Volume 12 , Issue 31

Early Tulsa Oilers Baseball

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. For most of their history, they played at Oiler Park, which opened on July 11, 1934, and was located on the Tulsa County Fairgrounds at 15th Street and Sandusky Avenue.

Early years -- In 1905, the Oilers were part of the Missouri Valley League. That year, they finished 44 and 58 under manager Charlie Schafft. 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 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 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. 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. 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. -- Tulsa Oilers Baseball - Wikipedia   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---