The Olean Oilers were a minor league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team located in

Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern ...

which played primarily in the

New York–Pennsylvania League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

from 1939 to 1966, with a hiatus in 1960. Starting in 1959, the team shared nicknames with its major league affiliates. A 2012 collegiate team with the same name played in the

New York Collegiate Baseball League The New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1978 and sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball. Each NYCB ...

for several years. Both teams played their home games at

Bradner Stadium Bradner Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Olean, New York. The stadium, which can accommodate both baseball and football, served as home to minor-league baseball teams including the Olean Oilers and Olean Yankees. The stadium was built ...

History

Professional team

The team played in the

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 11 May 1939 was played in front of 3,300 spectators. The Oilers were affiliated with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

from 1939 to 1948, the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in 1949, and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

from 1956 to 1958. The Oilers played their home games at

. 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 was revived as a member of the

. The team began play in the summer of 2012, initially playing on the campus of

Saint Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,381 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan Brothers established the university in 1858. ...

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 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) is a 16-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010. As of 2022, all teams are within New York (state). All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to pa ...

, the Oilers have shown a general preference to stay in the NYCBL for 2017.

Year-by-year professional record

Notable alumni

Mike Andrews Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served fo ...

(1962) MLB All-Star *

Ralph Branca Ralph Theodore Joseph "Hawk" Branca (January 6, 1926 – November 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1944 through 1956. Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944� ...

(1943) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Jim Coates James Alton Coates (August 4, 1932 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Coates pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1956, 1959–62), Washington Senators (1963), Cincinnati ...

(1951) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Hal Gregg Harold Dana Gregg (July 11, 1921 – May 13, 1991) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–47), Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–50) and New York Giants (1952). Gregg batted and threw right-hand ...

(1941) MLB All-Star *

Jim Hannan James John Hannan (January 7, 1940 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American retired professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1971 for the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers. Th ...

(1961) *

Ken Harrelson Kenneth Smith Harrelson (born September 4, 1941), nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is an American former professional baseball All-Star first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 197 ...

(1959) MLB All-Star *

Gene Hermanski Eugene Victor Hermanski (May 11, 1920 – August 9, 2010) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. A native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he attended Seton Hall University. Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1939, He ...

(1941) * Bob Montgomery (1962) * Bobby Morgan (1944) *

Danny Ozark Daniel Leonard Ozark, born ''Orzechowski'' (November 26, 1923 – May 7, 2009), was an American coach and manager in Major League Baseball. As manager of the Philadelphia Phillies (1973–August 31, 1979), Ozark led the Phils to three consecutive ...

(1942) * Paul Owens (1951, 1955-1957) *

Bobby Richardson Robert Clinton Richardson, Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he fo ...

(1953) 8 x MLB All-Star; 1960 World Series Most Valuable Player *

Andre Rodgers Kenneth Andre Ian Rodgers (December 2, 1934 – December 13, 2004) was a Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the New York / San Francisco Giants (1957–60), Chicago Cubs (1961–64), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1965–67). He also played ...

(1954) *

Stan Rojek Stanley Andrew Rojek (April 21, 1919 – July 9, 1997) born in North Tonawanda, New York was a shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1942 and 1946–47), Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–51), St. Louis Cardinals (1951) and St. Louis Browns (1952). He hel ...

(1939) * Mike Ryan (1961) * José Santiago (1959) MLB All-Star *

Dick Stigman Richard Lewis Stigman (born January 24, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who appeared in seven Major League seasons (1960–1966) for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox. Born ...

(1955) 2 x MLB All-Star

References

External links

Baseball ReferenceOfficial site of the current team
This article is based on th
"Olean Oilers"
article at Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen. The Bullpen is a wiki, and its content is available under the

GNU Free Documentation License The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or simply GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the r ...

. Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Defunct minor league baseball teams Amateur baseball teams in New York (state) Defunct New York–Penn League teams Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates New York Yankees minor league affiliates Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Baseball teams established in 1939 Baseball teams disestablished in 1962 1939 establishments in New York (state) 1962 disestablishments in New York (state) Cattaraugus County, New York {{NewYork-baseball-team-stub