INDIANS HONOR THE LEGACY OF LONGTIME BARTLESVILLE SPORTS JOURNALIST MIKE TUPA
From left, Becky Burch, David Austin, and Bob Pomeroy throw out the first pitch during Mike Tupa Night Wednesday at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium. Burch co-founded the Bartlesville Area Sports website alongside Tupa, and both she and Austin are former journalists for the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. Tupa was honored posthumously for his 30-year career covering local athletics for the EE and BASR.
Mia Merciez/BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
By Becky Burch
June 15, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Bartlesville sports reporter icon Mike Tupa, who died April 7, was honored during the Doenges Toyota Indians’ first home game last Wednesday.
Tupa spent more than 30 years covering local sports for the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise and co-founded the Bartlesville Area Sports website with former Examiner-Enterprise photojournalist and friend Becky Burch.
Prior to the game, Burch threw out the first pitch along with David Austin, a former colleague. Tupa’s longtime friend, Bob Pomeroy, was also part of the ceremony.
“It was beautiful to be at the stadium on a night during which they were celebrating Mike and all that he meant to the community,” Austin said. “It was special to be there with Becky and Bob, and I know Mike was there with us too.”
Tupa, who won dozens of state and national photojournalism awards and authored several books, was inducted into the Bartlesville Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
In his unpublished autobiography, Tupa summed up his role covering local youth sports:
“To me, they were stars — all the kids I covered were stars in their realm. That’s how I’ve evaluated sports — not as a hierarchy of ability and talent with pro and college participants being the ultimate athletes and a 13-year-old summer league baseball player having inferior talent. But I see sports as sovereign on each level. To me, the first-ever hit by an overjoyed Little Leaguer is just as significant to the sports gods as an Aaron Judge homer.”
“Moving forward, our plan is that the first home game of the season will be Mike Tupa Night,” Indians coach and manager Tony Osborne said.
Becky Burch and David Austin, former colleagues of the late Mike Tupa, look down as the announcer at the Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians home opener Wednesday honors the iconic sports writer during Mike Tupa Night.
Mia Merciez/BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT