Western League (Japanese baseball)

The is one of the two minor leagues of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the Pacific League.

History

The league was created in 1952 as the Kansai Farm League, and contained the minor league teams of the seven professional teams that had their homefields in the western region of Japan. The original teams in the league were, the Osaka Tigers, Hankyu Braves, Nankai Hawks, Nagoya Dragons, Nishitetsu Lions, Shochiku Robins, and Sanyo Crowns. The league was initially completely separate from the workings of the NPB. The Sanyo Crowns were dissolved in 1952, and the Shochiku Robins merged with the Taiyo Whales in 1953, to cut the number of teams down to five. The Kintetsu Pearls joined in 1953, but the six teams of the Central League decided to form their own minor league in 1954, and the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers dropped out of the league to leave only four teams in the league.

The league decided to join the NPB in 1955, and the 14 minor league teams of the Central League and Pacific League were split up to create the Western League and Eastern League. The new league consisted of the minor league teams of, the Hanshin Tigers, Hankyu Braves,......
Read More