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.

In 1905, the Oilers were part of the Missouri Valley League. They finished 44–58 under manager Charley Shafft. The Missouri Valley League folded after 1905, and the Oilers became a charter member of the South Central League.

Under managers Frank Smith and Bill Rupp, the Oilers finished the 1906 season with a 45–42 record. The League folded, and the Oilers played in the Oklahoma–Arkansas–Kansas League in 1907. They finished with a 37–60 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 – 69–55 under managers Harry B. "Deacon" White and Stu McBirney. The league folded after only one year of existence as well.

The Tulsa Oilers did not organize in 1909. However, in 1910, they played in the Western Association. 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 74–49 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. (Until 1917 Tulsa had a team in the Western Association called the Tulsa Producers.)

In 1919, the Oilers joined the Western League, where they played from 1919 until 1929, and in 1932. Their performance during those years can be seen in the following chart.^{[citation needed]}

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, McNulty Park was declared unsuitable by the city. The team opted to move Topeka, Kansas for a spell while plans for a replacement were drawn up. In 1930 and 1931, they were known as the Topeka Senators. They returned to Tulsa in 1932, temporarily playing at Fairgrounds Park.