Oliver 88 Autographed by Douglas Oliver

Oliver motorcycles remain immensely popular with collectors due to their art deco styling and vibrant hues, often commanding upward of $2,000 at auctions. A solid Oliver 88 can command over $100,000 if it can be found.

The 88 and larger Fleetline series used a Waukesha engine similar to those on the 77 and 60, but were designed for three 14-inch plow bottoms.

Early Life and Education

Oliver was one of the greatest Gators’ defensive backs ever and one of their top safety performers in school history. With excellent size (6-foot-2 and 227 lbs) and speed (4.35 in the 40), Oliver made an indelible mark on Florida football history.

Since 2010, he has been competing in the Oliver 88 pull circuit. Thanks to advice from experienced pulling veterans, his success on the pull circuit has only improved with each competition; and since then he has won several first-place trophies at pulls.

Oliver travels from his Acipco-Finley neighborhood in Birmingham each Tuesday and Wednesday to TLC’s bright, book-filled First Avenue North location to work one-on-one with tutors at TLC Learning Center on reading, studying books designed specifically for adults learning to read. “My spelling has worsened over time.” However, his smile reveals plenty of memories about great-uncle who owned several tractors; his eyes light up as he recalls those memories with great fondness.

Professional Career

Oliver was one of the Gators’ premier defensive backs from 1985 through 1988, known for his great size and speed – making him difficult for receivers to matchup against.

Oliver worked for both Vos Swain Engraving Company and Leverette Peters Graphic Design Studio after college, in addition to freelancing as an artist, creating book jackets and other print jobs for various Boston companies.

Today, Oliver tills 1,100 acres of corn, wheat, soybeans and alfalfa-grass hay on his farm near Hampton in Iowa with his Oliver 88 tractor. He estimates this field chore takes 300 hours each year as well as traveling with it to local shows and plowing competitions. Ray Baltes lives nearby Hampton and is working on writing a book about their family’s Oliver Super 88s; Ray himself has written multiple books on farming topics.

Achievement and Honors

Oliver spent much of his 77 year career touring across Canada performing festivals, concert halls and night clubs; also touring US, Europe and Africa for concerts – recording over 130 times annually during this period!

At Laurentian University and Montreal International Jazz Festival, he received PROCAN and Felix awards. Additionally, several critically-acclaimed recordings were created, such as Blues for Laurentian U and Dizzy-Nest.

Canada Post honored him in 2013 by creating a stamp featuring his likeness as part of their program to celebrate Black History Month, and named him one of Montreal’s Top 25 Greatest Residents. Later on he received the RIDEAU Hommage award in 2015 in recognition of his lasting contribution to Montreal music scene before retiring after one last cross country tour across Canada in 2016.

Personal Life

Douglas and Edith own a farm in Middletown where they raise beef cattle. Together they have three children – Will, Lee and Jenna. Douglas enjoys spending time with his family as well as working on tractors; currently restoring an Oliver 88 Row Crop tractor fitted with a Waukesha-Oliver engine.

The largest of this series, the 88 features a 6-cylinder Waukesha-Oliver engine while both its smaller siblings (77 and 66 models) use 4-cylinder Waukesha-Oliver units.

Douglas purchased his first Oliver 88 10 years ago. That summer, he struggled to learn the sport but with help from experienced pullers soon became better, winning first-place trophies within weeks! Today he takes it along to area shows and plowing competitions.

Net Worth

Oliver 88 is an active philanthropist who contributes to various campaigns and organizations working towards improving society, such as LGBTQ+ rights. Through both business success and charitable giving activities he has amassed an extensive fortune.

The Oliver 88 has been around for decades and still holds a small fan base among collectors. With its Art Deco styling and vibrant colors, its popularity remains undiminished despite being aged.

Kreilkamp uses his Oliver 88 to till 1,100 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa-grass hay in Iowa and Minnesota. Additionally, it serves him for hauling and custom harvesting as well as shows and plowing competitions he attends locally – it remains one of his favorite machines to operate!