Tombstone
Born: 1976 – The Tulsa Oilers relocate to New Orleans, LA
Moved: October 1977 (Springfield Redbirds)
First Game: April 15, 1977 (L 4-3 @ Oklahoma City 89ers)
Last Game: September 1, 1977 (L 11-3 vs. Oklahoma City 89ers)
American Association Championships: None
Stadium
Louisiana Superdome (62,000)11977 Denver Bears Program
Opened: 1975
Dimensions (1977): Left: 320′, Center: 410′, Right: 320′21977 Denver Bears Program
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: A. Ray Smith
Major League Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals
Attendance
Background
The New Orleans Pelicans were a One-Year Wonder that competed in the Class AAA American Association during the summer of 1977. The Pels served as the top farm club of the National League’s St. Louis Cardinals.
Club owner A. Ray Smith moved the ball club from Tulsa, Oklahoma in late 1976. At the outset, there was consensus that Smith’s team might be only a temporary resident, as New Orleans were in hot pursuit of a Major League expansion franchise to play in the city’s new $134 million Superdome, opened in 1975.
In December 1976, team officials announced that the team would be known as the New Orleans Maskers, drawing on the city’s Mardi Gras tradition. Community reaction was largely negative . Just one month later, the team dropped the Maskers name in favor of ‘Pelicans’, a nod to the city’s old Southern Association club of the same name that folded in 1959 after six decades of operation.
On The Field
The Pels finished their only season with the worst record (57-79) in the eight-team American Association.
Noteworthy players included third baseman Ken Oberkfell and future Major League managers Ton La Russa and Jim Riggelman.
1977 was La Russa’s final season as a player. He would embark on his Hall of Fame managerial career the following summer in the Chicago White Sox system.
Oberkfell went on to become the starting third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals 1982 World Series champion team. He was the last active player from the New Orleans Pelicans in pro baseball when he played his game Major League game in 1992. Oberkfell returned to New Orleans to coach the city’s Zephyrs triple-a baseball team in 1997 and 1998.
One and Done
In October 1977, owner A. Ray Smith moved the Pelicans to Springfield, Illinois where they became the Springfield Redbirds for the 1978 season.
New Orleans’ late 1970’s Major League expansion bid sputtered and died.
Minor League Baseball and the American Association returned to the Crescent City in 1993 with the arrival of the New Orleans Zephyrs. The Zephyrs (1993-2016), later re-named the Baby Cakes (2017-2019) left town for Wichita, Kansas at the end of the 2019 season.
In Memoriam
First baseman Brock Pemberton, one of six Pelicans to play over 100 games for the team in 1977, passed away on February 17, 2016 at age 62.
Links
##
One Response
I love this I really do. U see I was Miss New Orleans then. I was actually a ball girl for the organization. The players were amazing and so so sweet. It was one of my greatest honor of my reign. I wonder is u have any pics of that Time. Unfortunately I lived in Ny and hurricane Sandy flooded us. And I lost them all. God bless and thankbu in advance