The Golden State League was an Independent Baseball league that operated in California from 1994 to 1996.
The league had originally targeted eight teams and considered 10-12 potential sites, they were Chico, Fresno, Lodi, Long Beach, Merced, Oceanside, Oxnard, Palm Springs, Redding, Rohnert Park, California, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Yuma, Arizona, and Henderson, Nevada.
However, it eventually started play with only four teams. These were the Imperial Valley Brahmas, the Antelope Valley Ravens, the Yuma Desert Dawgs, and a traveling team, the Sierra Nevada/Southern Nomadic Miners. One team was supposed to play in Indio, California as the Indio Lil' Devils, but the city lacked a standard ball park.
Planning for the league started in 1993. Golden State immediately faced obstacles in securing municipal financing, ballparks and subsidies for new teams as well as entrenched competition from the California League. Plagued by financial difficulties, the season opener was postponed several times from the original target date of March 31, 1995. The league folded just one week after its opening game held on June 16, 1995 in Yuma.
Like most independent leagues, Golden State rosters included a mix of high school and college stars and big leaguers looking to extend their careers. Ex-major leaguers associated with Golden State included pitcher Scott Taylor (Antelope Valley), formerly of the Red Sox, and Gold Glove and all-star outfielder Ellis Valentine (manager Antelope Valley).