Ollie Poole was born in 1922 in Gloster, Mississippi, and attended Crosby High School.

He attended the University of Mississippi and played college football there.

During World War II, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was assigned to the V-12 Training Program at the University of North Carolina.

He played in 1943 for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team, winning All-Southern Conference honors.

[2] After his playing career ended, Poole was a teacher and high school and junior college football coach in Mississippi and Louisiana.