Former Tulsa Oiler Jim Hickman dies at 79
Hickman played for the Oilers for two seasons before becoming an All-Star for the Chicago Cubs.
A farewell to people with Oklahoma ties who enjoyed the game day experience:
• Jim Hickman, 79, of Jackson, Tenn., played the 1959 and 1960 baseball seasons for the Tulsa Oilers. The outfielder hit 37 home runs over those two seasons. Hickman would make his major league debut in 1962 with the expansion New York Mets. He was the first Mets player to hit three homers in a game and hit for the cycle. Hickman played five seasons for New York, then moved on to the Chicago Cubs, where he was a National League All-Star. He farmed and was a hitting instructor for the Cincinnati Reds after his playing days.
• Tony Martin, 34, of Oklahoma City. Wrestled for U.S. Grant as a high schooler, then coached the sport at the OKC Dream Center.
• Al Cuite, 71 of Tulsa. Cuite crafted the championship hardware waiting at the finish line. He worked in the trophy and award business.
• Pete Sproat, 89, of Oklahoma City was an Okeene native. Lettered for the Whippets in football, basketball and baseball. Sproat left high school in 1944 to enter the Army. As a member of the 6th armored division, he helped with the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. The retired FAA worker liked to play golf.
• Robert “Lou” Brown, 68, of Edmond. Inducted into the Alabama A&M University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 for excellence in football, tennis and cheerleading. In 1981, Brown coached the A&M men’s and women’s tennis teams to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. Brown retired from Langston University in 2008 as a physical education faculty member. While at Langston, Brown also served as physical education academic adviser, faculty athletic representative and was a past president of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.
• Hal Weisbein, 81, of Topsham, Maine, was a tenured professor of health and physical education at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma from 1967-1991. Before arriving in Chickasha, Weisbein was a baseball coach at Clearview High School in Woodbury, N.J., leading the Pioneers to a state championship just five years after the program’s inaugural season. Clearview High later dedicated the field in Weisbein’s honor.
• Tom Kensler, 64, of Lakewood, Colo. He covered Oklahoma State and Oklahoma as a sports writer at The Oklahoman in the 1980s. Tom left OKC in 1989 and spent the rest of his award-winning journalism career with The Denver Post sports
department. The Ohio State graduate was a great teammate and friend who always enjoyed a good laugh.
• Leon Ross, 82, of Del City was a coach for more than 40 years. Stops included Webster Middle School and the McLoud School District.
• DeeAnn Dudenhoeffer Smith, 79, of Oklahoma City. Played basketball and was a majorette at Grandfield High School.
• Glenn Lumry, 77, of Choctaw was a competitive runner. Started competing at 47 and set several records for his age group. Participated in several duathlons and triathlons. Ran the Boston Marathon three times. Selected by Inside Triathlon as an All-American in 1999 for the duathlon men’s 60-64 age group. Family estimated that Lumry ran more than 20,000 miles over a 14-year career.
• Mike Strahler, 69, of Alamogordo, N.M. Played part of the 1975 baseball season with the Oklahoma City 89ers. The right-hander was 0-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 10 relief appearances. Strahler quit baseball after that season and spent 35 years as a mechanical engineer for Proctor & Gamble.
• Tommy McKown, 85, of Oklahoma City. Played football at Maud High School. An Oklahoma Sooners fan.
• Ronnie Waters, 76, of Oklahoma City coached youth football in the Northside All Sports Association. Director of human resources for Kerr-McGee.
• Lyle Rowley, 83, of Oklahoma City. Worked as a pin setter at a bowling alley as a boy.
• Freddie Young Sr., 69, of Oklahoma City. Attended Lovington High School, where he excelled in football, basketball and track. A member of the school’s record-setting relay team in 1965. The Vietnam veteran later owned the bowling pro shop at Penn 44 Lanes. Followed the Sooners, New York Yankees and Notre Dame. A fan of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana.
• Gene Mahanay, 77, of Clinton. The businessman served on the Clinton Golf Board and was instrumental in the addition of nine new holes to the western Oklahoma town’s existing course.
• Sherman Owen, 33, of Bartlesville raced stock cars at Caney Valley, Mid-American and Port City speedways. Also raced a midget sprint car at the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa.
• Gordy Colis, 78, of Lawton. The North Dakota native played basketball at Valley City College High School. He still holds the single-game record for points. A retired Army pilot.
• Don Blagg, 73, of Weatherford. Played football for Thomas’ Class C state champion in 1957. Worked in construction.
• Larry Bryant, 33, of Oklahoma City. Starred in basketball at Reydon High School. Played in the annual K101 Classic. Worked in the oil fields by trade.