Gene Oliver
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1959-1969)
Gene Oliver was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1969 for 6 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 11 seasons. In 786 career games, he hit .246 with 546 hits, 93 home runs, and 320 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,132.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 225 lb
- Died
- 3/3/2007 in Rock Island, IL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1959-06-06
- Last Game
- 1969-08-24
Full name: Eugene George Oliver
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 786 | 2,216 | 268 | 546 | 111 | 5 | 93 | 320 | 24 | 215 | 420 | .246 | .315 | .427 | .742 | 3,132 |
Career AVG .246 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .315 vs. league average .314 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .427 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — +14.1% above league average.
Career OPS .742 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — +7.8% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | SLN | NL | 68 | 172 | 14 | 42 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 28 | 3 | 7 | 41 | .244 | .256 (-5%) | .323 (-16%) | .392 (+2%) | .715 (-6%) | -231.2 |
| 1961 | SLN | NL | 22 | 52 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 10 | .269 | .258 (+4%) | .328 (+12%) | .399 (+35%) | .727 (+24%) | 223.2 |
| 1962 | SLN | NL | 122 | 345 | 42 | 89 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 45 | 5 | 50 | 59 | .258 | .257 (avg) | .326 (+8%) | .393 (+12%) | .719 (+10%) | 748.3 |
| 1963 | SLN | NL | 39 | 102 | 10 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 13 | 19 | .225 | .246 (-8%) | .308 (avg) | .371 (+19%) | .680 (+10%) | 151.5 |
| 1963 | ML1 | NL | 95 | 296 | 34 | 74 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 47 | 4 | 27 | 59 | .250 | .246 (+2%) | .308 (+4%) | .371 (+12%) | .680 (+8%) | 151.5 |
| 1964 | ML1 | NL | 93 | 279 | 45 | 77 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 49 | 3 | 17 | 41 | .276 | .250 (+10%) | .312 (+2%) | .377 (+26%) | .690 (+15%) | 674.6 |
| 1965 | ML1 | NL | 122 | 392 | 56 | 106 | 20 | 0 | 21 | 58 | 5 | 36 | 61 | .270 | .245 (+10%) | .310 (+8%) | .371 (+30%) | .682 (+20%) | 1402.7 |
| 1966 | ATL | NL | 76 | 191 | 19 | 37 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 2 | 16 | 43 | .194 | .248 (-22%) | .309 (-18%) | .376 (avg) | .685 (-8%) | -275.9 |
| 1967 | ATL | NL | 17 | 51 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 8 | .196 | .242 (-19%) | .306 (-8%) | .357 (+15%) | .663 (+4%) | 28.8 |
| 1967 | PHI | NL | 85 | 263 | 29 | 59 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 34 | 2 | 29 | 56 | .224 | .242 (-7%) | .306 (-2%) | .357 (+2%) | .663 (avg) | 28.8 |
| 1968 | BOS | AL | 16 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1968 | CHN | NL | 8 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .364 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1969 | CHN | NL | 23 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .222 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 786 | 2,216 | 268 | 546 | 111 | 5 | 93 | 320 | 24 | 215 | 420 | .246 | — | — | — | — | 2,902 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (785 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 397 | 1113 | 139 | 295 | 47 | 170 | .265 |
| Away | 388 | 1103 | 129 | 251 | 46 | 150 | .228 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-08-24 | CHC | HOU | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-08-22 | CHC | HOU | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1969-08-20 | CHC | ATL | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-08-19 | CHC | ATL | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-08-17 | CHC | SFG | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-08-10 | CHC | LAD | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-07-26 | CHC | LAD | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969-07-25 | CHC | LAD | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-06-27 | CHC | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1969-06-22 | CHC | WSN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 200 | 177 | 1533 | 97 | 26 | 126 |
| C | 382 | 325 | 2057 | 172 | 34 | 30 |
| OF | 91 | 78 | 103 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | SLN | 1B | 5 | 5 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1959 | SLN | C | 9 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1959 | SLN | OF | 42 | 35 | 62 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1961 | SLN | C | 15 | 12 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| 1961 | SLN | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | SLN | 1B | 3 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1962 | SLN | C | 98 | 88 | 494 | 46 | 5 | 7 |
| 1962 | SLN | OF | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | SLN | C | 35 | 28 | 197 | 14 | 4 | 1 |
| 1963 | ML1 | 1B | 55 | 53 | 440 | 19 | 7 | 39 |
| 1963 | ML1 | C | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963 | ML1 | OF | 35 | 33 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1964 | ML1 | 1B | 76 | 64 | 622 | 34 | 12 | 50 |
| 1964 | ML1 | C | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | ML1 | 1B | 52 | 49 | 374 | 37 | 7 | 30 |
| 1965 | ML1 | C | 64 | 58 | 376 | 34 | 10 | 7 |
| 1965 | ML1 | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | ATL | 1B | 5 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 1966 | ATL | C | 48 | 43 | 286 | 22 | 3 | 3 |
| 1966 | ATL | OF | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | ATL | C | 14 | 12 | 79 | 11 | 3 | 4 |
| 1967 | PHI | 1B | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1967 | PHI | C | 79 | 70 | 425 | 30 | 6 | 3 |
| 1968 | BOS | C | 10 | 7 | 58 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968 | BOS | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | CHN | 1B | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | CHN | C | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | CHN | OF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969 | CHN | C | 6 | 3 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 381 |
| First Base | 200 |
| Left Field | 88 |
| Right Field | 6 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Gene Oliver (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gene Oliver
- What years did Gene Oliver play?
- Gene Oliver played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1969.
- Was Gene Oliver a pitcher?
- No. Gene Oliver was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Gene Oliver hit?
- Gene Oliver hit 93 career home runs with 546 hits.
- What was Gene Oliver's career batting average?
- Gene Oliver batted .246 over his career, with 546 hits in 2,216 at bats.
- How many RBI did Gene Oliver have?
- Gene Oliver drove in 320 runs in his career.
- Is Gene Oliver in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Gene Oliver has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.