Plymouth Oil Company and Plymouth Oilers

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little South Texas flavor. Plymouth Oil Company came out of Pennsylvania, founded in 1923 by a man named M.L. Benedum, though everybody called him Mike.

Now Mike Benedum passed in 1959, so he didn't see every chapter of this story close out, but the company he built left a mark on San Patricio County that folks still feel. Plymouth set up its operations headquarters right there in Sinton, and that wasn't just a business address. It was a commitment.

Jobs, company housing, health benefits, retirement benefits. For a lot of local workers, Plymouth wasn't just a paycheck, it was a way of life. Then came the leases.

In 1933, Plymouth started leasing vast amounts of property in the area. That's a lot of ground to be watching over, and they were patient with it. Two years later, in 1935, that patience paid off.

Out on the Welder Ranch, they brought in a well. Welder Well C-1. Oil in San Patricio County, and that was just the beginning. 1937 brought the second major discovery, the Brigham Well No. 1, out in the East White Point Field south of Taft.

The company was finding it, and Sinton was growing around it. But here's the part of this story that nobody saw coming, and it might be the part worth remembering longest. In 1949, a company executive named W.M.

Griffith, another Mike, organized a baseball team. The Plymouth Oilers. Semi-professional ball, right there in Sinton.

Griffith passed in 1954, but not before he'd given that community something remarkable. Plymouth hired proven players as permanent employees and brought in college athletes every summer. They built Oiler Park themselves, and when the Oilers played, those games were major community events.

People showed up. And the team delivered. In 1951, the Plymouth Oilers won state, national, and world semi-pro championships.

Read that back. State. National.

World. Out of Sinton, Texas. The Oilers played until 1957, and Plymouth Oil kept operating until 1962, when Ohio Oil Company came in and purchased it.

Ohio Oil later became known as Marathon Oil. So the name changed, the era ended, but before it did, one Pennsylvania oil company and one semi-pro baseball team had quietly, profoundly shaped a corner of South Texas that still carries the story.

What the marker says

Pennsylvania-based Plymouth Oil Company was founded in 1923 by M.L. "Mike" Benedum (d. 1959). With operations headquarters in Sinton, the company profoundly affected the city's development by creating jobs, building company housing, and providing health and retirement benefits for many local workers. In 1933 Plymouth began leasing vast amounts of property in the area and in 1935 discovered oil on the Welder Ranch with completion of Welder Well C-1. In 1937 the company's second major discovery in San Patricio county was the Brigham Well No. 1 in the East White Point Field South of Taft. In 1949 company executive W.M. "Mike" Griffith (d. 1954) organized the semi-professional Plymouth Oilers baseball team, providing a tremendous boost to the Sinton area. The company hired proven players as permanent employees and employed college athletes during the summers. The team's games at company-built Oiler Park were major community events. The team won state, national, and world semi-pro championships in 1951. The baseball team played until 1957, and the company operated until 1962, when it was purchased by Ohio Oil Company, later known as Marathon Oil.