When I was on my break and could take over the café, Earl would go out to his car and take a nap. One day I was cleaning up and I saw this guy walking up, dressed in a long black cloak, white shirt and bow tie.

“I'm looking for a Mr. Oliver,” he said. “I understand he's a pretty good checker player.”

“You may have the wrong man,” I said. “Earl is a damn good player.”

The man had come to challenge Earl. He waited until Earl's nap was over, then opened a fine looking box of checkers and a board engraved with the words, “Georgia Champion.”

“Several people have told me you are a fair player. I'd like to play you a few games to warm up for a big game I have coming up.” Earl agreed.

The first game was a draw. The man said, “I see how you play.” “I don 't play that way every time,” was Earl's response as he won the next game….and the next 3 games. Then they played to a draw. Then Earl won the next 4 games.

The man stood up and put all his checkers back in the box and then handed it to Earl. He said, “This is yours. I've been playing for 25 years. How did you beat me so badly?”

“I've been playing for 30 years,” was Earl's response.

As the sun went down, so did the Georgia Champion. We never saw him again, but Earl did say, “You know that fellow was a fair player.”

Phil McCullough

Earl was the son of John A. Oliver. Minnie Shirley and Earl Oliver's daughter, Mary Ruth, married Phil McCullough. Phil was principal of Boys High School in Atlanta for many years.