Football | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

Football | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

Semi-pro football in Tulsa: "In Tulsa the Oilers formed in 1966 and played in the Texas Professional Football League, played the 1967 season as the Thunderbirds, moved to Bartlesville as the Quickkicks, and folded. In 1974 the Tulsa Knights organized in the Mid-America League but disbanded in 1975. The Tulsa Mustangs played five games of a fifteen-game American Football Association (AFA) season [in 1979] before disbanding. In 1982 the Tulsa Thunder played in AFA but died when the city announced that it had attracted a United States Football League (USFL) team. In 1983 a San Diego team shifted to Tulsa as the Oklahoma Outlaws and signed Doug Williams, the first established NFL quarterback to move to the young league. In 1984 the team moved to Arizona."

The Tulsa Mustangs were coached by Glenn Dobbs, retired coach of the University of Tulsa where he was known for an aggressive passing game. The Mustangs managed only a 1-4 record, drawing tiny crowds to Skelly Stadium, before they shut down. The Sackheads, a group of regular callers to Hal O'Halloran's "SportsNite" talk show on KXXO 1300, attended one of the games "in sack."