Topekan Harland Coffman is shown here accepting a trophy in a Topeka Decker Oilers uniform. The photograph likely was taken during a state semi-pro baseball tournament in Wichita. Coffman pitched in the minor leagues between 1948 and 1953, but played for the Decker Oilers in 1947 and again between 1953 and 1960. The team was a perennial contender for the state semi-pro baseball title in the 1940s and 1950s, and was managed by Harland's father, A.L. 'Pooch' Coffman (also known as Al and Vern). Other family members who played with the team were Harland's brother Burton, and his uncles Ed and Junior Coffman. Digital reproduction of the photograph was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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