Where to start, wow.. Well first, he's better known by the name Buck. There was an owner of a team he played for named Buck O'Neal (with an 'A' insteada an 'I') and he started calling him Buck.
One of his best friends and fellow teammates was Satchel Paige. Paige, by proxy, had another name for Buck... "Nancy".. On one road trip, Satchel was entertaining a lady named Nancy, but too, he had his fiance, Lahoma, also with him on the trip. Later in the evening, Lahoma was awoken by Satchel knocking on a different hotel door, shouting "Nancy, Nancy"... Lahoma opened the door and at the very same instant, Buck opened his too. Sorting out the dilemma, Buck said "Did you want something Satchel?" "Yes, Nancy," Satchel said, "What time is the game tomorrow?"
Buck was born in Carrabelle, Florida in 1911. He attended school through 8th grade, but there were no high schools to attend (wasn't allowed in white high school... there were four black high schools in the entire state, none close.) So... he worked the celery fields with his dad. One particularly hot day he would say "Damn, there's got to be something better than this." And the answer was baseball, as in, a life time of it. He'd tell that story and let kids know it was probably the first time he'd ever cussed.
He barnstormed on teams all about Florida, eventually moved in with relatives in Jacksonville where he attended Edward Waters College, completed high school and two years of college. Thanks to eyeballs on him playing in those barnstorming games, he was signed by the Memphis Red Sox in the newly formed Negro American League. The next year his contract was sold to the Kansas City Monarchs and thankfully we (KC) were afforded the vast majority of his life in our fine city.
In an interview for Sports Illustrated, Buck recounted those early Monarch years: "We were like the New York Yankees. We had that winning tradition, and we were proud. We had a strict dress code—coat and tie, no baseball jackets. We stayed in the best hotels in the world. They just happened to be owned by black people. We ate in the best restaurants in the world. They just happened to be run by blacks. And when we were in Kansas City, well, 18th and Vine was the center of the universe. We'd come to breakfast at Street's Hotel, and there might be Count Basie or Joe Louis or Billie Holiday or Lionel Hampton."
Buck was a fine player in his own right... He would lead the league in hitting twice, and posted averages over 300 four times. World War II interrupted Buck's playing days, as it did with so many other NAL MLB players, and he served in a Naval construction battalion in New Jersey. He returned in 1946, was named manager (and continued to play as well) in 1948. The Monarchs were sold in 1955, Buck resigned and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. You might have heard of the player he signed with the Cubs, Lou Brock.
If you've ever heard Buck, or read about Buck, the word POSITIVE looms large. He was that in life, and was that as a player and a manager. In fact, for a couple of years he managed a guy on the Monarchs, Ernie Banks. Buck was concerned because Ernie was shy, didn't say much and always sat at the back of the team bus. One day Buck walked back there and said "Son, you've got to love this game to play it."
Ernie would become one of the most joyous players in the Major Leagues with the Cubs, and of course is famous for his "Let's play two" attitude - "I learned that from Buck." Buck was promoted in 1962 to fulltime coach of the Cubs, the first ever African American Major League Coach.
Once Buck would say "Sometimes I think God kept me on this earth so long so I could bear witness to the Negro Leagues." Stories, he'd tell the stories. "Oscar Charleston was as good as Ty Cobb. Hilton Smith was as good as Bob Feller. Cool Papa Bell was SO FAST he once hit a ball through the pitcher's legs and it hit him as he slid into second base!"
Easter Sunday, 1943, Memphis Tennessee. First time up, Buck doubled. Second time up, singled. Third time up, home run over the right field fence. Fourth time up he hit a ball that caromed off the wall, probably could have had an inside the park home run but he stopped at third. This turned out to be the most favorite day in his life, but not because of baseball. Later that same evening, a friend called him down to meet some schoolteachers who were staying at the same hotel. He went down, saw a pretty woman, walked up to her, said "My name is Buck O'Neil, what's yours?"... "Ora" she would reply. The very start of a relationship that would also be a 51 year marriage. "That was my best day," he said, "I would hit for the cycle and I met Ora."
Buck would become a scout for the Royals in 1988, was named Midwest Scout of the Year in 1998, mind you, he's 87 years old by then. Buck was revered in his lifetime, and particularly in Kansas City. Today, there is the Buck O'Neil Legacy seat at Kaufman Stadium and every game there is an honoree selected to sit there because they exemplify the spirit and generosity of Buck.
Shortly before Buck's passing, a special election was held for the Baseball Hall of Fame. He would fall one or two votes shy of induction. "Shed no tears for Buck, that ain't gonna hurt me that much." In fact he proudly went to the ceremony which included the induction of quite a few Negro League players.. Buck HOSTED the induction!
Ken Burns tribute documentary "Baseball" is where the world learned to love Buck. He became a celebrity, went on talk shows, traveled the country and wrote a biography "I Was Right On Time."
Much of the above was taken from an obituary written by Joe Posnanski, a former writer for the Kansas City Star.
To end.. Here's 16 life lessons from Buck himself:
▪ Hug everybody you can, especially the pretty women.
▪ Drain the bitterness out of your heart. My daddy was a good man. He paid his taxes. He lived a good life. But he couldn’t vote. He was not bitter, though. …
▪ Sing a little every day.
▪ Do yourself a favor: Go down to 18th and Vine just to see a bit of Kansas City history. It was exciting. Yeah. There were musicians and baseball players and beautiful women and men dressed up like you wouldn’t believe. Every restaurant, hotel and bar had a band playing sweet music. Yeah. People ask me what it was like, I tell them this: A man would come to Kansas City and say “I have a cousin here, but I don’t know where he is.” I would say “Well, you just stand right here on the corner of 18th and Vine, and before this day is over, he will show up.” Yeah. That was 18th and Vine.
▪ Don’t smoke any of those leaves or put anything up your nose.
▪ Tell people you love them.
▪ Listen to old people tell stories. They might teach you something.
▪ Do a little showboating every now and again in your life. Remember, it was the so-so ballplayers that came up with the word “Showboating.” They were jealous. If you have something to show, go ahead and showboat a little bit.
▪ Don’t be jealous of any other city. Kansas City is the greatest city on earth.
▪ Be there for old friends.
▪ Always be on time. There’s no use in being late.
▪ Don’t let anger boil up inside you. There’s too much anger out there already. Yeah. Too much anger.
▪ Root for the Royals. They’re a good young team. They make you feel alive because they play so hard. That’s what baseball is all about.
Yesterday, John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Way, way too late, but Buck would tell you he was right on time.
Love, Victurd
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