | HR | 17 |
1941 Western League - schedule
| Team Name | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Yankees | 64 | 44 | .593 | - | Ray Powell |
| Cheyenne Indians | 59 | 44 | .573 | 2½ | John Kerr |
| Sioux City Cowboys | 54 | 56 | .491 | 11 | Richard Tichacek |
| Pueblo Rollers | 52 | 54 | .491 | 11 | Pug Griffin |
| Sioux Falls Canaries | 51 | 56 | .477 | 12½ | Robert Fenner / Tony Koenig |
| Denver Bears | 42 | 68 | .382 | 23 | Cobe Jones |
Playoffs: Norfolk 3 games, Sioux City 2; Pueblo 3 games, Cheyenne 1
Finals: Pueblo 3 games, Norfolk 2.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard Steele | Pueblo | BA | .383 | George Milstead | Cheyenne | W | 19 | |
| Bernard Steele | Pueblo | Hits | 158 | Robert Bergen | Pueblo | SO | 183 | |
| Bernard Steele | Pueblo | Runs | 88 | Frank Wagner | Sioux Falls | ERA | 2.15 | |
| Frank Bocek | Norfolk | RBI | 92 | George Milstead | Cheyenne | PCT | .792 19-5 | |
| Mel Bergman | Cheyenne | HR | 10 |
References
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007.