Tombstone
Formed: September 14, 19401Baseball Officials O.K. Class C Loop, UP via The Berkeley Daily Gazette, Sep. 14, 1940
Status: Active
First Games: April 18, 19412Pro Baseball Will Open In Area Friday, Oxnard Press-Courier, Apr. 15, 1941
Seasons: 81 (through 2026)
States: 2
(CA, NV)
Leadership
Attendance
Trophy Case
Background
The modern-day California League traces its history back to September 1940, when the circuit formed with ball clubs in four California cities: Anaheim, Bakersfield, San Jose, and Fresno. Riverside was added a few weeks later,3More Class C Baseball Talk From Stockton, The Lodi News-Sentinel, Sep. 27, 1940then dropped out, while Stockton joined in mid-November.4Stockton Gets Class C Ball, The Lodi News Sentinel, Nov. 20, 1940 In January 1941, two more teams were added. One was backed by the Cincinnati Reds and based in Riverside. The other was a farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers that was eventually placed in Santa Barbara. That brought the final total to eight: Anaheim, Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Riverside, San Bernadino, Santa Barbera, and Stockton.
The league dropped to just four clubs for 1942 and then went dark for the remainder of the war years. It re-emerged in 1946. From 1941 to 1962 the California League was classified as a Class C minor league. During the 1963 re-classification of the minor league system, the California League became a Single-A league, which is the designation it still operates under today.
California League Franchise List
| FRANCHISE | YEARS ACTIVE | CALIFORNIA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Aces | 1941 | Never |
| Bakersfield Badgers | 1941-1942 | Never |
| Bakersfield Bears | 1957-1967 | Never |
| Bakersfield Blaze | 1995-2016 | Never |
| Bakersfield Boosters | 1956 | Never |
| Bakersfield Dodgers | 1968-1975 | 1970 |
| Bakersfield Dodgers | 1984-1994 | 1989 |
| Bakersfield Indians | 1946-1955 | Never |
| Bakersfield Mariners | 1982-1983 | Never |
| Bakersfield Outlaws | 1978-1979 | Never |
| Central Valley Rockies | 1993-1994 | Never |
| Channel Cities Oilers | 1954-1955 | Never |
| Fresno Cardinals | 1941-1942 & 1946-1956 | 1952, 1955 & 1956 |
| Fresno Giants | 1958-1987 | 1958, 1964, 1968, 1974, 1985 & 1987 |
| Fresno Grizzlies | 2021-Present | Never |
| Fresno Sun Sox | 1957 | Never |
| Fresno Suns | 1988 | Never |
| High Desert Mavericks | 1991-2019 | 1991, 1993, 1997 & 2016 |
| Inland Empire 66ers | 2003-Present | 2003, 2006 & 2013 |
| Lake Elsinore Storm | 1994-Present | 1996, 2001 (co-Champions), 2011, 2022, 2026 |
| Lancaster Jethawks | 1996-2019 | 2012 & 2014 |
| Las Vegas Wranglers | 1958 | Never |
| Lodi Crushers | 1966-1969 | Never |
| Lodi Crushers | 1984 | Never |
| Lodi Dodgers | 1976-1983 | 1977 & 1981 |
| Lodi Lions | 1973 | 1973 |
| Lodi Orioles | 1974-1975 | Never |
| Lodi Orions | 1972 | Never |
| Lodi Padres | 1970-1971 | Never |
| Merced Bears | 1941 | Never |
| Modesto A's | 1975-2004 | 1982, 1984 & 2004 |
| Modesto Colts | 1962-1964 | Never |
| Modesto Nuts | 2005-2025 | 2017, 2023, 2024 |
| Modesto Reds | 1946-1961 | 1950, 1954 & 1959 |
| Modesto Reds | 1966-1974 | 1966 & 1972 |
| Mudville Nine | 2000-2001 | Never |
| Ontario Tower Buzzers | 2026-Present | Never |
| Palm Springs Angels | 1986-1993 | Never |
| Rancho Cucamonga Quakes | 1993-Present | 1994, 2015 & 2018 |
| Redwood Pioneers | 1980-1985 | 1983 |
| Reno Padres | 1981-1987 | Never |
| Reno Silver Sox | 1955-1964 & 1966-1980 | 1960, 1961, 1975 & 1976 |
| Reno Silver Sox | 1988-1992 | Never |
| Riverside Pilots | 1993-1995 | Never |
| Riverside Red Wave | 1988-1990 | 1988 |
| Riverside Reds | 1941 | Never |
| Salinas Angels | 1976-1980 | Never |
| Salinas Indians | 1965 | Never |
| Salinas Mets | 1963-1964 | Never |
| Salinas Packers | 1954-1958 | 1957 |
| Salinas Packers | 1973-1975 | Never |
| Salinas Spurs | 1982-1987 & 1989-1992 | Never |
| San Bernardino Stampede | 1996-2002 | 1999 & 2000 |
| San Bernardino Spirit | 1987-1995 | 1995 |
| San Bernardino Stars | 1941 | Never |
| San Jose Bees | 1962-1976 | 1962 & 1967 |
| San Jose Bees | 1983-1987 | Never |
| San Jose Expos | 1982 | Never |
| San Jose Giants | 1988-Present | 1998, 2001 (co-Champions), 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2021, 2025 |
| San Jose JoSox | 1956-1957 | Never |
| San Jose Missions | 1979-1981 | 1979 |
| San Jose Owls | 1942 | Never |
| San Jose Pirates | 1958 | Never |
| San Jose Red Sox | 1947-1955 | 1949 & 1953 |
| Santa Barbara Dodgers | 1946-1953 | 1948 & 1951 |
| Santa Barbara Dodgers | 1964-1967 | Never |
| Santa Barbara Rancheros | 1962-1963 | Never |
| Santa Barbara Saints | 1941-1942 | 1941 |
| Santa Clara Padres | 1979 | Never |
| Stockton Fliers | 1941 | Never |
| Stockton Mariners | 1978 | Never |
| Stockton Ports | 1946-1972 | 1946, 1947, 1963, 1965 & 1969 |
| Stockton Ports | 1979-1999 & 2002-Present | 1980, 1986, 1990, 1992, 2002 & 2008 |
| Ventura Braves | 1950-1952 | Never |
| Ventura Oilers | 1953 | Never |
| Ventura Yankees | 1947-1949 | Never |
| Ventura County Gulls | 1986 | Never |
| Visalia A's | 1960-1961 | Never |
| Visalia Cubs | 1946-1952 & 1954-1956 | Never |
| Visalia Mets | 1968-1975 | 1971 |
| Visalia Oaks | 1977-1992 & 1995-2008 | 1978 |
| Visalia Rawhide | 2009-Present | 2019 |
| Visalia Redlegs | 1957-1959 | Never |
| Visalia Stars | 1953 | Never |
| Visalia White Sox | 1962 | Never |
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More teams and franchises
These additional team histories are filed under this league.
One Response
My father, Alfred Scully, was part of the California League of 1941. He owned the Merced Bears. I’ve been looking at some of the photos that I have of that time period. Are there any museums that have California League in the 40s Info?