Part 4: Jim Oliver, the Mentor
Jim Oliver migrated from Georgia to St. Petersburg to work for the railroad. When is not known. What is known is that he was an excellent baseball player. A shortstop and like his son Nate, was often referred to as “Pee Wee”.
Jim played professionally in the early to mid ‘40’s before settling down to with his family in St. Pete. Nate was born in St. Pete in 1940, so Jim was here before embarking on his professional career. The normal path for a negro in St. Pete to have made their way in the professional game was to be discovered by a barnstorming negro team playing a local team. The most common team to come through yearly was the Clowns on their way north from Miami. In Oliver’s case they were known as the Ethiopian Clowns at the time.
It appears Oliver started playing professionally with both the Clowns and the Birmingham Black Barons in 1943. He stayed with the Clowns through ’46 playing alongside another St. Pete discovery at 2nd base, Ray Neil. There are no real records of his play with either team. The Clowns were independent and did not play in one of the recognized negro leagues at the time Oliver played. Plus Oliver carried the stage name of Selassie for their acts, as in Emperor Selassie of Ethiopia. Birmingham, no matter who was playing shortstop that day, listed the same last name on the lineup card for a period of about seven years.
Now that the Negro American and National League records are recognized, Oliver is credited with one major league game with the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1946. Negro records are very incomplete, and newspaper coverage was spotty, so finding accurate records is difficult.
Oliver returns home to St. Pete working as a laborer for the ACL railroad. He also becomes one of the top players as well as the playing captain for the St. Pete Pelicans of the Florida State Negro Baseball League. He doesn’t return to the negro professional leagues, but he does receive a professional opportunity. The local St. Pete Saints, a Cardinal farm team, struggling on the field invited Oliver to play in 1955. Oliver is the player that integrates the Saints. The Saints listed him as 27 years old. He was 35.
Oliver gets off to a fast start. He drives in the winning run in the 10th inning of his first game. Fans lined up near the dugout to present him with tips. The local beat reporter says of Oliver: “…in addition to his hitting, he’s run wild on the bases, fielded brilliantly, and brings the Saints out of the cellar.” Oliver was only playing home games so he could maintain his employment with the railroad. The Cardinals were going to require him to go on the road in order to continue to play.
Oliver’s dilemma is that at 35 he knows he’s not getting to the majors. He has five children (eventually growing to nine). He needs the steady paycheck the railroad provides. The railroad is willing to work with him so long as he gets someone to cover his shifts. Guys are willing to fill-in for him, but he worries working a strenuous, risky job for a 16-hour shift will endanger people. He chooses to stop playing. In ’56, St. Pete is now independent of affiliation and Oliver plays a few more home games.
Oliver devotes much of his time in St. Pete contributing to the negro youth. He was an organizer of the negro little league in the ‘50’s. He contributed as a coach and an official in football, basketball, and baseball. In addition to future major leaguers Ed Charles, George Smith, and his son Nate, he also coached and mentored NFL players Glen Edwards and Melvin Rogers.
Oliver continues playing and coaching in the semi-pro teams. He eventually starts the St. Pete Braves at the demise of the Florida State Negro League. Some of his former players would later break off from the Braves and form the Oliver Alouettes.
When Campbell Park field, where Oliver spent so much time, is refurbished, it is renamed James Oliver Field in Feb. 1975. While Al Lang is known as “Florida’s Ambassador” of spring training baseball, Oliver is referred to as the St. Pete community’s “King of Baseball”.
