Fancy Store-Bought Dirt

Gushing About The Tulsa Drillers

(Cooch asked for it... nice turn of phrase by the way.)

100 years of Tulsa baseball. Subscription-only link, so time to push the envelope on fair use:

A lot of franchises can talk about the baseball heritage in their communities. But how many can trace their history back before their area's statehood?

"Baseball history in Tulsa is very rich," said Drillers general manager Chuck Lamson, who first came to the city as a lefthander in 1979 and has been with the club in one job or another just about ever since. "We thought celebrating the 100th anniversary was a great way to honor that heritage."

[...]

The Drillers will also be having five giveaways featuring figurines made by Hartland Collectibles--the hottest thing since the bobblehead. The five people featured represent a pretty good cross-section of baseball history: Warren Spahn, who managed the 1968 Oilers, one of the best teams in minor league baseball history; Roger Maris, who played for the Oilers when they were an Indians affiliate in 1954; Sammy Sosa, who was in Tulsa as a Rangers farmhand in 1989; Ivan Rodriguez, who came through two years later; and Jeff Francis, who became Tulsa's first BA Minor League Player of the Year last season.

The team will also give out replicas of Oiler Park, a classic all-wood park built in the 1930s that served as baseball's home in the city until the 1970s. One of the many interesting stories from Tulsa baseball history involves the demise of Oiler Park: The Astros and Rangers were playing an exhibition in 1977 and part of the stadium collapsed, seriously injuring one fan. The Drillers played in a temporary facility on the same site for three years before Drillers Stadium opened in 1981.