The 1941 California League was a Class C baseball season played between April 19 and September 1. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Santa Barbara Saints won the California League championship, defeating the Fresno Cardinals in the final round of the playoffs.
Formation of league There were various attempts in the late 1800s and early 1900s to form a "California League" on the West Coast, considering the distance of the two current major leagues which generally had teams only in the Northeast and were restricted at first until World War I by long-distance train travel. The first organized California League lasted from 1887 to 1889, then another followed in 1891, and 1893, and finally in 1899–1902. After the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, an organization of minor leagues was formed in 1902, (following the "truce" and agreements between the older National League of 1876 and the newly "upstart" American League of 1901), the California League operated outside the NAPBL system as an independent league in 1902 and again from 1907 to 1909. This led to huge differences in the quality of teams competing with each other. In 1907, the San Francisco team was 3–34, while later in 1908 San Francisco was 9–67 and Oakland was 4–71. Oakland and San Francisco competed in every year of these various state leagues, with San Francisco having two teams during 1887–88.
The latest version of the California League was founded in 1941, and included teams in Anaheim, Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Stockton.
Teams 1941 California League Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium Anaheim Aces Anaheim, California None La Palma Park Bakersfield Badgers Bakersfield, California None Sam Lynn Ballpark Fresno Cardinals Fresno, California St. Louis Cardinals Cardinal Field Merced Bears Merced, California None Fairgrounds Field Park Riverside Reds Riverside, California Cincinnati Reds Evans Park San Bernardino Stars San Bernardino, California New York Giants Fiscalini Field Santa Barbara Saints Santa Barbara, California Brooklyn Dodgers Laguna Park Stockton Fliers Stockton, California Chicago Cubs Oak Park Field
Map of teams
Regular season Summary The Fresno Cardinals finished with the best record in the regular season. On June 29, the Riverside Reds and San Bernardino Stars disbanded.
Standings CALL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed September 28, 2025 California League Team Win Loss % GB Fresno Cardinals 90 50 – Santa Barbara Saints 83 56 6.5 Bakersfield Badgers 73 67 17 Stockton Fliers 70 70 20 Anaheim Aces 55 82 33.5 Merced Bears 50 87 38.5 San Bernardino Stars 43 28 – Riverside Reds 24 48 –
League Leaders Batting leaders 1941 CALL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed September 28, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Bud Clancy, Santa Barbara Saints .344 H Spider Jorgensen, Santa Barbara Saints 184 2B Spider Jorgensen, Santa Barbara Saints 43 3B George Silvey, Fresno Cardinals 19 HR Mel Serafini, Fresno Cardinals 20
Pitching leaders 1941 CALL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed September 28, 2025 Stat Player Total W Warren Sandel, Fresno Cardinals 24 ERA William Whaley, Stockton Fliers 2.08 IP Gus Hallbourg, Anaheim Aces 275.0
Playoffs The league semi-finals were a best-of-five series. The league finals were a best-of-seven series. The Santa Barbara Saints won their first California League championship, defeating the Fresno Cardinals in five games.
Playoff bracket
Awards California League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Spider Jorgensen, Santa Barbara Saints
See also 1941 Major League Baseball season
References
External links Minor League Baseball official website