A. Ray Smith (May 1, 1915 – June 28, 1999, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States) was a long-time baseball executive, best known for his ownership of the minor-league Tulsa Oilers franchise, which he later moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where the team set minor league attendance records.
He supervised the company's role in major construction projects around the world, including the St. Lawrence Seaway and the widening of the Panama Canal.
In February of that same year, he got wind that Tulsa Oilers owner Grayle Howlett was about to move the team to Albuquerque.
Smith had poured significant resources into Oiler Park at something approaching AAA standards, but it was apparent that the 43-year-old facility was nearing the end of its useful life.
Unable to secure public support in Tulsa to replace or rebuild the ballpark, Smith ultimately moved the Oilers to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1977, renaming the team the New Orleans Pelicans, and then to Springfield, Illinois, in 1978 as the Springfield Redbirds.