Oliver had some power, hitting three HR in a game on July 30, 1966. He reached a
high of 21 HR in 1965 as the Braves' backup to Joe Torre at catcher and
Felipe Alou
at first base, a big enough role that he got 392 at-bats in 122 games. His 21 HR
on a team with
Hank Aaron,
Eddie Mathews,
Mack Jones, Torre, and Alou enabled the
Braves to set a NL mark with six 20-HR men in one season. Oliver was a regular catcher
twice, for the Cardinals in 1962 and for the Phillies in 1967 after they traded Bob
Uecker to get him. Oliver's career was effectively ended by a 1968 knee injury.
(JFC)
Gene Oliver
teams