Oklahoma City Twisters

Minor League Football System (1990)

Background

The Oklahoma City Twisters were a one-year entry in the Minor League Football System (1989-1990), an ambitious if rather ramshackle attempt to form a nationwide feeder league for the NFL.  Twisters owner Ed Watkins was one of the league’s founders.

Watkins based his team at Robert Kalsu Stadium in Del City, Oklahoma.  The 5,500-seat high school field was named in honor of Oklahoma City native Bob Kalsu, who died in action in South Vietnam in 1970. Kalsu, who played one season with the Buffalo Bills in 1968, was one of two NFL/AFL players to perish in the Vietnam War.

The Twisters hired former Detroit Lions head coach (1985-1988) Darryl Rogers as Head Coach and General Manager.  (Rogers would leave midway through the 1990 season). Rogers used his connections to put together an intriguing roster for what amounted to a semi-pro football team.  Former Oklahoma State and Detroit Lions quarterback Rusty Hilger started the Twisters’ first game before returning to the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks.  Defensive lineman Ben Rudolph played five seasons with the New York Jets from 1981 to 1986.  Former OU running back Rod Pegues, a backfield mate of Herschel Walker with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals, was in camp with Twisters, although it’s not clear if he made the team.

Demise

The Twisters finished their only season with a 7-2 record. The Minor League Football System cut short their 1990 regular season by several weeks due to chronic financial stress across the league and went right into an early playoff. The defending champion Pueblo Crusaders, who dealt Oklahoma City their only two losses of the regular season, eliminated the Twisters 21-10 in the semi-final game on September 22, 1990.

The Minor League Football System quietly faded away after the season.

Links

Minor League Football System Programs

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