The 1945 Carolina League was a Class C baseball season played between April 26 and September 9. Eight teams played a 138-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Danville Leafs won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in the final round of the playoffs.
Formation of league The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting at Durham, North Carolina. It was a successor to the Class D Bi-State League that existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based in Burlington, Durham, Greensboro, Leaksville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem (all from North Carolina), along with Danville and Martinsville from Virginia.
Teams 1945 Carolina League Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium Burlington Bees Burlington, North Carolina None Elon College Park Danville Leafs Danville, Virginia New York Giants League Park Durham Bulls Durham, North Carolina Boston Red Sox Durham Athletic Park Greensboro Patriots Greensboro, North Carolina Philadelphia Phillies World War Memorial Stadium Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets Leaksville, North Carolina Chicago Cubs Tri-City Baseball Park Martinsville Athletics Martinsville, Virginia Philadelphia Athletics Doug English Field Raleigh Capitals Raleigh, North Carolina Cincinnati Reds Devereaux Meadow Winston-Salem Cardinals Winston-Salem, North Carolina St. Louis Cardinals South Side Park
Map of teams
Regular season Summary The Danville Leafs finished with the best record in the regular season.
Standings 1945 CL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed November 30, 2024 Carolina League Team Win Loss % GB Danville Leafs 94 44 – Raleigh Capitals 78 60 16 Martinsville Athletics 69 67 24 Burlington Bees 67 70 26.5 Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets 66 70 27 Winston-Salem Cardinals 61 76 32.5 Durham Bulls 59 77 34 Greensboro Patriots 53 83 40
League Leaders Batting leaders 1945 CL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed November 30, 2024 Stat Player Total AVG Glenn Brundis, Danville Leafs .366 H Jaime Almendro, Danville Leafs Glenn Brundis, Danville Leafs 193 R Jaime Almendro, Danville Leafs 139 2B Jon Carenbauer, Danville Leafs 45 3B Jaime Almendro, Danville Leafs 17 HR Mike Abrams, Martinsville Athletics August Granzig, Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets Jerry Gutt, Martinsville Athletics Tom Kirk, Martinsville Athletics 12 RBI Jon Carenbauer, Danville Leafs 121 SB Lewis King, Danville Leafs 65
Pitching leaders 1945 CL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed November 30, 2024 Stat Player Total W Art Fowler, Danville Leafs 23 ERA Charles Timm, Raleigh Capitals 2.36 CG Art Fowler, Danville Leafs 27 SHO Charles Timm, Raleigh Capitals 4 SO Charles Gooding, Winston-Salem Cardinals 230 IP Roy Pinyoun, Raleigh Capitals 265.0
Playoffs The Danville Leafs won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in five games.
Playoff bracket
Awards Carolina League awards Award name Recipient Manager of the Year Herb Brett, Danville Leafs
See also 1945 Major League Baseball season
References
External links Minor League Baseball official website