Tulsa Oilers (1928–1951)

The Tulsa Oilers were a professional ice hockey team. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, they operated within the American Hockey Association for almost 15 years and were later members of the United States Hockey League for the circuit's entire existence.
==History==
Walter Whiteside brought professional ice hockey to Tulsa in 1928 when he founded the Oilers. The new franchise was led by Dick Carroll and sported former and future NHLers like Duke Keats, Tom Cook and Ted Graham. Tulsa won the league championship twice in its first three seasons and firmly established itself as the premier team in the league. Carroll departed after the third year and the team sank to the bottom of the standings.
Prior to the team's fifth season, the franchise was moved north to Saint Paul, Minnesota, hoping to save money on travel by being nearer to the other AHA cubs. While the operating costs were reduced, the team was in direct competition with the St. Paul Saints, who had long been established in the city. After the first half of the season, the team moved back to Tulsa and finished out the year as the Oilers once more. The team was then renamed as the 'Tulsa Indians' for the 1933–34 season but, once again, they reverted to being the Tulsa Oilers before the year was complete.
The fans saw fit not to punish the Oilers for leaving during the height of the great depression and continued to support the team. The Oilers saw less success in the late 20s than they had at the start of the decade but the team was still able to make two more appearance in the league finals. In 1942 the American Hockey Association suspended operations due to World War II and the Oilers were mothballed for the duration. After the war, the United States Hockey League was created to replace the AHA and Tulsa returned as one of the founding members. The Oilers were one of the top postseason teams in the league, making the finals three times in six years. Unfortunately, the by the early 50s the league was fracturing and despite the possibility of continuing, the USHL was disbanded after the summer meeting in 1951."Revamping expected at U.S. league meet," Toronto Star, June 16, 1951, p. 16.
==Season by season results==
===AHA===
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	Pts	Finish 	Coach(es) 	Postseason
1928–29	40 	23 	9 	8 	54 	1st 	Dick Carroll 	Won Championship
1929–30	48 	18 	14 	16	52 	3rd 	Dick Carroll 	Lost in Finals
1930–31	48 	30 	15 	3 	60 	1st 	Dick Carroll 	Won Championship
1931–32	48 	16 	28 	4 	32 	5th 	Shorty Green 	missed
1932–33	45 	21 	23 	1 	42 	3rd 	Kay Iverson / Gerry Lowrey / Helge Bostrom / Yip Foster	Lost in Semifinal
1933–34	48 	23 	25 	0 	46 	3rd 	Ralph Taylor / Vic Desjardins 	Lost in Semifinal
1934–35	48 	23 	21 	4 	46 	T–2nd 	Vic Desjardins 	Lost in Finals
1935–36	48 	21 	27 	0 	42 	T–3rd 	? 	Lost in Semifinal
1936–37	48 	17 	24 	7 	34 	6th 	Henry Maracle / Fred Gordon 	missed
1937–38	48 	22 	21 	5 	44 	4th 	Fred Gordon 	Lost in Semifinal
1938–39	50 	25 	23 	2 	50 	3rd 	Fred Gordon 	Lost in Final
1939–40	46 	16 	30 	0 	32 	6th 	Fred Gordon 	missed
1940–41	48 	14 	34 	0 	28 	6th 	Pete Palangio / Connie King / Andy Bellemer 	missed
1941–42	50 	13 	34 	3 	29 	3rd in South	Guy Patrick 	Lost in Quarterfinal
Total 	663	282	328	53	 	 	 	2 Championships
===USHL===
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	Pts	Finish 	Coach(es) 	Postseason
1945–46	56 	27 	25 	4 	58 	3rd 	Gus Marker 	Lost in Final
1946–47	60 	17 	31 	12	46 	3rd in Southern	Gus Marker 	Lost in Quarterfinal
1947–48	66 	23 	34 	9 	55 	3rd in Southern	Clint Smith	Lost in Quarterfinal
1948–49	66 	33 	23 	10	76 	1st in Southern	Jack Riley 	Lost in Final
1949–50	70 	25 	33 	12	62 	5th 	? 	missed
1950–51	64 	30 	31 	3 	63 	4th 	Bud Poile 	Lost in Final
Total 	382	155	177	50	 	 	 	
==References==
==External links==
*Oklahoma City/Minneapolis Warriors Statistics and History
Category:American Hockey Association (1926-1942) teams
Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States
Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in Oklahoma