Buck O'Neil
Encyclopedia
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
and manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
in the Negro American League
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and continued to exist until 1960...
, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro Leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri and owned by J.L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J.L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time...
. After his playing days, he worked as a scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
, and became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. 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
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri.-History:The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 by a group of former Negro Leagues baseball players, including Kansas City Monarchs outfielder, Alfred Surratt, Buck O'Neil, and Horace Peterson...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Playing career
Born in rural CarrabelleCarrabelle, Florida
Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2009, the city had a population of 1,231.-Location:...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, O'Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school due to racial segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
; at the time, Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. However, after working a summer in a celery field with his father, O'Neil left home to live with relatives and attend Edward Waters College
Edward Waters College
-External links:* -- Official web site** at * Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs** **...
in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, where he completed high school and two years of college courses. He left Florida in 1934 for several years of semi-professional "barnstorming" experiences (playing interracial exhibition games),. The effort paid off, and in 1937, O'Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox
Memphis Red Sox
The Memphis Red Sox were a professional Negro League baseball team based in Memphis, Tennessee from the 1920s until the end of segregated baseball....
for their first year of play in the newly-formed Negro American League. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year.
O'Neil had a career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of .288 between 1937 and 1950, including five .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 .350 batting average and followed that in 1947 with a .305 mark in 16 games. 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 League World Series
Negro League World Series
The Negro League World Series was a post-season baseball tournament which was held from 1924-1927 and from 1942-1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east coast counterparts....
.
A World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
tour in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1943–1945 briefly interrupted his playing career.
O'Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 after Frank 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 and a shared title in which no playoff was held during that period. His two undisputed pennants were won in 1953 and 1955, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams.
Negro leagues career statistics
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 extremely unreliable.| Year | Team | Age | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | BA | SLG |
| 1937 | Memphis Memphis Red Sox The Memphis Red Sox were a professional Negro League baseball team based in Memphis, Tennessee from the 1920s until the end of segregated baseball.... |
25 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | .125 |
| 1938 | Kansas City Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro Leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri and owned by J.L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J.L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time... |
26 | 30 | 94 | 14 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 8 | .234 | .298 |
| 1939 | Kansas City | 27 | 29 | 101 | 12 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 4 | .238 | .347 |
| 1940 | Kansas City | 28 | 25 | 93 | 17 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 5 | .344 | .473 |
| 1941 | Kansas City | 29 | 29 | 113 | 16 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 3 | 4 | .257 | .336 |
| 1942 | Kansas City | 30 | 36 | 145 | 18 | 39 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 3 | 4 | .269 | .352 |
| 1943 | Kansas City | 31 | 19 | 68 | 12 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 5 | .338 | .426 |
| 1944-45 | Military service | |||||||||||||
| 1946 | Kansas City | 34 | 58 | 197 | 36 | 69 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 27 | 12 | 12 | .350 | .497 |
| 1947 | Kansas City | 35 | 16 | 59 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 7 | .305 | .508 |
| 1948 | Kansas City | 36 | 42 | 162 | 14 | 41 | 6 | 1 | 1 | -- | 3 | 9 | .253 | .321 |
| 1949 | Kansas City | 37 | 45 | 109 | 17 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 0 | .330 | .394 |
| 1950 | Kansas City | 38 | 31 | 83 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | .253 | .398 |
| 1951 | Kansas City | 39 | 42 | 134 | -- | 44 | -- | -- | 3 | 26 | -- | -- | .328 | .396 |
| 1952 | Kansas City | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- |
| 1953 | Kansas City | 41 | 15 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -- | .476 | .476 |
| 1954 | Kansas City | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- |
| 1955 | Kansas City | 43 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- |
| Total | 12 seasons (through 1950) |
362 | 1232 | 187 | 355 | 57 | 20 | 10 | 136 | 36 | 72 | .288 | .391 | |
Source: Hall of Fame Committee on African-American Baseball, 2006
Off the field
When Tom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O'Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the Chicago CubsChicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
. He was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962 and is credited for signing Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
player Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
to his first contract. O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks
Ernie Banks
Ernest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...
to his first contract; Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs by Cool Papa Bell, then manager of the Monarchs' barnstorming B team in 1949. Banks 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.
After many years with the Cubs, O'Neil became a Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
scout in 1988, and was named "Midwest Scout of the Year" in 1998.
O'Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part of Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
' 1994 PBS documentary
Baseball (documentary)
Baseball is an 18½ hour, Emmy Award-winning documentary series by Ken Burns about the game of baseball. First broadcast on PBS, this was Burns' ninth documentary.- Format :...
on baseball. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
and the Late, Late Show with Tom Snyder.
In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri.-History:The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 by a group of former Negro Leagues baseball players, including Kansas City Monarchs outfielder, Alfred Surratt, Buck O'Neil, and Horace Peterson...
(NLBM) in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death.
In 1996, O'Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
In February 2002, at the end of the NLBM's
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri.-History:The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 by a group of former Negro Leagues baseball players, including Kansas City Monarchs outfielder, Alfred Surratt, Buck O'Neil, and Horace Peterson...
Legacy Awards annual banquet, O'Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis.
A busy final year
On May 13, 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in education from Missouri Western State UniversityMissouri Western State University
Missouri Western State University is a public, co-educational university located in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The school enrolls 6,010 undergraduate students and 124 graduate students.-History:...
where he also gave the commencement speech.
O'Neil was a member of the 18-member Baseball Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Veterans Committee
Veterans Committee
The Veterans Committee is the popular name of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee to Consider Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players, a committee of the U.S...
from 1981 to 2000 and played an important role in the induction of six Negro league players from 1995–2001 during the time the Hall had a policy of inducting one Negro leaguer per year. O'Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in 2006
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2006
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2006 proceeded in keeping with rules enacted in 2001, augmented by a special election; the result was the largest class of inductees in the Hall's history, including the first woman elected. The Baseball Writers Association of America held an election to...
, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission; however, 17 other Negro league figures were selected.
"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".
On July 29, 2006, O'Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro league players at the Baseball Hall of Fame (MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
audio: http://www.missourinet.com/mp3/buck.mp3).
Still playing after all these years
Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O'Neil signed a contract with the Kansas City T-BonesKansas City T-Bones
The Kansas City T-Bones are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas, in the United States. The T-Bones are a member of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
on July 18 to allow him to play in the Northern League All-Star Game. Before the game, O'Neil was "traded" to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are a member of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
and was listed as the starting shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, although after drawing an intentional walk
Intentional base on balls
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by IBB, is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball...
, 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).
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). However, that claim was in error, as the Schaumburg Flyers
Schaumburg Flyers
The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The Flyers were to be a charter member of the North American League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, however, the team folded in March of 2011, before they began play in...
of the Northern League had signed Ted "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. 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.
Death and legacy
Fatigue (physical)
Fatigue is a state of awareness describing a range of afflictions, usually associated with physical and/or mental weakness, though varying from a general state of lethargy to a specific work-induced burning sensation within one's muscles...
and was released three days later only to be re-admitted September 17. On September 28, Kansas City media reported that O'Neil's condition had worsened. On October 6, O'Neil died at the age of 94 of heart failure and bone marrow cancer.
During the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
opening day broadcast of the 2007 Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
, on April 2, 2007, Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
announced that the Royals would honor O'Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat in Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex...
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, Seat 9, Row C and the seat bottom is now padded. The first person to sit in "Buck's seat" was Buck O'Neil's brother, Warren.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
On December 7, 2006, O'Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of FreedomPresidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
; the award was given 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 such sports notables as Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, and Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
in receiving the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' highest civilian honor.
Beacon of Life Award
On March 31, 2007—the day of Major League Baseball's first annual Civil Rights GameCivil Rights Game
The Civil Rights Game is an annual Major League Baseball game that honors the history of civil rights in the United States and marked the unofficial end to the league's Spring Training. Starting in 2009, the game became a regular season game.The first two games were held at AutoZone Park in...
—O'Neil was posthumously awarded MLB's first annual Beacon of Life Award at the inaugural MLB Beacon Awards luncheon.
Lifetime Achievement Award
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. A statue of O'Neil is to be placed inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on 18th and Vine in Kansas City, and the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award
Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award
The Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award is an award presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame every three years to honor an individual who enhances baseball's positive image on society, who broadens the game's appeal, and whose integrity and dignity are comparable to the namesake of the...
will be presented no more than every 3 years.
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.
Other honors
- Buck O'Neil Run/Walk
- "John Jordan 'Buck' O'Neil" exhibit (in the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame)
See also
- List of African American firsts
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame - 2006 Negro League Committee candidate profile at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Inaugural O'Neil Award bestowed to its namesake
- Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
- Michael Tillery tribute article
- John "Buck" O'Neil's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project