The Olean Oilers were a minor league baseball team located in Olean, New York which played primarily in the New York–Pennsylvania League from 1939 to 1966, with a hiatus in 1960. Starting in 1952, the team often shared nicknames with its major league affiliates.
| Olean Oilers | |
|---|---|
| Minor league affiliations | |
| Previous classes | Class D |
| League | New York–Penn League (1957–1962) |
Previous leagues | Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (1939–1956) |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous teams |
|
| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 4 (1939, 1940, 1950, 1961) |
| Team data | |
Previous names |
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Previous parks |
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A 2012 collegiate team with the same name played in the New York Collegiate Baseball League for several years. Both teams played their home games at Bradner Stadium.
History
editProfessional team
editThe Oilers were preceded in minor league play by the Olean Refiners. Between 1908 and 1916, The Refiners played as members of the Class D level Interstate League.[1][2]
The Oilers resumed minor league play, playing in the New York–Pennsylvania League from 1939 to 1951 and from 1955 to 1958. The league was known as the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League from 1939 to 1956. Their inaugural home game on 11 May 1939 was played in front of 3,300 spectators.[3]
The Oilers were a minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1948, the St. Louis Browns in 1949, and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1956 to 1958. The Oilers played their home games at Bradner Stadium.
The Oilers' president, Josephine Ross, was the only female president of an affiliated minor league team in 1959.[4]
Collegiate summer team
editStarting in 2012, the Olean Oilers name was revived as a member of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. The team began play in the summer of 2012, initially playing on the campus of Saint Bonaventure University before returning to a renovated Bradner Stadium in 2014; a crowd of nearly 2,000 fans watched the Oilers during their first game back at Bradner.[5] In their fourth year of play as an amateur squad, the Oilers won the 2015 NYCBL championship; the next year, the team went on a 24-game winning streak near the beginning of the season, doubling the previous league record, en route to a league record 39 wins and a second consecutive championship, won before a league record 2,876 fans at Bradner. Despite concerns over competitive balance as well as admitted discussions with the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, the Oilers have shown a general preference to stay in the NYCBL for 2017.[6]
Year-by-year professional record
edit| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 65-38 | 1st | Jake Pitler | League Champs |
| 1940 | 65-39 | 1st | Jake Pitler | League Champs |
| 1941 | 48-61 | 5th | Jake Pitler | |
| 1942 | 82-42 | 2nd | Jake Pitler | Lost League Finals |
| 1943 | 43-66 | 6th | Jake Pitler | |
| 1944 | 57-66 | 5th | John Fitzpatrick | |
| 1945 | 40-86 | 8th | John Fitzpatrick | |
| 1946 | 69-56 | 3rd | Greg Mulleavy | Lost in 1st round |
| 1947 | 66-58 | 3rd | Greg Mulleavy | Lost League Finals |
| 1948 | 60-66 | 7th | George Scherger | |
| 1949 | 39-86 | 8th | Shan Deniston / Lawrence Mancini | |
| 1950 | 71-54 | 2nd | Len Schulte | League Champs |
| 1951 | 79-48 | 1st | Orval Cott | Lost League Finals |
| 1952 | 70-55 | 3rd | Bunny Mick | Lost in 1st round |
| 1953 | 63-61 | 5th | Bill Davis / Walter Lance | |
| 1954 | 46-80 | 7th | Austin Knickerbocker / Frank Genovese | |
| 1955 | 46-80 | 8th | Paul Owens | |
| 1956 | 65-58 | 3rd | Paul Owens | Lost League Finals |
| 1957 | 52-65 | 5th | Paul Owens | |
| 1958 | 67-57 | 3rd | Benny Zientara | Lost in 1st round |
| 1959 | 57-69 | 6th | William Robertson | |
| 1961 | 64-61 | 4th | Harold Holland | League Champs |
| 1962 | 62-57 | 3rd (t) | Harold Holland | Lost League Finals |
Notable alumni
edit- Mike Andrews (1962) MLB All-Star
- Ralph Branca (1943) 3 x MLB All-Star
- Jim Coates (1951) 2 x MLB All-Star
- Hal Gregg (1941) MLB All-Star
- Jim Hannan (1961)
- Ken Harrelson (1959) MLB All-Star
- Gene Hermanski (1941)
- Bob Montgomery (1962)
- Bobby Morgan (1944)
- Danny Ozark (1942)
- Paul Owens (1951, 1955–1957)
- Bobby Richardson (1953) 8 x MLB All-Star; 1960 World Series Most Valuable Player
- Andre Rodgers (1954)
- Stan Rojek (1939)
- Mike Ryan (1961)
- José Santiago (1959) MLB All-Star
- Dick Stigman (1955) 2 x MLB All-Star
References
edit- ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
- ^ "Olean, New York Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Hamilton takes home inaugural". 12 May 1939.
- ^ Rosenbloom, Dave (November 29, 1958). "Women keeping baseball alive, says female prexy of Olean club". Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ By J.P. Butler Olean Times Herald (2014-06-07). "Crowd 'grew' as the Oilers' game wore on | Sports". oleantimesherald.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ CHUCK POLLOCK Olean Times Herald (2016-08-01). "O'Connell looks ahead after a 2nd Oilers title | Columnists". oleantimesherald.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
External links
editThis article is based on the "Olean Oilers" article at Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen. The Bullpen is a wiki, and its content is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.