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

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. 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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

through

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The 1939–1941 Western League included teams based in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, 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 Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. 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 * Lincoln Links * Mitchell Kernels * Norfolk Elks * Norfolk Yankees * Pueblo Rollers (Champions, 1941) * Sioux City Cowboys * Sioux City Soos (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 ...

(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'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

, 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