Minor league baseball team
Oklahoma City Indians
|
---|
|
|
Class
|
- Double-A
(1946?1957)
- Class A1
(1936?1942)
- Class A (1918?1935)
- Class B (1911)
- Class C (1905?1910)
- Class D (1904, 1912, 1914?1917)
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League
| |
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|
Team
| |
---|
|
Dixie Series titles
(1)
| 1935
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League titles
(4)
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|
Name
|
- Oklahoma City Indians (1918?1942, 1946?1957)
- Oklahoma City Boosters (1917)
- Oklahoma City Senators (1915?1916)
- Oklahoma City Boosters (1914)
- Oklahoma City Indians (1909?1912)
- Oklahoma City Mets (1904?1908)
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Ballpark
| Holland Field, Texas League Park, Western League Park
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
| |
---|
The
Oklahoma City Indians
was the primary name of an American
professional baseball
team representing
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different
minor league baseball
leagues, primarily the
Texas League
and the
Western League
. The team was known as the
Mets
,
Boosters
, and
Senators
at different times during its early years.
History
[
edit
]
A team representing Oklahoma City first played in the
Southwestern League
in 1904.
[4]
The city was represented continuously in
minor league baseball
through 1957, except for four seasons.
[4]
Following the disbanding of the
Oklahoma State League
during the 1912 season, Oklahoma City did not have a professional team in 1913, although several
Western League
teams played exhibition games in the city.
[5]
During World War II, play was suspended for three seasons, 1943?1945, and resumed in 1946.
[6]
In addition to competing in the Southwestern League in 1904 and the Oklahoma State League in 1912, Oklahoma City teams played in the
Western Association
during 1905?1908 and 1914?1917; the
Texas League
during 1909?1911, 1933?1942 and 1946?1957; and the Western League from 1918 to 1932.
[4]
Oklahoma City teams played their home games at Western League Park, Holland Field and Texas League Park.
[7]
Minor league classifications varied somewhat during the team's lifetime, but the Western and Texas leagues of the post-World War I era?rated Class A, A1 or
Double-A
?were high-level circuits that usually ranked two notches below
Major League Baseball
calibre.
The Indians won the 1935 Texas League championship and two years later captured 101 regular-season victories, but generally struggled in the Texas League standings. Additionally, they won the 1935
Dixie Series
, a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the
Southern Association
and the Texas League.
[8]
In the club's last three seasons, 1955?1957, it lost 90, 106 and 88 games. The team spent the post-World War II period as the Double-A affiliate of the
Cleveland Indians
, but the Oklahoma City Indians' nickname long preceded that relationship. The Indians team spent many years as an unaffiliated franchise, and in its last two seasons was a
farm club
of the
Boston Red Sox
.
Baseball Hall of Fame
player
Rogers Hornsby
managed the Indians for part of the 1940 season, and broadcaster
Curt Gowdy
launched his baseball announcing career with the postwar Indians; when he left in early 1949, Gowdy's replacement was
Bob Murphy
.
[9]
Both Gowdy and Murphy went on to win the
Ford C. Frick Award
from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Former minor league player and manager
Jimmie Humphries
, who owned the team during the 1950s, was with the Indians in different capacities from 1919 through 1957, "one of the longest careers with a single franchise in baseball history."
[10]
The Oklahoma City Indians folded when the Texas League reorganized following the 1957 season. Five years later, the
Oklahoma City 89ers
,
Triple-A
affiliate of the
Houston Colt .45s
, then a major league
expansion team
(now known as the
Houston Astros
), debuted in the
American Association
. The Triple-A franchise has played continuously since 1962, and since 2015 has been the
Oklahoma City Dodgers
.
Notable alumni
[
edit
]
Players with Oklahoma City who also appeared in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) include:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Rice, Pete (July 22, 1951).
"Humphries Swings Deal for Ball Club"
.
The Daily Oklahoman
.
Oklahoma City
. p. 1
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
a
b
Pierce, Don (August 26, 1945).
"Pope Buys Indian Baseball Stock, C. R. Virtue Out"
.
The Daily Oklahoman
.
Oklahoma City
. p. 21
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
"Oil Man Buys Oklahoma City's Baseball Club"
.
Cushing Daily Citizen
.
Cushing, Oklahoma
.
UP
. November 30, 1942. p. 4
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
a
b
c
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007).
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
(third ed.). Baseball America.
ISBN
9781932391176
.
- ^
"Jingle of Coin will be an Effective Lobbyist"
.
The Daily Oklahoman
.
Oklahoma City
. February 23, 1913. p. 10
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
"Take a Gander at Tribe Park, It's Getting a Facelifting"
.
The Daily Oklahoman
.
Oklahoma City
. January 13, 1946. p. 22
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
Nichols, Max, "Stadium Name Change Follows Tradition", Oklahoma City Journal Record, October 7, 2002
- ^
"Dixie Series Title Goes to Oklahoma City"
.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
. Knoxville. October 7, 1935. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Murphy Takes Post to Air Indians Games"
.
The Daily Oklahoman
.
Oklahoma City
. February 6, 1949. p. 4B
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
– via newspapers.com.
- ^
Burke, Bob (2003).
Baseball in Oklahoma City
. Arcadia Publishing. p. 10.
ISBN
1531617832
– via
Google Books
.