The fourth person and the second player from Chattanooga elected to the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame, Jenni Harp Oliver starred in women’s major slow pitch for 32 years, earning All-America honors five times. Although she played just about every position in softball, Oliver played either first base or catcher when she played for some of the Nation’s top teams. She was an anchor on three National Championships teams and three National runners-up. She had a .453 batting average with 65 RBI in 13 ASA National Championships. In her first national (1988), she batted. 667 (20-for-30), driving in 14 runs. Oliver played in her last ASA national in 1994 and had two hits in the Championship game as UPI shut out the Armed Forces, 8-0. The championship was played in her hometown of Chattanooga. Now a teacher in the Hamilton County School system, Oliver played the game with class, dignity and sportsmanship. In 2000, she was inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame and in 2005 into the Velocity Sports Hall of Fame. Oliver was the 11th women’s slow pitch player elected.
