Gene Oliver

Gene Oliver
Catcher / First baseman / Outfielder
Born: (1935-03-22)March 22, 1935 Moline, Illinois
Died: March 3, 2007(2007-03-03) (aged 71) Rock Island, Illinois
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 6, 1959, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
August 24, 1969, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average	.246
Home runs	93
Runs batted in	320
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (1959, 1961–1963) Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1963–1967) Philadelphia Phillies (1967) Boston Red Sox (1968) Chicago Cubs (1968–1969)

Eugene George Oliver (March 22, 1935 – March 3, 2007) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 786 games in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher and first baseman, between 1959 and 1969, for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959, 1961–63), Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1963–67), Philadelphia Phillies (1967), Boston Red Sox (1968) and Chicago Cubs (1968–69). He batted and threw right-handed. stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 225 pounds (102 kg).

Biography[]

Oliver was from Moline, Illinois. He graduated from Alleman Catholic High School and Northwestern University, before signing with the Cardinals in 1956. Although he spent seven full years and three partial seasons in the majors, he was a regular for only two seasons, as the catcher for the Cardinals in 1962 and the first baseman for the Braves in 1963. Oliver had a strong arm and was good at blocking the plate. As a batter, he had some power and decent speed for a catcher.

In 1965, Oliver reached a high-career mark of 21 home runs with the Braves in their final season in Milwaukee, enabling the 1965 Braves to set a National League record with six 20-HR hitters in one season. On June 8 of that year, Joe Torre, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron and Oliver hit tenth-inning home runs in a Braves victory over the Cubs, setting a major league record for most long balls in a single inning of an extra-inning game.

The Phillies and Braves switched catchers in 1967, with Bob Uecker going to Atlanta. After the trade, Oliver suffered a severe knee injury that shortened his career.

In his ten-season career, Oliver hit .246 with 93 home runs, 320 runs batted in, 268 runs scored, 111 doubles, five triples, and 24 stolen bases in 786 games.

Oliver remained close to his former Cubs teammates and acted as social director for Randy Hundley's fantasy baseball camps. He died shortly after his 25th camp in Rock Island, Illinois, and is interred at Calvary Mausoleum in Rock Island.^[1]

References[]

External links[]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Gene Oliver at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
• Gene Oliver at Baseball Library