Buck O'Neil

John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was an American first baseman and manager in Negro league baseball, most notably in the Negro American League with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball, and also worked as a scout. 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.

Playing career

Born in rural Carrabelle, Florida, O'Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school due to racial segregation; 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 in Jacksonville, 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) [Cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/robinson/jr1900s.html|title=Barnstorming & the Negro Leagues: 1900s–1930s|accessdate=2006-10-08|work=Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson|publisher=American Memory from the Library of Congress] , where one of his teammates was the legendary Satchel Paige. The effort paid off, and in 1937, O'Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox 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 of .288, including four .300-plus seasons at the plate. In 1946 the first baseman led the league in hitting with a .353 average and followed that in 1947 with a career-best .358 mark. He also posted averages of .345 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.

A World War II tour in the U.S. Navy 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 from 1948 through 1954 during the declining years of the Negro Leagues, winning two and a half league titles during that time.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

O'Neil was known to have played full time in 1951 and as a reserve as late as 1954, but Negro Leagues statistics for the period 1951 and after are considered extremely unreliable.

"Source: Hall of Fame Committee on African-American Baseball, 2006"

Off the field

O'Neil left the Monarchs after the 1954 season, and in 1955 became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962 and is credited for signing Hall of Fame player Lou Brock to his first contract. O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks 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 for the Monarchs briefly in 1950 and again in 1953 when O'Neil was his manager, and 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 scout in 1988, and was named "Midwest Scout of the Year" in 1998.

O'Neil gained national prominence with his compelling narration of the Negro Leagues as part of Ken Burns' 1994 PBS documentary on baseball. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and the "Late, Late Show with Tom Snyder".

In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death.

A busy final year

On May 13, 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in education from Missouri Western State University where he also gave the commencement speech.

="If I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me."=

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 1995-2001 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, 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“. [Cite news|title=?|publisher=The Kansas City Star|date=February 28, 2006]

On July 29, 2006, O'Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro League players at the Baseball Hall of Fame (MP3 audio: [http://www.missourinet.com/mp3/buck.mp3] ).

till playing after all these years

Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O'Neil signed a contract with the Kansas City T-Bones 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 and was listed as the starting shortstop, although after drawing an intentional 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).

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 Eriote who had struck out in another Northern League game just a week earlier). [Cite news|title=Ex-Negro Leaguer digs in at All-Star game|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13921841/|publisher=Associated Press|date=July 18, 2006|accessdate=2006-10-09] [Cite news|title=Stars of All Ages Shine in N.L. All-Star Game|url=http://www.northernleague.com/news/?id=4950|date=July 18, 2006|accessdate=2006-10-09] However, that claim was in error, as the Schaumburg Flyers 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. [Cite web|url=http://www.flyersbaseball.com/flyers/franchise_history/index.htm|title=Key Dates in Schaumburg Flyers History|publisher=Schaumburg Flyers|accessdate=2006-10-09] 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 / Legacy

On August 5 2006, O'Neil was admitted to a Kansas City hospital after complaining that he didn't feel well. He was admitted for fatigue 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. [Cite news|title=Buck O'Neil Remains Hospitalized|url=http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/sports/9959376/detail.html|publisher=TheKansasCityChannel.com|date=September 28, 2006|accessdate=2006-10-09] [Cite news|first=Sam|last=Mellinger|title=O’Neil’s health worries his friends|url=http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15634742.htm|publisher=The Kansas City Star|date=September 29, 2006|accessdate=2006-10-09] On October 6, O'Neil died at the age of 94 of heart failure and bone marrow cancer. [Cite news|title=Baseball Legend Buck O'Neil Dies At 94|url=http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/10021291/detail.html|date=October 6, 2006|accessdate=2006-10-09]

During the ESPN opening day broadcast of the 2007 Kansas City Royals, on April 2, 2007, Joe Morgan announced that the Royals would honor O'Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat seat in Kauffman 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. 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 Freedom by President George W. Bush [Cite news|title=Buck O'Neil awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16189835.htm|publisher=McClatchy Newspapers|date=December 7, 2006|accessdate=2006-12-08] ; 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, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Jack Nicklaus in receiving the United States' highest civilian honor.

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, and the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented no more than every 3 years. [ [http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Sports/Detail?contentId=4733645&version=7&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=6.1.1 Hall of Fame Honors Buck O'Neil with Lifetime Achievement Award] ]

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".

ee also

*List of African American firsts

Notes

References

*Cite news|title=John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil|url=http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/special_packages/oneil/|publisher=The Kansas City Star|date=October 8, 2006|accessdate=2006-10-09 A special 8-page tribute section.
* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/oneil_buck.htm Baseball Hall of Fame Candidate's Biography]
* [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/buckoneilbaseballhalloffame.htm Address at the National Baseball Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/shadowball/oneil.html PBS Interview With O'Neil]
* [http://patrickhickeyjr.tripod.com/buckoneilinterview.html Buck O'Neil Interview July 2006]
* [http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/rockies/article/0,1713,BDC_2451_5050147,00.html Buck O'Neil Obituary]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=thompson_wright&id=2608378 ESPN: "O'Neil Was the Real 'Voice' of America"]
* [http://www.srqmagazine.com/issues/issueDetail.cfm?iteID=448 SRQ Magazine interview September 2006]
* [http://tavistalks.com/TTcom/TSradio/ARCH2006/033106arch/index.html Buck O'Neil Interview on Public Radio International's "The Tavis Smiley Show" March 31, 2006]
* [http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Sports/Detail?contentId=4733645&version=7&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=6.1.1 Hall of Fame Honors Buck O'Neil with Lifetime Achievement Award]

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070608094140/http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/oneil_buck.htm Baseball Hall of Fame - 2006 Negro League Committee candidate profile] at the Internet Archive
* [http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080727&content_id=8819&vkey=hof_news Baseball Hall of Fame: Inaugural O'Neil Award bestowed to its namesake]
* [http://www.nlbm.com/ Negro Leagues Baseball Museum]
* [http://www.blacksportsnetwork.com/articles/features/buck_100906.asp Michael Tillery tribute article]
* [http://www.artsales.com/ARTstudio/highland_studios/negro_league_3.htm John Jordan "Buck O'Neil" pioneer and leader in the integration of Baseball]