SSU Center for Public History

Portsmouth, Ohio native son, Al Oliver: “All he ever did was crush the ball.” Here’s a powerful appreciation of the local legend.

He walked into the big leagues on September 14, 1968. The same day his father died.

Hold that thought. Because everything Al Oliver ever did after that moment — every screaming line drive, every .300 season, every award he earned and every slight he absorbed — happened in the shadow of that grief, and in the light of a promise he never stopped keeping.

Al Oliver Sr. had wanted his son to go to college. The kid from Portsmouth, Ohio had a basketball scholarship waiting at Kent State, a future mapped out on hardwood floors. But at 17, Al Jr. showed up to a Pittsburgh Pirates tryout camp and something ignited. His father relented. He signed for $5,000 and a dream. And then, on the very day the Pirates called him up to the majors, the man who had let him go was gone.

Grief has a way of hollowing people out. Al Oliver turned it into fuel.

What followed was one of the most quietly brilliant careers in the history of American professional baseball. Eleven seasons hitting .300 or better. Seven All-Star selections. A World Series ring in 1971, when he patrolled center field for a Pittsburgh team that changed history — part of what is believed to be the first all-Black starting lineup ever fielded in Major League Baseball, a lineup that included Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. Oliver was right there, shoulder to shoulder with greatness, doing what he always did. Making contact. Crushing the ball. Never asking for the spotlight.

Willie Stargell once said of him, "When it came to hitting... all he ever did was crush the ball. Al was the perfect number three hitter because you knew he was going to make contact." That was Al Oliver. The man you could count on. The man who never made it about himself.

And yet, for all of it, the Hall of Fame door stayed shut. His 2,743 career hits — third in the game during his playing era, behind only Pete Rose and Rod Carew — sit 58th on the all-time list. His numbers place him among the all-time top 50 in games played, total bases, RBI, and extra-base hits. In 1982, he didn't just hit well — he won the National League batting title with a .331 average, led the league in hits, doubles, RBIs, total bases, and extra-base hits, all in the same season. He was 35 years old and still the most dangerous bat in the National League.

Then the sport took something from him that no statistic can fully measure.

Courts later confirmed what Oliver always knew: baseball's owners conspired in the mid-1980s to freeze players out of the free agent market. Al Oliver was one of them. A judge ruled he was owed $680,031.05 in damages. He never played another major league game. He was still a .300 hitter when they pushed him out.

Andre Dawson, a Hall of Famer himself, said it plainly: "There is no question in my mind had he not been forced out of the game by collusion, had he been given an all-out honest attempt to achieve 3,000 hits, he would have done it. He was pushed out of the game when he was still a .300 hitter. I feel he deserves a place in baseball today."

Think about what that actually means. A man didn't fall short of 3,000 hits because his legs gave out or his bat slowed down. He was frozen out by the owners of the sport he gave his life to. The milestone wasn't lost to time. It was taken.

The last home run ever hit at Forbes Field? Al Oliver. The first run ever driven in at Three Rivers Stadium? Al Oliver. Inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in 2025. Named "Mr. Ambassador" by his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio. Painted on a floodwall mural that honors the game's greats.

He was never the loudest name. He was never the one on the magazine cover. But for nearly two decades, Al "Scoop" Oliver showed up every single day, hit the ball harder than almost anyone alive, and never stopped honoring the man who first let him go chase this dream.

The game pushed him out before he was done. The numbers don't forget. Neither should we.

Portsmouth Sports History Project Seeks a Graphic Designer.

The Center for Public History at Shawnee State University is looking to hire a graphic designer in the Portsmouth, Ohio area, who will assist with various design and promotional aspects for our America-250 Ohio Game-Changers program, which we will be hosting this coming October and December 2026.

The America-250 Ohio program will interpret two nationally significant stories rooted in Appalachian Ohio: Branch Rickey’s role in integrating Major League Baseball and the Portsmouth Spartans’ 1932 Ironman Game, which helped shape the modern NFL. Programming will include a new Stadium and Sports Complex Walking Tour, two public roundtable discussions, two pop-up history exhibits, two public performances of Jerry Holt’s play, “Rickey,” and an NFL Spartans Memorabilia Expo.

The designer will work with our team of researchers, editors, artists, and interns to create designs for historical banner displays, print programs, promotional flyers, posters, swag, and social media graphics.

Interested designers will need to submit a sample portfolio of their work for our review. Our team plans to select a designer by July 1st.

For more information regarding the scope of work and compensation, please email Dr. Drew Feight and Dr. Megan Jeffreys, who are directing the project, at [email protected].

What sort of fun would you have working creatively with materials related to the local history of Branch Rickey and the NFL Spartans?

Excellent opportunity to learn more about Ohio's ancient cermonial earthworks from one of the true experts in the field!

In celebration of , the 40th birthday of Shawnee State University, Professor Drew Feight worked with students in his Practicing Public History class to set up a Spotify account for the SSU Center for Public History. In the first in a series of historical playlists, DJ Dr. Drew brings us "Mike Powell's Hot Plates" -- Powell's top ten singles -- from the April 1986 issue of the SHAWNEE STAR, the campus newspaper.

What did 1986 sound like? Well, this is pure 1980s! Click on the link below to listen. And follow us to not miss our next mixtape playlist from 1986.

1. ADDICTED TO LOVE -- Robert Palmer (Island Records)
2. WHAT YOU NEED -- INXS (Atlantic Records)
3. YOUR LOVE -- The Outfield (Columbia Records)
4. MANIC MONDAY -- The Bangles (Columbia Records)
5. WHY CAN'T THIS BE LOVE -- Van Halen (Warner Bros.)
6. LET'S GO ALL THE WAY -- Sly Fox (Capitol Records)
7. SO FAR AWAY -- Dire Straits (Warner Bros. Records)
8. FOR AMERICA -- Jackson Browne (Asylum Records)
9. WEST END GIRLS -- Pet Shop Boys (EMI-America)
10. BEAT'S SO LONELY -- Charlie Sexton (MCA Records)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2oPAqfU0XrptLLHmCQEafc

Free spaces for vendors….

Dont forget, we are still looking for vendors for our Revolutionary war encampment event at Earl Thomas Conley park in West Portsmouth. It is a free 10x10 spot. Feel free to message me if you have any questions

Marking and memorializing the history of the Underground Railroad has a history of its own. "Freedom's Heroes" dates to 1892.

On this day in 1892, "Freedom’s Heroes" was unveiled to honor abolitionists John Rankin and Jean Rankin in Ripley, recognizing their role helping more than 2,000 freedom seekers escape slavery.

🔗 https://www.ohiomagazine.com/ohio-life/article/freedom-s-heroes-monument-unveiled

. As we celebrate the 40th birthday of Shawnee State University, we are looking back at the moment in September 1961 when our community received a personal telegram from Pres. John F. Kennedy, congratulating the people of Portsmouth on their efforts to establish a branch campus of Ohio University.

Through "Operation Ohio University Daytime College," local citizens from all walks of life raised over $100,000 to transform the old Henry Massie School on Second Street into the new Griffin Hall, home of Ohio University - Portsmouth (OUP).

The Portsmouth Daily Times opined that “Now the people are beginning to see the results of unity of purpose toward a common, worthwhile goal. In the years to come, as the college is certain to grow, the area will realize even more the fruits of careful planning by community leaders and unselfish contributions by the citizenry.”

This grassroots effort was so successful, raising over $100,000, that it caught the eye of President John F. Kennedy, who sent high ranking officials in his administration to attend the dedication ceremonies, while also sending a telegram from the "Summer White House" in Hyannis Port.

In his message, JFK praised the community’s "voluntary contributions," stating: "You have answered in a significant way what you can do for your country." Through this not so subtle reference to his famous inaugural address, Kennedy noted that these were the types of "sacrifices which Americans must and will make for the welfare and strength of our people."

Today, we honor the legacy of those who have contributed time and money to permanently secure higher education for the benefit of all in south central Ohio. Thank you, again, to the people of Portsmouth for their generous support over the years and to the late President Kennedy, for recognizing the efforts!



This post is part of the project, celebrating Shawnee State University’s path to becoming the institution it is today. If you have any experience with SSU and its prior iterations, or individuals tied to its growth, you'd like to share, please comment below!

Congratulations to the team of researchers and scholars who added these sites to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The SSU Center for Public History is proud to have played its part in the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative.