Tulsa Oilers (baseball)

Defunct MiLB infobox
name = Tulsa Oilers
firstseason = 1905
lastseason = 1976
allyears = by|1905 – by|1908, by|1910, by|1914, by|1919 – by|1929, by|1932 – by|1942, by|1946 – by|1976
city = Tulsa, Oklahoma

cap
lastclasslevel = Triple-A (1966-1976)
pastclasslevel =
lastleague = American Association (1969-1976)
conference =
division =
pastleague = *Pacific Coast League (1966-1968)
*Texas League (1933-1942), (1946-1965)
*Western League (1919-1929), (1932)
*Western Association (1910), (1914)
*Oklahoma-Kansas League (1908)
*Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League (1907)
*South Central League (1906)
*Missouri Valley League (1905)
lastmajorleague = St. Louis Cardinals (1959-1976)
pastmajorleague = *Philadelphia Phillies (1957-1958)
*Chicago Cubs (1956)
*Cleveland Indians (1955)
*Cincinnati Reds (1948-1954)
*Chicago Cubs (1940-1942), 1946-1947)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (1932)
lastnickname = Tulsa Oilers
pastnames =
lastballpark = Oiler Park
pastparks =
classchamps =
leaguechamps = 1919, 1920, 1922, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1936, 1949, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1973, 1974
conferencechamps=
divisionchamps = 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 [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Tulsa_Oilers] ).

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.