Thomas Baker Slick Sr.

Thomas Baker Slick Sr.
Born	(1883-10-12) October 12, 1883 Shippenville, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	August 16, 1930(1930-08-16) (aged 46) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Oilman, wildcatter
Known for	Discovery of the Cushing Oil Field in Oklahoma; "King of the Wildcatters"
Spouse	Berenice Frates
Children	Thomas Baker Slick Jr., Betty Slick, Earl Frates Slick

Thomas Baker Slick Sr. (October 12, 1883 – August 16, 1930) was born in Shippenville, located in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, to parents Johnson M. and Mary A. Baker Slick. He rose to prominence in 1912 after uncovering what was then the largest oil field in Oklahoma, known as the Cushing Oil Field.

Early career

In 1904, Tom Slick was recruited by Alexander Massey, proprietor of Spurlock Petroleum Company, due to his reputation as an adept lease agent. Massey, who had achieved a remarkable streak of 25 successful wildcat wells in Kansas, offered Slick a 25% share of the lease profits. Their drilling operations commenced near Tryon, Oklahoma, with Slick responsible for securing leases covering roughly , while Massey managed the drilling activities.

Nevertheless, Massey depleted his capital when the well reached a depth of and subsequently shifted focus to a dry hole near Kendrick, Oklahoma. This led to the dissolution of their partnership. Following this, Slick relocated to Chicago to serve as a lease agent for Charles B. Shaffer of Shaffer & Smathers Company. His assignments took him to Kentucky, western Canada, and back to Oklahoma, where he drilled at least ten unproductive wells—earning him the moniker "Dry Hole Slick."

Resurgence

Despite earlier disappointments, Slick returned to the Tryon vicinity and resumed acquiring new leases. He later shifted his operations closer to Cushing, Oklahoma, approximately away, where local press encouraged landowners to collaborate with him. In January 1912, the Shaffer and Slick group began drilling on farmland owned by Frank Wheeler.

That year marked Slick’s discovery of Oklahoma’s largest oil field at that time, which earned him the nickname "King of the Wildcatters." After encountering several dry holes initially, his persistence paid off on Wheeler's property near Drumright, Oklahoma. Wheeler had purchased this land inexpensively from Creek Indian allotments and leased it to Slick for just one dollar per acre.

Although Slick secured funding from bankers in Bristow and a Tulsa-based attorney, investors withdrew support after drilling reached 2,000 feet without success. Subsequently, he obtained backing from C. B. Shaffer, an oil magnate from Pennsylvania. On March 12, 1912, the Wheeler No. 1 well hit a substantial gas and oil reservoir, producing 400 barrels daily. Within a month, Wheeler’s royalties amounted to $125 per day and doubled over the following two years as production increased.

To safeguard this discovery, Slick capped the well and quietly arranged local transportation resources to delay rival operators. Despite these efforts at secrecy, the Cushing Democrat reported the find on March 21, 1912, sparking a rush. The Tryon Star lauded Slick’s determination and forecasted his financial triumph.

Wheeler No. 1 became the inaugural producing well in the Drumright-Cushing field, which reached a peak output of 330,000 barrels per day in 1917 and continued production for more than thirty years. The well holds historical importance and was still producing at low rates using secondary recovery techniques as recently as 2012.

This success significantly altered both Wheeler’s and Slick’s financial standing. Over the next eighteen years, Slick’s leases and wells consistently yielded considerable revenues across prominent domestic fields such as Pioneer, Tonkawa, Papoose, and Seminole. By 1929, he was acknowledged as the largest independent oil operator in the United States with an estimated net worth ranging from $35 million to $100 million. His nickname shifted from "Dry Hole Slick" to "Tom Slick - King of the Wildcatters."

In October 1914, the Slick Oil Co. was established to acquire Thomas Baker Slick Sr.’s Cushing field assets—including thirty wells producing a total of 4,414 barrels per day along with extensive acreage—for an estimated $2 million. This enterprise was a joint venture between Okla Oil Co. (which later became Tidal Oil Co., part of Tidewater Oil Company) and Milliken Oil Co. (which merged into Sinclair Oil Corporation in 1916).

Family

Tom wedded Berenice Frates, the eldest daughter of Joseph A. and Lula M. Frates, a distinguished individual in the railroad sector. Subsequently, Tom and Joseph collaborated on transportation enterprises, playing key roles in the establishment of the boomtowns Nuyaka, Oklahoma and Slick, Oklahoma, both located near Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

Their family included three offspring: Thomas Baker, Betty, and Earl Frates. Thomas Jr. gained recognition as an inventor and cryptozoologist, whereas Earl F. Slick went on to create Slick Airways, which was among the pioneering scheduled freight airlines in the United States.

Death

Thomas Baker Slick Sr. passed away due to a stroke in Baltimore, Maryland, in August 1930 at the age of 46.

Following his death, Berenice remarried Charles F. Urschel, a business associate who had previously been wed to Tom’s sister Flored until her passing in 1931. Urschel became nationally known in 1933 after being abducted for ransom by the gang led by Machine Gun Kelly.