Tulsa Oilers
- Location: Tulsa, OK
- League: Missouri Valley League 1905; South Central League 1906; Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League 1907; Oklahoma-Kansas League 1908; Western Association 1910, 1914; Western League 1919-1929, 1932; Texas League 1933-1942, 1946-1965; Pacific Coast League 1966-1968; American Association 1969-1976
- Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates 1932; Chicago Cubs 1940--1942, 1946-1947; Cincinnati Reds 1948-1954; Cleveland Indians 1955; Chicago Cubs 1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1957-1958; St. Louis Cardinals 1959-1976
- Ballpark: Oiler Park
The Tulsa Oilers played in the Missouri Valley League in 1905, the Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League in '07, the Oklahoma-Kansas League in '08, the Western Association in '10-'11, the Oklahoma State League in '12 and the WA again from '14-'17.
The Oilers were new members of the Western League in 1919. After a strong second-place finish that year, they won the pennant in '20, '22, '27, '28 and '29. While they were the strongest team in the league for a decade, they lost their home in '30 when their park was declared unsuitable by the city and other civic disputes led the team to a transfer to Topeka where they became the Topeka Senators. They made one more Western appearance, in 1932, and made it to the finals before losing. In 1923 Lyman Lamb hit 71 2Bs, and in 1924 he set the minor league record with 100.
In 1933, the Oilers joined the Texas League, where they remained for the next 33 years, except for '43-'45 when the TL shut down for World War II. The team in this era was mostly associated with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. In the last 28 years there, the team appeared in the playoffs 20 times.
With the city growing, owner A. Ray Smith moved the team to the larger Pacific Coast League in '66. They won the division that year and two years later took home the PCL championship.
When the American Association was restarted in '69, the Oilers were charter members. They finished second their first year, won the pennant in '73 and '74 and lost the Junior World Series in 1973. Stadium problems again reared their head - with the city refusing to build a new one, Smith moved the team to New Orleans where they became the New Orleans Pelicans. In their years in the AA, Tulsa had featured Ted Simmons, Jerry Reuss, Keith Hernandez, Bob Forsch and Mike Easler.
Tulsa returned to the Texas League in '77, but the Oilers nickname was replaced by Drillers and a name used for 8 decades had fallen way by the wayside.
Sources include "The Western League" by Madden and Stewart and "The American Association" by Bill O'Neal
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