| Buck O'Neil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman /Manager | |
| Born:(1911-11-13)November 13, 1911 Carrabelle, Florida, U.S. | |
| Died: October 6, 2006(2006-10-06) (aged 94) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Negro leagues debut | |
| 1937, for the Memphis Red Sox | |
| Last Negro leagues appearance | |
| 1955, for the Kansas City Monarchs | |
| Negro leagues[a] statistics | |
| Batting average | .256 |
| Home runs | 12 |
| Runs batted in | 185 |
| Managerial record | 62–32–2 |
| Winning % | .660 |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2022 |
| Vote | 81.3% |
| Election method | Early Baseball Era Committee |
John Jordan "Buck"O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was an Americanfirst baseman andmanager in theNegro American League, mostly with theKansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as ascout and became the firstAfrican Americancoach inMajor League Baseball.[2] 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 theNegro Leagues Baseball Museum inKansas City, Missouri. He was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in 2022 as an executive.[3]
O'Neil was prominently featured inKen Burns's 1994 documentary seriesBaseball. His life was documented inJoe Posnanski's 2007 bookThe Soul of Baseball.[4]
O'Neil was born inCarrabelle, Florida, to John Jordan O'Neil (1873–1954) and Louella Campbell (maiden; 1884–1945). O'Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school owing toracial segregation. Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans.[5] He grew up inSarasota, Florida in the Newtown community.[6] O'Neil worked the celery fields in Sarasota while his father ran a pool hall in Newtown. He then later moved toJacksonville with relatives and attendedEdward Waters College, where he completed high school and two years of college courses.
In 1934, O'Neil left Florida for several years to participate in ofsemi-professionalbarnstorming experiences (playing interracial exhibition games).[7] O'Neil signed with theMemphis Red Sox for their first year of play in 1937 in the newly formed Negro American League. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year.[8]
O'Neil had a careerbatting average of .288 between 1937 and 1950, including four .300-plus seasons at the plate, as well as five seasons in which he did not top .260. In 1946, the first baseman led the NAL with a .353 batting average and followed that in 1947 with a .350 mark in 16 games. He also posted averages of .345 in 1940 and .330 in 1949. He played in threeEast-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and twoNegro World Series.[9]
O'Neil's baseball career was interrupted for two years (1944 and 1945) duringWorld War II when he joined theU.S. Navy after the close of the 1943 season. He served his enlistment in a naval construction battalion in New Jersey and as a stevedore in theMariana Islands and thePhilippines.[10] He returned to the Monarchs at the start of the 1946 season.[11]
O'Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 afterFrank Duncan's retirement, and continued to play first base as well as a regular through 1951, dropping to part-time status afterward. He managed the Monarchs for eight seasons from 1948 through 1955 during the declining years of the Negro leagues, winning two league titles[12] and a shared title in which no playoff was held during that period.[13] His two undisputed pennants were won in 1953 and 1955, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams.
O'Neil was known to have played full-time in 1951 and as a reserve and pinch-hitter as late as 1955, but Negro leagues statistics for the period 1951 and after are considered unreliable, and rapidly dropping below major league quality.[14][15]
| Year | Team | Age | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | BA | OBP | SLG |
| 1937 | Memphis | 25 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .294 | .294 | .559 |
| 1938 | Kansas City | 26 | 39 | 127 | 25 | 33 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 11 | 16 | .260 | .343 | .433 |
| 1939 | Kansas City | 27 | 46 | 155 | 19 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 14 | .181 | .249 | .284 |
| 1940 | Kansas City | 28 | 31 | 114 | 19 | 35 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 5 | 6 | .307 | .342 | .447 |
| 1941 | Kansas City | 29 | 32 | 129 | 18 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 7 | .233 | .272 | .302 |
| 1942 | Kansas City | 30 | 46 | 178 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 11 | .264 | .307 | .337 |
| 1943 | Kansas City | 31 | 39 | 144 | 21 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 8 | .292 | .333 | .340 |
| 1944-45 | Naval service | ||||||||||||||
| 1946 | Kansas City | 34 | 27 | 95 | 14 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 14 | .284 | .376 | .347 |
| 1947 | Kansas City | 35 | 36 | 127 | 27 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 13 | .268 | .340 | .378 |
| 1948 | Kansas City | 36 | 19 | 69 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 5 | .261 | .311 | .275 |
| 1949 | Kansas City | 37 | 45 | 109 | 17 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 0 | .330 | .330 | .394 |
| 1950 | Kansas City | 38 | 31 | 83 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | .253 | .340 | .398 |
| 1951 | Kansas City | 39 | 42 | 134 | -- | 44 | -- | -- | 3 | 26 | -- | -- | .328 | ~.328 | .396 |
| 1952 | Kansas City | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1953 | Kansas City | 41 | 15 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -- | .476 | ~.476 | .476 |
| 1954 | Kansas City | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1955 | Kansas City | 43 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- | --- |
| Total | 12 seasons (through 1950) | 400 | 1364 | 213 | 361 | 55 | 22 | 11 | 176 | 56 | 105 | .288 | .317 | .361 | |
| 2.469 Seasons 162-gm avg | 162 | 552 | 86 | 146 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 71 | 23 | 43 | .288 | .317 | .361 | ||
WhenTom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O'Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for theChicago Cubs,[16] and is credited for signingHall of Fame playerLou Brock to his first professional baseball contract.[17] O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of FamerErnie Banks to his first contract; Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs byCool Papa Bell,[18] then manager of the Monarchs' barnstormingB team in 1949. He played briefly for the Monarchs in 1950 and 1953, his play interrupted by Army duty. O'Neil was Banks' manager during those stints, and Banks was signed to play for the Cubs more than two years before O'Neil joined them as a scout. He was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962, although he was not assigned in-game base coaching duties, nor was he included in the Cubs' "College of Coaches" system, and was never allowed to manage the team during that time.[19] After many years with the Cubs, O'Neil became aKansas City Royals scout in 1988, and was named "Midwest Scout of the Year" in 1998.[20]
O'Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part ofKen Burns' 1994PBS documentary on baseball.[21] Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on theLate Show with David Letterman andThe Late Late Show with Tom Snyder.[22]
In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish theNegro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) inKansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death.[23] In 1996, O'Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from theUniversity of Missouri – Kansas City inKansas City, Missouri.[24]
In February 2002, at the end of theNLBM's Legacy Awards annual banquet, O'Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis.[25]
O'Neil and all-starIchiro Suzuki developed a relationship, with Ichiro attending the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum alongside O'Neil and seeking O'Neil's knowledge of the game when theSeattle Mariners would have road games in Kansas City. "With Buck, I felt something big. The way he carried himself, you can see and tell and feel he loved this game."[26]
On May 13, 2006, he received anhonorary doctorate in education fromMissouri Western State University where he also gave the commencement speech.[27]
O'Neil was a member of the 18-memberBaseball Hall of FameVeterans Committee from 1981 to 2000 and played an important role in the induction of six Negro league players from 1995 to 2001 during the time the Hall had a policy of inducting one Negro leaguer per year.[28] O'Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in2006, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission; however, 17 other Negro league figures were selected.[29]
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. Now, if I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful.[30]
On July 29, 2006, O'Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro league players at the Baseball Hall of Fame.[31]
Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O'Neil signed a contract with theKansas City T-Bones on July 17 to allow him to play in theNorthern League All-Star Game.[32] Before the game, O'Neil was "traded" to theFargo-Moorhead RedHawks and was listed as the startingshortstop, although after drawing anintentional walk, he was replaced before actually playing in the field. At the end of the inning, another "trade" was announced that brought O'Neil back to the Kansas City team, allowing him to lead off the bottom of the inning as well (drawing another intentional walk).[33]
The T-Bones originally claimed that O'Neil, at age 94 years, 8 months, and 5 days, would be by far the oldest person to appear in a professional baseball game (surpassing 83-year-old Jim Eriotes who had struck out in another Northern League game just a week earlier).[34][35] However, that claim was in error, as theSchaumburg Flyers of the Northern League had signedTed "Double Duty" Radcliffe to a one-game contract and allowed him to face one batter on June 19, 1999 when he was 96 years old.[36] While O'Neil was the second-oldest pro player, the claim was amended that he would be the oldest person to make a plate appearance in a professional baseball game.
The Kansas City T-Bonesretired his number on May 26, 2006.[37] In 2021, the team rebranded itself as theKansas City Monarchs as a salute to O'Neill and the historic franchise.[38]
On August 5, 2006, O'Neil was admitted to a Kansas City hospital after complaining that he did not feel well. He was admitted forfatigue and was released three days later only to be re-admitted on September 17. On September 28, Kansas City media reported O'Neil's condition had worsened.[39][40] On October 6, O'Neil died at the age of 94 due toheart failure andbone marrow cancer.[41]
During theESPN opening day broadcast of the 2007Kansas City Royals, on April 2, 2007,Joe Morgan announced the Royals would honor O'Neil by placing a fan in theBuck O'Neil Legacy Seat[42] inKauffman Stadium each game who best exemplifies O'Neil's spirit. The seat itself has been replaced by a red seat amidst the all-blue seats behind home plate in Section 101, Row C, Seat 1. Due to the renovations and section renumbering in 2009 the seat number is now Section 127, Row C, Seat 9, and the seat bottom is now padded. The first person to sit in "Buck's seat" was Buck O'Neil's brother, Warren G. O'Neil (1917–2013), who also played in the Negro American League.[43]
On December 7, 2006, O'Neil was posthumously awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentGeorge W. Bush;[44] the award was presented to his brother, Warren, on his behalf on December 15. He was chosen due to his "excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field", according to the White House news release. He joins other baseball notables such asRoberto Clemente,Joe DiMaggio,Willie Mays, andJackie Robinson in receiving the United States' highest civilian honor. On November 13, 2012 the family of Buck O'Neil donated his Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in honor of what would have been O'Neil's 101st birthday. The medal will be showcased in a special area of the NLBM dedicated to O'Neil.[45]
On March 31, 2007—the day of Major League Baseball's first annualCivil Rights Game—O'Neil was posthumously awarded MLB's first annualBeacon of Life Award at the inaugural MLB Beacon Awards luncheon.[46][47]
On October 24, 2007, O'Neil was posthumously given a Lifetime Achievement Award named after him.He had fallen short in the Hall of Fame vote in 2006; however, he was honored in 2007 with a new award given by the Hall of Fame, to be named after him.
In 2008 a life size statue of O'Neil was placed on display inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on18th and Vine in Kansas City, and theBuck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented no more than every three years.[48]
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, repeatedly citing the title of O'Neil's autobiography,I Was Right on Time.[49]
On November 5, 2021, O'Neil was selected to the final ballot of 10 candidates for consideration by the Early Days Committee during voting for induction to the Hall of Fame. Candidates needed to receive at least 12 of 16 votes (75%) for election, with the results to be announced in December.[50] On December 5, the Hall of Fame announced that O'Neil andBud Fowler had been elected, with 13 and 12 votes, respectively.[51]
He was formally enshrined on July 24, 2022, with his niece Angela Terry accepting the nomination and delivering a speech on his behalf.[52]
O'Neil, who scouted and signed Joe Carter, ....
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)[The award] was accepted by Don Motley, the executive director of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum ....
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