The 1939 edition of the Oil City Oilers (before they later became known as Tigers) posted a 9 win, 3 loss record while claiming the Louisiana Class B Northwest Louisiana Championship. They lost in the third round of the state playoffs to Clarks for the North Louisiana title and a chance to play for the state championship.
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| Coach Earl Nolan |
Their schedule and results were as follows:
Regular Season
15-Sep Oil City 7, at McLeod, (TX) 0
22-Sep Oil City 26, at Vivian 0
29-Sep at Kildare (TX) 18, Oil City 12
06- Oct Oil City 7, St. John's (Shreveport) 6
13-Oct Open
20-Oct Oil City 19, at Plain Dealing 0
27-Oct Oil City 19, Byrd JV (Shreveport) 6
03-Nov at Springhill 13, Oil City 7
10-Nov Oil City 13, Mooringsport 0
14-Nov Oil City 18, Rodessa 0
Playoffs
Oil City 30, Dubach 0
Oil City 20, Cotton Valley 19 (Northwest Louisiana Championship)
Clarks 12, Oil City 0 (North Louisiana Championship)
Recaps that could be found of individual games are as follows:
Oil City 7, McLeod, TX 0
At McLeod, 15-Sep-1939
The only details of the game found was this brief mention in a later article about McLeod's a later 12-6 to Rodessa.
Oil City 26, Vivian 0
At Vivian, 22-Sep-1939
The only known details are the location and score. Per a 2012 interview with quarterback Pat Lewis, this was the first time Oil City had ever beaten Vivian in football.
Kildare (TX) 18, Oil City 12
At Kildare, 29-Sep-1939
Oil City 7, St. John's 6
At Oil City, 06-Oct-1939
St. John's later became Jesuit High School, and is now Loyola College Prep.
Oil City 19, Plain Dealing 0
Springhill 13, Oil City 7
At Springhill, 03-Nov-1939
The only additional detail known about the game, other than the score and date, is that it was Springhill's homecoming.
Oil City 13, Mooringsport 0
At Oil City, 10-Nov-1939
Oil City 18, Rodessa 0
At Oil City, 14-Nov-1939
PLAYOFFS
Oil City 30, Dubach 0
Played at Arcadia. Halfback Herve Wilson ran for four touchdowns, two from 70 yards out, in a victory over the Plungers.
Oil City 20, Cotton Valley 19
Played at Minden.
A preview of the teams:
Down 19-7 in the first half, OC comes back with a passing attack in the second to down Cotton Valley 20-19. Quarterback Pat Lewis, who earlier in the game returned an interception for a touchdown, completed 20 passes in a row to spark the comeback. Most were to halfback Nick McBride.
Clarks 12, Oil City 0
Played at Brown Stadium in Monroe
A preview of the Clarks team, and of the game itself.
Local merchants sponsored a special train to the game so students and fans could attend.
Unfortunately, Oil City's season came to an abrupt end. as the bigger (in size and in numbers) Clarks team prevailed 12-0. Per Pat Lewis, two Oilers were hurt in the game right away and unable to continue. The Lumberjacks suited approximately 40 players, while there were only about 22 for Oil City. Frustration set in, and there were several fights in the game.
Several players received post-season honors.
All-North Louisiana Team
Note that Hudson, incorrectly listed as being from Oil City among the honorably mentioned, was actually a Cotton Valley player.
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| Daryl Bickham- 2nd Team All-North LA Center |
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| J. W. Green - 2nd Team All-North LA End |
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| Matt Iles - 1st Team All-North LA end |
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| Nick McBride - Honorable Mention All-North LA Back |
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| Lyle Osborne - 1st Team All-North LA Guard |
Class B All-State Team
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| Pat Lewis - 1st Team All-State Back |
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| Raymond Wyatt - 2nd Team All- State Tackle |
Post Script
Several of the players would in a few short years be serving their country in the armed forces during World War II. One would give his life. Herve Wilson, who ran for the four touchdowns against Dubach, would later enlist in the U. S. Marines and eventually perish on Bougainville Island in the Pacific. For his actions he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal
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| Sergeant Herve Wilson (1922-1943) |
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