1942 was the third of nine seasons for the Pacific Coast Football League. The PCFL was a professional American football league based in California. It operated from 1940 through 1948. One of the few minor American professional sports leagues that competed in the years of World War II, the PCFL was regarded as a minor league of the highest level, particularly from 1940 to 1945, at a time in which the National Football League did not extend further west than Chicago and Green Bay. It was also the first professional football league to have a team based in Hawaii (the Hawaiian Warriors). Formed from the wreckage of a failed California Pro Football League, the PCFL showcased the Los Angeles Bulldogs and the Hollywood Bears. The league became the “home” of African American football stars (including Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, and, briefly, Jackie Robinson) as the NFL had developed and enforced a color barrier in 1934 and extended until 1946. Military service wreaked havoc with the teams rosters. Bears owner/coach Paul Schlisser left for the war as Kenny Washington was injured most of the abbreviated season. The Bulldogs roster was depleted by the war effort. Members of the PCFL also played games with two military teams, the March Field Flyers and the Santa Ana Flyers in response to increasing public interest. San Diegos Steve Bagarus became a star with his versatility as his team won the league title and held its own against the March Field Flyers. The Santa Ana Flyers were 5-0 against the league and claimed the “extended PCL championship.” The San Diego Bombers would take advantage of the depleted rosters of the Los Angeles Bulldogs and the Hollywood Bears, and rise to the top of the league to lay claim to the 1942
PCFL Champioship with an excellant 4-1-0 record.