The Olean Oilers are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Olean, New York playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League since 2012.
The Olean Oilers were a minor league baseball team which played primarily in the New York–Penn League from 1939 to 1966, with a hiatus in 1960. Starting in 1952, the team often shared nicknames with its major league affiliates.
Both teams played their home games at Bradner Stadium.
History Professional team The 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.
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 May 11, 1939, was played in front of 3,300 spectators.
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.
Collegiate summer team Starting in 2012, the Olean Oilers name has been 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. 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. The Oilers eventually agreed to jump to the PCGBL in 2025.
Year-by-year professional record 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
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
External links Olean - Baseball Reference Official site of the current team This 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.