"Let the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates prove to all that if your hearts and minds are in the right place, religion, or national origin doesn't matter, if your goals are in common, and you are about what's right."
Al Oliver

The Al Oliver Foundation Corporation Launches with a Mission

The Al Oliver Foundation Corporation is organized exclusively for charitable purposes. The purpose of this corporation is to enhance the lives of youth, seniors, veterans and individuals with physical and/or mental handicaps through provision of services and activities that promote health and wellness ultimately leading to increased self-esteem.

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Courtesy of The Portsmouth Daily Times, Portsmouth, Ohio

Al Oliver, My Friend

By FRANK LEWIS

PDT Staff Writer

It was the early 60’s and the times they were a-changin’.

Race was still an issue at Portsmouth High School, even though outright discrimination was not visible. I am sure there are people who went to school there who felt the worst kind of racism, defacto racism, but we kept chugging along.

Young black youth had to crash the gates to gain admission to the pool, and they still didn’t get admission that day either.

I remember girls who were ostracized because they crossed racial barriers to date.

I will be totally honest, I didn’t really like those days.

People ask me why I have never gone to a class reunion, and I tell them, they were just not important years to me.

But I said all of that to say this — I made a friend for life during that time. His name is Al Oliver. Our friendship transcended all of that atmosphere.

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Al Oliver Bobblehead Doll Night

Courtesy of The Portsmouth Daily Times, Portsmouth, OH

By FRANK LEWIS

PDT Staff Writer

Former Major League great Al Oliver has had a love affair with two cities for a number of years.

The first one is the one he was born in, Portsmouth, Ohio, and the second one is where he got his Major League start in 1968, Pittsburgh, Pa., home of his second family, the Pittsburgh, Pirates.

On July 25, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Oliver was honored with his own bobblehead event.

“Back in January, when I was in Pittsburgh for the Pirates Fan Fest, someone had mentioned to me that they had planned on having a series of bobbleheads for the Pirate Lumber Company,” Oliver said. “They sent me some information out on it, and I OK’d it.”

But that OK didn’t come right away. Oliver said he received a sample of his bobblehead, and he noticed something missing right away.

“I said, ‘You guys left my sideburns off’. Because that was one of my trademarks back then. And so I said, ‘no problem,’ and they asked me what month, and I told them July,” Oliver said.

Oliver decided it would not be considered a big deal locally, so he didn’t tell anyone about it at first.

“I told Wayne Kempf, who was president of Kiwanis at the time, that I wouldn’t be here on that particular week because I would be in Pittsburgh for Bobblehead Night,” Oliver said. “So lo and behold, behind my back the Kiwanis got together and chartered a bus.”

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Find out here about the "Best Kept Secret in Baseball" -- Al "Scoop" Oliver! An eighteen-year major league veteran, with a lifetime batting average of .303, Al Oliver, is a man of values and principal. Now living in Portsmouth, Ohio, Al is championing a new career in motivational speaking and community activism.

Learn about this man and his impressive professional baseball career on Al-Oliver.com., then contact Al to speak to your group about winning!

BLACK HISTORY FACT: 35 years ago, the Pirates fielded the 1st all Black team on September 1, 1971.