Tulsa Oilers (baseball)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tulsa Oilers
1905 – 1976
(1905 – 1908, 1910, 1914, 1919 – 1929, 1932 – 1942, 1946 – 1976)
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Team Logo
Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • Triple-A (1966-1976)
Minor League affiliations
Major League affiliations
Name
  • Tulsa Oilers
Ballpark
  • Oiler Park
Minor League titles
League titles 1919, 1920, 1922, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1936, 1949, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1973, 1974

The Tulsa Oilers, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off in multiple leagues from 1905 to 1976. They played at Oiler Park.

In 1905, the Oilers were part of the Missouri Valley League. That year, they finished 44 and 58 under manager Charlie Schafft. Unluckily for them, the Missouri Valley League folded after 1905 and so a new league was formed - the South Central League - in which the Oilers were to be a charter team.

Under managers Frank Smith and Bill Rupp, the Oilers finished the 1906 season with a 45 and 42 record. Like the Missouri Valley League, the South Central League folded after the Oilers had been a member for only one season. Again, the Oilers would have to find a new league to play in.

They played in the Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League in 1907, where they finished with an unsavory 37 and 60 record, under Hall of Fame manager Jake Beckley. The Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League saw two teams leave, so in 1908 the Oilers played in the Oklahoma-Kansas League, which was just the aforementioned Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League minus a couple teams. They finished with the second best record in the league - 69 and 55 under managers Deacon White and Stu McBirney - but, not surprisingly, this league folded after only one year of existence as well.

The Tulsa Oilers did not organize in 1909, and therefore did not play baseball. However, in 1910, they played in the Western Association. Their first year in that league was rather unimpressive, as they finished the season 28 and 68 under managers Gus Weyhing and Con Harlow. On July 22, the Tulsa Oilers team disbanded.

From 1911 to 1913, the Tulsa Oilers were not involved in organized baseball. However, in 1914 they rejoined the Western Association, leading the league with a 74 and 49 record under manager Howard Price. Even after such an impressive season, the Oilers disbanded again, and baseball would not be played under that name until 1919.

In 1919, the Oilers joined the Western League, where they played from 1919 until 1929, and in 1932 as well. There performance during those years can be seen in the following chart (adapted from [1]).

Year League Class Record Finish Manager Playoffs
1919 Western League A 77-63 2nd Spencer Abbott League Champs
1920 Western League A 92-61 1st Spencer Abbott none League Champs
1921 Western League A 65-103 8th Jimmy Burke / Bill Clymer none
1922 Western League A 103-64 1st Jack Lelivelt none League Champs
1923 Western League A 101-67 2nd Jack Lelivelt none
1924 Western League A 98-69 3rd Jack Lelivelt none
1925 Western League A 75-91 7th Lyman Lamb / Marty Berghammer none
1926 Western League A 86-78 4th Marty Berghammer none
1927 Western League A 101-53 1st Marty Berghammer none League Champs
1928 Western League A 96-69 2nd Marty Berghammer League Champs
1929 Western League A 95-66 1st Marty Berghammer / Nick Allen none League Champs
1932 Western League A 98-48 1st Art Griggs League Champs

From 1922 to 1924, Oilers star Lyman Lamb hit 68, 71 and 100 doubles, respectively - the latter of which is a minor league record.

In 1930, the Oilers' home park was declared unsuitable by the city and so the team eventually moved to Topeka, Kansas for a spell. In 1930 and 1931, they were known as the Topeka Senators.

Although 1932 was the Oilers' final season in the Western League, it was also the first season in which they were actually affiliated with a Major League team - the Pittsburgh Pirates. That affiliation lasted that year only, however.

From 1933 to 1942, the Oilers played in the Texas League. From 1940 to 1942, they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. The Texas League was shutdown from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II, but when it started up again in 1946, the Oilers again played in the league until 1965. In 1946 and 1947, the were affiliated with the Cubs, but in 1948 they became affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. They stayed affiliated with the Reds until 1954. In 1955, they were a Cleveland Indians affiliated; in 1956, they were again a Cubs affiliate. From 1957 to 1958, they were a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate. For the rest of their existence, they were a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate. The following shows the Oilers' performance during their years in the Texas League (adapted from [2]).

Year League Class Record Finish Manager Playoffs
1933 Texas League A 65-86 6th Art Griggs
1934 Texas League A 77-75 5th Jake Atz
1935 Texas League A 82-79 4th Art Griggs Lost in 1st round
1936 Texas League A1 80-74 3rd Marty McManus League Champs
1937 Texas League A1 89-69 2nd Bruce Connatser Lost in 1st round
1938 Texas League A1 86-75 4th Bruce Connatser Lost in 1st round
1939 Texas League A1 78-82 6th Bruce Connatser / Stanley Schino
1940 Texas League A1 76-82 5th Roy Johnson
1941 Texas League A1 86-66 2nd Roy Johnson Lost League Finals
1942 Texas League A1 76-75 6th Roy Johnson
1946 Texas League AA 84-69 4th Gus Mancuso Lost in 1st round
1947 Texas League AA 79-75 4th Gus Mancuso Lost in 1st round
1948 Texas League AA 93-63 2nd Al Vincent Lost League Finals
1949 Texas League AA 90-64 2nd Al Vincent League Champs
1950 Texas League AA 83-69 3rd Al Vincent Lost League Finals
1951 Texas League AA 67-94 7th Al Vincent
1952 Texas League AA 78-83 6th Joe Schultz
1953 Texas League AA 83-71 2nd Joe Schultz Lost League Finals
1954 Texas League AA 78-83 6th Joe Schultz
1955 Texas League AA 86-75 5th Dutch Meyer / Hank Schenz
1956 Texas League AA 77-77 4th Al Widmar Lost in 1st round
1957 Texas League AA 75-79 4th Al Widmar Lost in 1st round
1958 Texas League AA 71-81 7th Al Widmar (45-54) / Jim Fanning (26-27)
1959 Texas League AA 77-67 3rd Vern Benson Lost in 1st round
1960 Texas League AA 76-68 3rd Vern Benson League Champs
1961 Texas League AA 83-55 2nd Whitey Kurowski Lost in 1st round
1962 Texas League AA 77-63 2nd Whitey Kurowski League Champs
1963 Texas League AA 74-66 3rd Grover Resinger League Champs
1964 Texas League AA 79-61 2nd Grover Resinger Lost League Finals
1965 Texas League AA 81-60 1st Vern Rapp Lost League Finals

From 1966 to 1968, the Oilers played in the Pacific Coast League. Under managers Charlie Metro (1966) and Warren Spahn (1967-1968), the Oilers finished first, eleventh and first in the league over those three years. In 1966, their record was 85-62; in 1967 it was 65-79; in 1968, it was 95-53.

During their final eight years of existence, the Oilers were members of the American Association. The following is their performance during their final eight years of existence:

1969 American Association AAA 79-61 2nd Warren Spahn none
1970 American Association AAA 70-70 5th Warren Spahn
1971 American Association AAA 64-76 7th Warren Spahn / Gary Geiger
1972 American Association AAA 78-62 3rd Jack Krol
1973 American Association AAA 68-67 3rd Jack Krol League Champs
1974 American Association AAA 76-58 2nd Ken Boyer League Champs
1975 American Association AAA 73-63 3rd Ken Boyer
1976 American Association AAA 65-70 5th Ken Boyer

Through its many years of existence, the Oilers had had many big names both play for and manage the team. Jake Beckley, Gus Weyhing, Deacon White, Gus Mancuso, Marty McManus, Whitey Kurowski, Warren Spahn and Ken Boyer all managed for the team at one point or another. Ted Simmons, Nelson Briles, Jerry Reuss, Keith Hernandez, Bob Forsch, Dal Maxvill and Mike Easler all played for the team.

Oilers owner A. Ray Smith moved the team to New Orleans after the 1976 season, where they became the New Orleans Pelicans. There was baseball played professionally in Tulsa following the 1976 season, however it has been done under a different name. The Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League filled the void that was left when the Tulsa Oilers left town.