The Western League of 1939–1941 was a low-level

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

circuit in Minor League Baseball. The Class D level league was born when the Nebraska State League changed its identity after the 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 The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The 1939–1941 Western League included teams based in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. After the United States entered the war, the league did not return for and was succeeded by its revived Class A namesake in . The Nebraska State League was revived as a Class D circuit from 1956 to 1959.

Member clubs

* Cheyenne Indians *

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Lincoln Links The Lincoln Links were an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Lincoln, Nebraska, for 18 seasons over a 23-year period (1917–39) during the 20th century. They played in the Class A Western League (1917; 1924–27), the Cla ...

Mitchell Kernels The Mitchell Kernels were a minor league baseball team based in Mitchell, South Dakota. The Kernels played as members of the South Dakota League (1920), Dakota League (1921–1922), South Dakota League (1923), Nebraska State League (1936–1937) ...

Norfolk Elks The Norfolk Elks were a Nebraska State League (1928–1938), Tri-State League (1924) and Western League (baseball, 1939-41), Western League baseball team based in Norfolk, Nebraska, United States. They were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinal ...

Norfolk Yankees The Norfolk Yankees were a Western League baseball team based in Norfolk, Nebraska, United States that played from 1940 to 1941. They were affiliated with the New York Yankees. Jim Dyck, who played Major League Baseball Major League Baseball ...

Pueblo Rollers In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Tribe (Native American), Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorer ...

(Champions, 1941) *

Sioux City Cowboys The Sioux City Cowboys were a minor league baseball team that played in the Western League (1900–1958), Western League (1934–1937), Nebraska State League (1938) and another incarnation of the Western League (baseball, 1939-41), Western League (1 ...

Sioux City Soos The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

(Champions, 1939) *

Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major L ...

(Champions, 1940) * Worthington Cardinals

References

* Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.:

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Western League (baseball, 1939-41) Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Colorado Baseball leagues in Wyoming Baseball leagues in Minnesota Baseball leagues in Iowa Baseball leagues in South Dakota Baseball leagues in Nebraska Sports leagues established in 1939 Sports leagues disestablished in 1941