The Oklahoma City Slickers was the name given to two different American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

clubs based in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. The first team competed in the second American Soccer League in 1982 and 1983, and as the Oklahoma City Stampede in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

in 1984 and 1985. The second Oklahoma City Slickers competed in the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

from 1993 to 1996.

Oklahoma City Slickers (1982–85)

In 1982, the first Oklahoma City Slickers joined the de facto second division American Soccer League. The Slickers went to the championship series, losing to the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express was a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Jimmy Hill, Roger Fa ...

. Head coach

Brian Harvey Brian Lee Harvey (born 8 August 1974) is a British singer from London. He was the lead singer of pop group East 17. The later incarnation of the band, E-17, had two top 20 singles on the UK Singles Chart between 1998 and 1999, with the album ' ...

was the ASL Coach of the Year. In 1983, the Slickers finished last in the league. The American Soccer League collapsed following the 1983 season. This led to the creation of the

in 1984. The Slickers joined the new league, changing their name to the Oklahoma City Stampede. The club once again came tantalizingly close to a league championship, winning the regular-season title on point differential over the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun. Origins The United S ...

but falling in the semifinals to the

Houston Dynamos Houston Dynamos was a U.S. soccer team that existed in various forms from 1983 to 1991. In 1991, the team's owners changed the name to Houston International, but the team lasted only through the 1992 season before folding. The Dynamos were foun ...

in a three-game series. This success was short-lived. After the 1984 season, the club relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma at the

Tulsa Tornados The Tulsa Tornados were a professional soccer team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played for one season (1985) in the USL. The 1985 season only lasted six games as the league folded halfway through. Established by David Fraser during the spring of 19 ...

, with Brian Harvey still serving as head coach. The USL folded in the spring of 1985 after just a handful of games. During its short existence, Oklahoma City's best-known players were goalkeeper Phil Parkes and

Jeff Bourne Jeffrey Albert Bourne (19 June 1948 – 31 July 2014) was an English footballer who played as a striker. Born in Linton, Derbyshire, he spent most of his early career in the lower English divisions before moving to the United States where he p ...

, both veterans of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and

English First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. Home games were played at historical (but woefully narrow for soccer purposes)

Taft Stadium Taft Stadium is a WPA-built stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is the current home to teams from Northwest Classen High School, John Marshall High School, Classen School of Advanced Studies, Oklahoma Centennial High School, as well as a profes ...

in Oklahoma City.

Year-by-year

Notable players

(1982) 20 Goals * David Kemp (1984) * Phil Parkes (1982) 28 Games 0 Goals *

Thompson Usiyan Thompson Usiyan (27 April 1956 – 31 August 2021) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the NCAA Division I career scoring record and played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, ...

(1984) *

Delroy Allen Delroy Allen (born 6 October 1958 Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a retired Jamaican-American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, American Soccer League and United Soccer League. Early life Allen attend ...

(1984) 22 Apps 0 Goals

Oklahoma City Slickers (1993–96)

In February 1993, the

United States Interregional Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

announced the merger of the

Oklahoma City Warriors The Oklahoma Warriors were a soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that competed in the SISL and USISL. Founded in 1986 by head coach and owner Chico Villar, the Warriors played their home games at the Indoor Soccer Arena, owned by Villa ...

of the USISL and the Oklahoma City Spirit of the

Lone Star Soccer Alliance Lone Star Soccer Alliance was a soccer league that existed from 1987 to 1992. While most of the teams came from Texas, some also came from Oklahoma and Kansas. History First proposed by the Houston Dynamos, on April 18, 1987, the Lone Star So ...

. The new team would compete in the USISL using the name the Oklahoma City Slickers. Brian Harvey coached the Slickers in their first year with Warriors head coach

Chico Villar Nestor “Chico” Villar (born 13 March 1947) is a retired Peruvian-American soccer player and coach. He was a two-time Coach of the Year in the Southwest Indoor Soccer League. Coaching career Villar played professionally in Peru for seven ye ...

serving as an assistant and team general manager. The team also returned to Taft Stadium.Slickers Host Dallas in Debut
/ref> In 1994, Duane Cummings replaced Harvey as head coach. The Slickers withdrew from the league and disbanded after the 1995–96 USISL indoor season.

Year-by-year

References

{{United Soccer League (1984–85) United Soccer League (1984–85) teams Soccer clubs in Oklahoma City Defunct soccer clubs in Oklahoma American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams 1982 establishments in Oklahoma 1985 disestablishments in Oklahoma Soccer clubs in Oklahoma Association football clubs established in 1982 Association football clubs disestablished in 1985 Association football clubs established in 1993 Association football clubs disestablished in 1996 1993 establishments in Oklahoma 1996 disestablishments in Oklahoma Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States