Obituary of Ollie Brantley

Athlete, officer of the law, difference-maker in the community, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, mentor, advisor, legend, pioneer, chief…these are some of the many titles you will hear when referring to Ollie Brantley. Ollie was born on September 16, 1931, the youngest of 9 children born to Essie (Saxton) and Jim Brantley of the Southland community in Phillips County Arkansas. His parents and eight siblings all preceded him in death – Chester, J. B., James, Vireece, Carlos, Zenobia and Ann (Tippie Lee) Brantley. He grew up in a rural farming community where his parents were sharecroppers. The parents and older siblings worked hard planting, harvesting, and plowing fields for a percentage of the yielded crop to support the family and enable the younger children to go to school and get an education. Ollie attended school in the Southland community and West Helena, Arkansas. As a high school star athlete, Ollie excelled in multiple sports but his passion and true athletic gift was in baseball. He caught the attention of the manager of the Memphis Red Sox Negro League organization. At the age of eighteen, Ollie was drafted right out of high school to play baseball. He headed to Memphis where he signed with the Red Sox in 1951. Life with the historic Negro League was rewarding but also very challenging, especially on the road as the teams faced ongoing instances of racial prejudice as they traveled the deep south. In 1953, the Chicago White Sox organization signed Ollie and bought out his contract after learning what a gem they had discovered in this talented young pitcher. Ollie’s career began with the White Sox organization as the league was beginning to integrate. He displayed the true measure of a man as he bravely endured racial prejudices being the only black man on the team. He would have to eat separately, be housed separately and even be separated from the team transportation and chauffeured in a station wagon to pass through many towns later rejoining the team when it was safe to do so. As Jackie Robinson had done before him, he would have to endure a tedious integration process full of racial discrimination and oppression that existed in society. He was definitely one of the pioneers for black athletes in professional sports. Ollie played with the Chicago White Sox organization through 1960 and followed with another 8 years playing with the Minnesota Twins organization. Ollie retired from professional baseball in 1969. In 1957, the young baseball player married his bride of 63 years, the beautiful Frances Robins of Marianna, Arkansas. He had first met her many years earlier at a high school basketball game. They started seriously dating after she went off to college. To this union two daughters were born, Beverly and Karen. Ollie was a man of faith who accepted Jesus at an early age. Growing up in the Southland community, he joined the Spring Lake Baptist Church. He became a faithful member of Second Baptist Church in Marianna where he attended until he moved to Dallas. As the end of his baseball career was becoming apparent, during the off-season, Ollie set in motion what would be his next career path. He became a police officer with the Marianna Police Department working as the only black officer on the force and then joined the Lee County Sherriff’s Department as the first black deputy. Once again, he was a trailblazer. His love for people and helping others made this public service career in law enforcement a perfect fit. He made a difference in countless lives. Because of his love of the game, Ollie also continued with baseball back in the local community. He built his own baseball park on the land his childhood home once occupied. He assembled a team and acquired support to obtain equipment and uniforms that were needed to “Play Ball”. He managed the team and coordinated a schedule of “home” and “away” games with other regional teams. The community looked forward to Sunday afternoon games. He was always active in the community, guiding and investing in the youth. He officiated high school basketball games, helped facilitate summer youth work programs and was key in ensuring the small-town minority kids would have an opportunity to play little league baseball and have a community athletic field to play it on. He was especially excited to be able to spark an interest in baseball in these young minds. He had a passion for expanding opportunities for young people to keep them on the right path. To that end, after leaving the Sherriff’s department he worked as a resource officer with the public school system. After an extended illness, he transitioned this earthly life on April 5, 2020, in Dallas, Texas where he had resided since 2017. He is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Frances Robins Brantley of Dallas, Texas; their daughters, Beverly Brantley and Karen Brantley both of Dallas, Texas; an older daughter, Linda Brantley (Lewis) of Olive Branch, Mississippi; two granddaughters, Kaiesha McGruder (Jessie) of Marion, Arkansas and Kyra Brantley of Denver, Colorado; five great-grandchildren, Alexia McGruder, Jessika McGruder, Julious McGruder, Jeremiah McGruder, and Alijah McGruder all of Marion, Arkansas; one niece, Deloris Wilson (Andrew) of Sterling Hts, Michigan; one great-niece, Tiffany Brantley of South Bend, Indiana; one sister-in-law, Pearl Brantley of Sterling Hts, Michigan; two brothers-in-law, John D. Robins (Dorothy) of Detroit, Michigan and Wilbur D. Robins of St. Louis, Missouri; their families and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who will continue to cherish his memory. He will be greatly missed. As an expression of sympathy, in lieu of flowers and plants, a contribution may be given for the establishment of a college scholarship fund to commemorate his life of service and giving.