The Las Vegas Wranglers were a minor league baseball team that played in various leagues in the 1940s and 1950s. Part of the History of baseball series Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of Professional baseball leagues in North They were Las Vegas' first professional team in any sport. Las Vegas ( Spanish: "The Meadows" is the most populous City in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally
The Wranglers were one of the charter franchises of the Class C Sunset League in 1947. The Sunset League was a Minor league baseball league that operated from 1947 through 1950. Despite Paul Zaby's league-leading . 402 batting average and a historic offensive season from Calvin Felix, the Wranglers (a Boston Braves affiliate) finished just 73-67, third place, and were beaten in the semifinals by Riverside, California. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively Riverside is the County seat of Riverside County, California, United States. The 21-year-old Felix led the Sunset League in nearly every offensive categories in 1947, including 52 home runs, the second-most ever hit in a pro league by such a young player (Tony Lazzeri, also then 21, hit 60 HR for Salt Lake City in 1925, but his team played 200 games). Anthony Michael "Tony" Lazzeri ( December 6, 1903 — August 6, 1946) was an American Major League Baseball player Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U Felix was sold to the Class AAA Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League after the season, but never made the majors. The Hollywood Stars were a Minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early and mid 20th century The Pacific Coast League (PCL is a Minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States.
Actor Cameron Mitchell pitched one game for the '47 Wranglers; Las Vegas, needing all the pitching help they could get in the offense-minded Sunset League, signed Mitchell after he shut out the Los Angeles Angels (PCL) for four innings in an exhibition game. } The Los Angeles Angels were a Minor league baseball based in Los Angeles California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1957 But the actor was shelled, allowing eleven runs in less than an inning to the Ontario, California Orioles. [1]
Las Vegas continued to be one of the circuit's top teams the next three years. In 1948, the Wranglers moved up to second place and made to the championship series before losing to Reno. However, the team drew only around 600 fans per game (Las Vegas' population was less than 10,000 then) and faced a $15,000 deficit at season's end, partially because they were no longer affiliatd with the Braves. In 1949, however, the Wranglers blew the league away with a 88-38 record and easily claimed the pennant, with attendance climbing to over 1,000 per contest. (Due to budget cuts, there were no playoffs that year, and the '49 Wranglers remain Las Vegas' only pro sports championship). After a third-place finish in 1950, the top teams in the Sunset League merged with the Arizona-Mexico League to form the new Southwest International League in 1951. The Southwest International League was a Minor league baseball league that operated from 1951 through 1952.
Declining attendance vexed minor-league ball throughout the country in the early 1950s, and Las Vegas was no exception: despite two more winning seasons in 1951-52, the Wranglers (along with the rest of the SWIL) died after the 1952 season.
Baseball returned to Las Vegas in 1957, but the new team (also called the Wranglers) finished fourth in the Arizona-Mexico League, then folded. On May 26, 1958, however, the San Jose Pirates of the California League shifted operations to Las Vegas, renaming themselves (once again) the Wranglers. The California League is a Class A Advanced Minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. But the team finished a poor seventh and disbanded after the season when the Cal League contracted from eight teams to six. Professional baseball would not return to Las Vegas until the Las Vegas Stars joined the Pacific Coast League in 1983. The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars are a Minor league baseball team The Pacific Coast League (PCL is a Minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States.
Year-by-Year Record
| Year | League | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Sunset League | 73-67 | 3rd | Newt Kimball | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1948 | Sunset League | 78-62 | 2nd | Ken Meyers | Lost League Finals | |
| 1949 | Sunset League | 88-38 | 1st | Ken Meyers | none League Champs | |
| 1950 | Sunset League | 76-69 | 3rd | Ed Wheeler | Lost in 1st round | |
| 1951 | Southwest International League | 72-71 | 5th | Newt Kimball | ||
| 1952 | Southwest International League | 70-66 | 3rd | William DeCarlo | none | |
| 1957 | Arizona-Mexico League | 62-74 | 4th | Red Marion | none | |
| 1958 | California League | 54-81 overall | 7th | Jack Paepke | San Jose moved to Las Vegas May 26 |
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