From 1893 To 2010, A History Of Tulsa Drillers

Baseball came to the city of Tulsa in 1893. The first games were played on makeshift fields, cow pastures, on the outskirts of town. <br /><br /><a href="http://managekotv.worldnow.com/ContentMgmt/oneokfield.com/" target="_blank">ONEOK Field</a> | <a href="http://tulsa.drillers.milb.com/">Tulsa Drillers</a>

Thursday, April 8th 2010, 9:33 am

By: News On 6

From 1893 To 2010, A History Of Tulsa Drillers

By Scott Thompson, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Baseball came to the city of Tulsa in 1893. The first games were played on makeshift fields, cow pastures, on the outskirts of town.

Tulsa's first professional game was played in 1905 at the city's new field - "Athletic Park" at West Archer and Elwood.

The team, then known simply as "Tulsa", moved to two other ballparks before settling at "McNulty Park" in 1919.

The field at Tenth and Elgin was home to Tulsa baseball for a decade.

In 1934, after brief stint in a spot now occupied by Fair Meadows Race Track.

Tulsa baseball moved to its new home, "Tulsa County Stadium," in another section of the fairgrounds.

The name was changed the following year to "Texas League Park" and it was there that the team's biggest fan started what would become a Tulsa baseball tradition.

Andy Andrews yelled before every home game until 1971. He passed away the following year, but his battle cry was broadcast over the PA system at certain Drillers games for decades to follow.

Texas League Park was renamed Oiler Park in 1961 and by then the wooden stadium had started to show its age.

In 1977, part of the stands collapsed under the weight of fans seeking shelter from a storm.

No one was killed, but twenty people were hurt and the city of Tulsa bulldozed the park.

On April 16th 1981, the first pitch was thrown out at Tulsa's new stadium at 15th and Yale.

The park was named "Driller's Stadium" in 1990. After the Tulsa Drillers, who took the same name during the last few years at Oiler Park.

Now, more than a century after the city's first pitch, Tulsa baseball has come home to downtown, bringing with it a piece of the past.

In October of 2009, a helicopter flew the home plate from the old Drillers Stadium to the new ONEOK Field.

The sparkling stadium is the crown jewel in a pitch to revive what was once the heart of a vibrant city. It's a diamond in the rough, ready to catch new memories as they're made.