The Tulsa Oilers won the Central Hockey League’s Adams Cup three times. The 1984 title, won by a team that finished the season on the road, gets most of the attention. The other two deserve their own story. In 1968, a Toronto Maple Leafs farm club swept its way to the championship. In 1976, the “Jolly Green Giants” became the only Oilers team to win a title on home ice. This is the story of Tulsa’s Adams Cup champions of 1968 and 1976.
Quick answer: The 1967-68 Oilers finished first in the CPHL’s Northern Division at 37-22-11 and swept the Fort Worth Wings in the final. The 1975-76 Oilers led the CHL with 100 points and 301 goals, swept Oklahoma City and then beat the Dallas Black Hawks in five games, clinching the Adams Cup in Tulsa. League records and the Oilers’ own history feature on the 1975-76 team document both seasons.
The Adams Cup and the Old Central Hockey League
The Central Professional Hockey League began in 1963 as a development league for NHL organizations, and it shortened its name to the Central Hockey League in 1968. Its championship trophy was the Adams Cup. Then, in 1964, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited placed a Toronto farm team in Tulsa. Our history of hockey in Tulsa covers how that era began after the old Coliseum burned in 1952.
At the time, every club was tied to an NHL parent, so rosters were full of prospects. As a result, a CHL championship often meant a team had a deep pipeline of future NHL players.
1967-68: A Sweep for the Maple Leafs’ Farm Club
The 1967-68 Oilers finished first in the Northern Division with 37 wins, 22 losses and 11 ties for 85 points, according to compiled league standings. Meanwhile, their closest division rival, the Kansas City Blues, finished 13 points behind.
| Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Oilers | 37-22-11 | 85 |
| Kansas City Blues | 31-29-10 | 72 |
| Memphis South Stars | 24-34-12 | 60 |
| Omaha Knights | 14-46-10 | 38 |
In the playoffs, Tulsa went through a seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Blazers, the Southern Division’s top team, before sweeping the Fort Worth Wings 4-0 in the final. For Tulsa fans, beating Oklahoma City first made the title even sweeter; our story on the Oilers-Blazers rivalry explains why.
It was the first Adams Cup in Tulsa’s history, and it came only four seasons after pro hockey returned to the city.
A Franchise Shuffle in the Early 1970s
Between the two titles, however, Tulsa’s team changed hands. In the spring of 1973, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited announced it would move its Tulsa club to Oklahoma City to revive the Blazers, while Tulsa received a replacement team. Later, by 1975, the Oilers were the CHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, and their jerseys mirrored the Canucks’ look of the time, according to the Oilers’ 2021 history feature.
1975-76: The Jolly Green Giants, Adams Cup Champions on Home Ice
The 1975-76 Oilers were one of the most dominant teams the old CHL ever saw. They led the league with 301 goals, allowed 228 and were the only team to reach 100 points that season. Meanwhile, they also piled up 1,515 penalty minutes, second-most in the league, so they could play any style.
| Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Oilers | 45-21-10 | 100 |
| Dallas Black Hawks | 41-24-11 | 93 |
| Salt Lake Golden Eagles | 37-35-4 | 78 |
| Oklahoma City Blazers | 32-34-10 | 74 |
| Fort Worth Texans | 29-31-16 | 74 |
| Tucson Mavericks | 14-53-9 | 37 |
Standings: 1975-76 CHL season records.
The playoff run
Tulsa swept Oklahoma City in four games and then beat the Dallas Black Hawks in five games to win the Adams Cup. According to the Oilers, it remains the only Oilers championship clinched on Tulsa ice. By contrast, Tulsa clinched both the 1968 and 1984 titles elsewhere.
The players
Danny Seguin captained the team, Jim Wiley was its leading scorer and Brad Gassoff as its enforcer. Rick Bowness, who later spent decades as an NHL coach, was also on the roster. Remarkably, 24 members of that team played in the NHL, according to the club’s history feature. Our list of famous Tulsa Oilers alumni includes Bowness and other notable names.
How Tulsa’s Adams Cup Champions Compare
| Season | Regular season | Final | Where it was clinched |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-68 | 1st in Northern Division, 85 pts | Swept Fort Worth Wings | Not in Tulsa* |
| 1975-76 | 1st overall, 100 pts | Beat Dallas Black Hawks in five | Tulsa |
| 1983-84 | 2nd of 5, 36-27-5 | Swept Indianapolis Checkers | Indianapolis |
*Based on the Oilers’ statement that 1975-76 is the only title won on Tulsa ice. For the full 1984 story, read Champions Without a Home.
Why These Adams Cup Champions Still Matter
Today, the Oilers are celebrating their 75th season in 2026-27. Over all those seasons, only a handful of Tulsa teams finished a season as league champions, and the Adams Cup champions of 1968 and 1976 are two of them. For today’s fans, they are also a reminder that winning in Tulsa has always depended on deep rosters, strong NHL partners and a building full of support. For the current club’s path, see our guide to the Kelly Cup playoffs.
Published Oct. 25, 2026. Standings come from compiled league records; playoff details for 1975-76 come from the Tulsa Oilers’ 2021 history feature. Some older records are incomplete, and we will update this article if better sources become available.
