#12 GENE OLIVER
Catcher-Outfield
What went before: A big man at 6-2, 220, he had football scholarship to Northwestern, known more for broadcasters and scholars than athletes, but he quickly adapted to the pro diamond when signed by the Cardinals. He hit 30 homers three times before breaking into the majors in 1959.
But it wasn't until 1965, despite playing only part-time, that he topped the 20-homer barrier in the majors as one of six Braves to achieve that total.
That 1966 season: Playing time was hard to come by, as there were few injuries to fill in for. Oliver got into a total of 76 games, 58 as catcher. But he was the team's most effective pinch-hitter, 5-for-24. But he hit only .175 when he was starting and finished the year with a .194 average.
What happened next: Surprisingly, he won the battle to be Torre's backup catcher in spring training, but the Braves, unsatisfied with his .196 start, traded him for a better defensive catcher and a former Milwaukee Brave: Bob Uecker.
While Uecker began building his legend trying to catch Phil Niekro's knickleball, Oliver became nearly everyday catcher for the Phillies but hit only .224, hindered by a serious knee injury. He was again on the move for 1968, for another catcher, Boston's Mike Ryan, and would be dealt again to the Cubs, tjhen released at the end of the 1968 season.
A native of the Quad Cities area, he worked as a coach and a member of the front office of the minor league Quad Cities farm club, as well as amateur sports.
He passed away in 2007 at age 71, the result of complications from lung cancer surgery.
