The Refugio Oilers were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team based in

Refugio, Texas Refugio ( ) is a town in Refugio County, of which it is the county seat, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,712 as of the 2020 Census. Refugio is the birthplace of Baseball Hall of Fame member Nolan Ryan. Geography Refugio is lo ...

and

Refugio County, Texas Refugio County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 6,741. Its county seat is Refugio, Texas, Refugio. The county originated as a Mexica ...

. Refugio is the birthplace of

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

member

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New Yo ...

. In 1938, the Oilers played as members of the Class D level Texas Valley League, qualifying for the playoffs. The Refugio Oilers team hosted home games at Ryals Field in their only season of minor league play. Today, the ballpark site is called "Lions City Park"/"Shelley Park."

History

The Refugio "Oilers" began minor league play as members of the 1938 Texas Valley League. After a nine–season hiatus, the Texas Valley League reformed as a six–team Class D level league, with the

Brownsville Charros , league = Gulf Coast League (1951–1953) , conference = , division = , past league = {{plainlist, * Rio Grande Valley League (1949–1950) * Texas Valley League (1928, 1938) *Southwest Texas League (1910–1911) , pastmajorleague = , p ...

, Corpus Christi Spudders, Harlingen Hubs,

McAllen Packers The McAllen Packers were a minor league baseball franchise based in McAllen, Texas. In 1938, the Packers played as members of the Class D level Texas Valley League, hosting home games at Legion Park. History The Packers were preceded by the 1931 ...

and

Taft Cardinals The Taft Cardinals were a minor league baseball franchise based in Taft, Texas. In 1938, the Cardinals played as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Texas Valley League in their only season of minor league play, qualifying for the play ...

joining Refugio as league members, beginning play on April 14, 1938. The Refugio "Oilers" nickname is reflective of the oil and gas production in Refugio and the surrounding region. Oil was first discovered in Refugio County in 1928, creating a population growth in the region. The Oilers finished the regular 1938 season in fourth place, qualifying for the Texas Valley League playoffs, in their only season of play. During the season, the Texas Valley League adopted a split–season schedule. On June 15, 1938, Refugio hosted Taft at home, losing by the score of 1–0. On June 17, after a rainout, Refugio and Taft played a day–night

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at Refugio, as Refugio defeated Taft 7–5 in the first game, before Taft took the night cap 17–9. On June 18, 1938, Refugio hosted Harlingen and lost 5–4, before defeating Harlingen twice: 6–3 on June 19 and 5–3 on June 20. On June 21, 1938, Refugio lost at Corpus Christi 5–1. Refugio was in fourth place with a 38–34 record on June 24, 1938, in the final first–half standings, following first place Corpus Christi, second place Harlingen and third place Taft. Refugio ended the 1938 regular season with an overall record of 67–67, playing the season under manager Carlisle Littlejohn. The Oilers finished 24.0 games behind the first place Corpus Christi Spudders in the final regular season standings. In the 1938 playoffs, the Oilers lost in first round, as Corpus Christi defeated Refugio three games to two in the final games for the franchise. TXMap-doton-Refugio

In the final regular season standings, the Corpus Christi Spudders (92–44) finished 8.5 games ahead of the second place Harlingen Hubs (84–53), with Taft (68–67) and Refugio (67–67) finishing in third place and fourth place to qualify for the four–team playoffs. Corpus Christi had won the 1st half of the split–season schedule and tied with Harlingen for the second–half championship. The McAllen Packers (65–72) and Brownsville Charros (30–103) finished in fifth and sixth place. In the league finals, Harlingen defeated Corpus Christi to win the title. Both Harlingen (

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

) and Corpus Christi (

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 ...

) were major league affiliate teams, the only two affiliated teams in the league. Player/manager Carlisle Littlejohn hit. 345 to lead the Oilers in batting, while Clem Hausmann had a 16–13 record on the mound.

Len Gilmore Leonard Preston Gilmore 'Meow''(November 3, 1917 – February 18, 2011) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who appeared in one game for the 1944 Pittsburgh Pirates season, Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1944 season. Listed at , , ...

had a 5–4 record in 12 games. Following the 1938 season, the Texas Valley League permanently folded. Refugio has not hosted another minor league team. In 1947,

member

was born in Refugio, before his family moved to

Alvin, Texas Alvin is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city population was 27,098. Alvin's claim to fame is Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan ...

when Nolan was a six weeks old.

The ballpark

The Refugio Oilers hosted minor league home games at Ryals Field. The ballpark had a capacity of 1,200 and field dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 308–420–308. Today, Ryals Field is called "Lions City Park"/"Shelley Park" and is still a public park with a ballfield and amenities, but was severely damaged by

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

in 2017.

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

(1938) * Clem Hausmann (1938) * Carlisle Littlejohn (1938) *

member

was born in Refugio. His family moved to

Alvin ''Alvin'' (DSV-2) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The original vehicle was built by General Mills' Electro ...

when he was an infant. *

Refugio Oilers players Refugio ("Refuge") may refer to: Places * Refugio County, Texas, United States ** Refugio, Texas, a town in the county * Refugio State Beach, near Santa Barbara, California * Refugio Canyon, a region near Santa Barbara, California * Refugio Creek, ...

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Refugio - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Texas Defunct baseball teams in Texas Baseball teams established in 1938 Baseball teams disestablished in 1938 Texas Valley League teams Refugio County, Texas