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.