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Buck O’Neil Photo Gallery
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Tribute to the Negro Leagues: The Great Buck O’Neil
“God’s been good to me. They didn’t think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That’s the way they thought about it and that’s the way it is, so we’re going to live with that… Just keep loving old Buck. Don’t weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful.” –Buck O’Neil, after he fell short of votes needed for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Thanks to my Twitter friend Mike for sending me this unique image of the great Negro League ball player and great humanitarian, Buck O’Neil. (Mike is the developer of the original “Picture Catcher Bat” gift line. You can visit his web site at: http://www.picturecatcherbat.com/
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This gives me the chance to say a few words about the career of Buck O’Neil:
John “Buck” O’Neil was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
O’Neil had a career batting average of .288 between 1937 and 1950, including five .300-plus seasons. In 1946, the first baseman led the Negro American League with a .350 batting average and followed in 1947 with a .305 mark. He also posted averages of .344 in 1940 and .330 in 1949. He played in four East-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and two Negro World Series, including the championship team of 1942.
O’Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 and continued to play first base through 1951. He managed the Monarchs for eight seasons from 1948 through 1955 during the declining years of the Negro leagues, winning two league titles and a shared title. His two undisputed pennants were won in 1953 and 1955, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams.
After the Kansas City Monarchs were sold at the end of the 1955 season, O’Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was the first African-American scout in Major League Baseball, and was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962. Buck O’Neil is credited with signing Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock to his first contract and played a role in the signing of Ernie banks. After many years with the Cubs, O’Neil became a Kansas City Royals scout in 1988, and was named “Midwest Scout of the Year” in 1998.
On December 7, 2006, O’Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was chosen due to his “Excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field.” In 2007 O’Neil was posthumously given the Lifetime Achievement Award, named after him, after he fell short in Hall of Fame voting. At the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 27, 2008, Joe Morgan gave a dedication speech for the award and talked about O’Neil’s life and legacy.
A statue of O’Neil was placed inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. He was also the recipient of the first annual “Beacon of Light” award, and has been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians. On Opening Day in 2007, the Kansas City Royals announced that they would honor O’Neil by placing a fan who best exemplifies O’Neil’s spirit in the “Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat” in Kauffman Stadium for each game . The first person to sit in “Buck’s seat” was Buck O’Neil’s brother, Warren O’Neil.
Buck O’Neil was a member of the 18-member Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee from 1981 to 2000 and played an important role in the induction of six Negro league players from 1995 to 2001. Buck O’Neil passed away on October 5, 2006.
-Gary Livacari
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Photo Credits: Thanks again to my Twitter friend Mike from “Picture Cacther Bat for sending the nice image of Buck O’Neil. Other photos from public domain.
Information: Excerpts edited from the Buck O’Neil Wikipedia page.