Part 3: Nate Oliver
He was known from childhood to the big leagues as “Pee Wee”. Nate Oliver was the son of Jim Oliver a veteran Negro League player who settled in St. Pete. Pee Wee followed George Smith in the Gibbs High School lineage. He also played basketball for Gibbs. There is no record of him having played football at that level.
Jim Oliver had a solid job at the railroad as well as eventually nine children, so he spent more time playing ball around St. Pete instead of chasing the Negro League life. Jim was a mainstay of the St. Pete Pelicans of the Florida State Negro Leagues and Pee Wee began playing in games with the men at age 13.
Pee Wee recalls when he finished high school, he had offers from every major league organization except one, the Washington Senators. While he says Cleveland came in with the highest bonus offer, he had always been a Dodger fan. He accepted the Dodgers $20,000 offer and signed his first contract on June 10, 1959.
Nate Oliver worked his way up the Dodger chain and in 1962 at AAA Spokane, he hit .317 and was named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star Team. He played winter ball that season. With starting 2nd baseman Jim Gilliam aging and slowing down, the plan was to make Gilliam a utility player in 1963, opening 2nd base for Oliver. Oliver showed well in camp and even made a spring training appearance in his hometown of St. Pete.
He was the starting 2nd baseman on opening day 1963, for the Dodgers. Although he fielded well enough, he did not provide enough offense, and the Dodgers turned back to Gilliam at 2nd base. Interestingly enough, the veteran Gilliam was Oliver’s roommate on the road. According to Oliver’s account of the relationship, it appears they got along well. ‘64 marked the most games Oliver ever played in a big-league season at 99. He played the most games of any Dodger at 2nd base as Gilliam was sliding into retirement and only played 25 games that season. But he barely hit better at.243 vs. .239 in ‘63.
He would serve as a back-up middle infielder for the next three years with the Dodgers. After playing winter ball in both ‘62 and ‘63 his weight was down from 169 pounds to 153. So, in ‘64 instead of playing winter ball, he stayed home working at Sears and Roebuck in the flower section. He never found the key to becoming a regular player in the major leagues again. In those five seasons as a Dodger, the team appeared in three World Series. Oliver would only personally appear as a pinch runner in Game 4 of the ‘66 series.
Oliver is traded to San Francisco for the ‘68 season. ‘69 saw him begin the season with the Yankees. After appearing in one game, he is traded to the Cubs where although still a back-up player he was a bit of a fan favorite. Even in limited playing time, Oliver made several key plays in every aspect of the game, hitting, base running and fielding. That season ended his Major League career. He stayed around the game for many years in a coaching capacity.
His second talent was as a singer. He first sang the national anthem at Crosley Field in Cincinnati in 1964. By his count he sang at Dodger Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, Anaheim Stadium and at a Lakers game. His highlights were singing in front of his good friend Ozzie Smith of the Cardinals. Smith had no idea he could sing. The other highlight was when he filled in for Ella Fitzgerald who had to back out at the last minute.
This year when the Negro League statistics were recognized and entered as Major League records, Jim and Nate Oliver became the first father/son combination with at least one being born in St. Petersburg to be major leaguers.