The Las Vegas Wranglers were a minor league baseball team that played in various leagues in the 1940s and 1950s. They were Las Vegas's first professional team in any sport.
The Wranglers were one of the charter franchises of the Class C Sunset League in 1947. 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. Las Vegas was managed by ex-major leaguer Newt Kimball, who also won 14 games as a pitcher for the Wranglers that year.
The 21-year-old Felix led the Sunset League in nearly every offensive category 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). Felix was sold to the Class AAA Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League after the season, but never played for them; instead he wound up with the unaffiliated Denver Bears of the Western League in 1948, and with Santa Barbara (a Dodgers affiliate) in 1949. By 1953, Felix was with the AAA Montreal Royals, but was sent down to the Texas League in '54; he never played in the majors. [1][permanent dead link]
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. But the actor was shelled, allowing eleven runs in less than an inning to the Ontario, California Orioles. [2]
Later yearsedit
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 only around 20,000 then) and faced a $15,000 deficit at season's end, partially because they were no longer affiliated with the Braves. In 1949, however, the Wranglers blew the league away with an 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 had claimed Las Vegas' first pro sports championship (and last one for 37 years, until the Las Vegas Stars won the PCL crown in 1986). 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.
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. But the team finished a poor seventh and disbanded after the season when the Cal League contracted from eight teams to six.
Las Vegas would not have another professional baseball team for a quarter-century, until the Las Vegas Stars joined the Pacific Coast League in 1983.
vegas, wranglers, baseball, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, a. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Las Vegas Wranglers were a minor league baseball team that played in various leagues in the 1940s and 1950s They were Las Vegas s first professional team in any sport Las Vegas Wranglers1947 1958 1947 1952 1957 1958 Las Vegas NevadaMinor league affiliationsPrevious classesClass C 1947 1952 1957 1958 Previous leaguesCalifornia League 1958 Arizona Mexico League 1957 Southwest International League 1951 1952 Sunset League 1947 1950 Major league affiliationsPrevious teamsBoston Braves 1947 Minor league titlesLeague titles1 1949 Team dataPrevious namesLas Vegas Pirates 1958 1 Previous parksCashman Field 1948 1952 1957 1958 Park Las Vegas Boulevard amp Bonanza Avenue 1947 2 Contents 1 The first year 2 Later years 3 Notable alumni 3 4 Year by year record 5 ReferencesThe first year editThe Wranglers were one of the charter franchises of the Class C Sunset League in 1947 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 Las Vegas was managed by ex major leaguer Newt Kimball who also won 14 games as a pitcher for the Wranglers that year The 21 year old Felix led the Sunset League in nearly every offensive category 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 Felix was sold to the Class AAA Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League after the season but never played for them instead he wound up with the unaffiliated Denver Bears of the Western League in 1948 and with Santa Barbara a Dodgers affiliate in 1949 By 1953 Felix was with the AAA Montreal Royals but was sent down to the Texas League in 54 he never played in the majors 1 permanent dead link 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 But the actor was shelled allowing eleven runs in less than an inning to the Ontario California Orioles 2 Later years editLas 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 only around 20 000 then and faced a 15 000 deficit at season s end partially because they were no longer affiliated with the Braves In 1949 however the Wranglers blew the league away with an 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 had claimed Las Vegas first pro sports championship and last one for 37 years until the Las Vegas Stars won the PCL crown in 1986 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 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 But the team finished a poor seventh and disbanded after the season when the Cal League contracted from eight teams to six Las Vegas would not have another professional baseball team for a quarter century until the Las Vegas Stars joined the Pacific Coast League in 1983 Notable alumni 3 editRon Brand 1958 Tom Butters 1958 Jim Campbell 1958 Larry Foss 1958 Bob Lee 1958 MLB AS Elmo Plaskett 1958 Bob Veale 1958 2 x MLB AS 1964 NL Strikeout Leader Bill Koski 1957 Frank Gabler 1951 Ed Wheeler 1950 Newt Kimball 1947 1951 MGR Cameron Mitchell 1947 Actor pitched 1 game Year by year record editYear League Record Finish Manager Playoffs1947 Sunset League 73 67 3rd Newt Kimball Lost in 1st round1948 Sunset League 78 62 2nd Ken Meyers Lost League Finals1949 Sunset League 88 38 1st Ken Meyers none League Champs1950 Sunset League 76 69 3rd Ed Wheeler Lost in 1st round1951 Southwest International League 72 71 5th Newt Kimball1952 Southwest International League 70 66 3rd William DeCarlo none1957 Arizona Mexico League 62 74 4th Red Marion none1958 California League 54 81 overall 7th Jack Paepke San Jose moved to Las Vegas May 26References edit http www milb com content page jsp ymd 20061109 amp content id 41074920 amp sid t400 amp vkey team4 bare URL http www LasVegasWranglers com ymd 20061109 amp content id 41074920 amp sid t400 amp vkey team4 bare URL Las Vegas Nevada Encyclopedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Las Vegas Wranglers baseball amp oldid 1189634024, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
