Thomas Noble Oliver (January 15, 1903 – February 26, 1988) was a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

in Major League Baseball who played from through to for the Boston Red Sox. Listed at tall and , Oliver batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama. Oliver was a slap hitter who rarely tried to drive the ball. As an outfielder, his arm and speed were already well above average, while his graceful style prompted baseball historian

Fred Lieb Frederick George Lieb (March 5, 1888 – June 3, 1980) was an American sportswriter and baseball historian. Lieb published his memoirs in 1977, which documented his nearly 70 years as a baseball reporter. He received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award ...

to compare him to Joe DiMaggio and Tris Speaker. In his rookie season for Boston, Oliver led the American League in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

(154), outs (472) and

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s (646), while hitting a career-high .293 and leading his team in runs (86),

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(186) and singles (153). He enjoyed another good season in 1931, when he hit .276 and posted career-numbers in doubles (35) and

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(75). He also led his team in singles (122),

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(5) and outs (436), and was considered in the American League MVP vote. The next two years he shared duties at center field with

Dusty Cooke Allen Lindsey "Dusty" Cooke (June 23, 1907 – November 21, 1987), was an American professional baseball outfielder, coach, and manager, in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for three different big league teams, between and . During h ...

and

Carl Reynolds Carl Nettles Reynolds (February 1, 1903 – May 29, 1978) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1927–31), Washington Senators (1932, 1936), St. Louis Browns (1933), Boston Red Sox (1934� ...

. In a four-season career, Oliver was a .277 hitter with 202 runs and 176 RBI in 514 games, including 191 doubles, 11 triples, 12

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, and a .316

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

without home runs. In 504 games at center field, he collected 1,425 outs with 45 assists and made 14

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s, while committing 21 errors in 1,491 chances for a .986

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Oliver holds the modern major league baseball record by going 1,931 at-bats without a home run in his career. Oliver coached for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

and Baltimore Orioles from 1951 to 1954. He also

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for the Athletics,

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins. He died at the age of 85 in Montgomery. A member of an athletic family, Oliver was the uncle of William Oliver "Whitey" Overton who ran track in the 1948 Olympics and the great uncle of William Oliver "Bill" Overton, Jr. who played representative rugby for five separate years for the Texas Rugby Union and club rugby for the Austin Huns Rugby Football Club from 1975 to 1984.

External links

Tom Oliver Baseball Biography
- Baseballbiography.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Tom 1903 births 1988 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles scouts Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Montgomery, Alabama Beaumont Exporters players Boston Red Sox players Columbus Red Birds players Decatur Commodores players Durham Bulls players Knoxville Smokies players Lancaster Red Roses players Laurel Lumberjacks players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Minnesota Twins scouts Mission Bells players Monroe Drillers players Montreal Royals players Nashville Vols players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Philadelphia Athletics coaches Philadelphia Athletics scouts Philadelphia Phillies scouts Reading Chicks players Shreveport Gassers players Sportspeople from Montgomery, Alabama Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vernon Tigers players Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players