This photograph from the early 1950s shows a young Dawn Coffman posing on the bus used by the Topeka Decker Oilers semi-pro baseball team. Her father, Harland Coffman, was a minor league pitcher (1948-1953) who played for the Decker Oilers both before and after his minor league career. Her grandfather, A.L. 'Pooch' Coffman was the team's long-time manager. Other family members also played on the team, including Pooch's brothers Junior and Ed, as well as his other son, Burton. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the Decker Oiler team was a perennial contender for the state semi-pro baseball title, competing each year in the state tournament held in Wichita. Digital reproduction of the photo was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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