John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was an American

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

in the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

, mostly with the

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 193 ...

. After his playing days, he worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and became the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

coach in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. 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 The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the historic 18th and Vine – Downtown East, Kans ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. He was inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

in 2022 as an executive. O'Neil was prominently featured in

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

's 1994 documentary series ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

.'' His life was documented in Joe Posnanski's 2007 book '' The Soul of Baseball.''

Growing up

O'Neil was born in

Carrabelle, Florida Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County along Florida's Panhandle, United States. It is located east of Apalachicola at the mouth of the Carrabelle River on the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 2,606 as of the 2020 census. History In 152 ...

, 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 to

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

. Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. He grew up in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

in the Newtown community. O'Neil worked the celery fields in Sarasota while his father ran a pool hall in Newtown. He then later moved to

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

with relatives and attended Edward Waters College, where he completed high school and two years of college courses.

Playing career

In 1934, O'Neil left Florida for several years to participate in of

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

experiences (playing interracial exhibition games). O'Neil signed with the Memphis 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. O'Neil had a career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

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 three East-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and two

Negro World Series The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was ...

. O'Neil's baseball career was interrupted for two years (1944 and 1945) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when he joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

after the close of the 1943 season. He served his enlistment in a naval construction battalion in New Jersey and as a stevedore in the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He returned to the Monarchs at the start of the 1946 season. 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 unreliable, and rapidly dropping below major league quality.

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 Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, and is credited for signing

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

player Lou Brock to his first professional baseball contract. O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

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. 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. After many years with the Cubs, O'Neil became a

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

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

' 1994 PBS documentary on baseball. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' and '' The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder''. In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish the

(NLBM) in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, 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

. In February 2002, at the end of the NLBM's Legacy Awards annual banquet, O'Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis. O'Neil and all-star

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the next 12 years w ...

developed a relationship, with Ichiro attending the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum alongside O'Neil and seeking O'Neil's knowledge of the game when the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

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."

Final year

On May 13, 2006, he received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in education from

Missouri Western State University Missouri Western State University (MWSU or MoWest) is a public university in St. Joseph, Missouri. As of 2023, it enrolled 3,815 students. History Missouri Western State University was founded in 1915 as St. Joseph Junior College and held cours ...

where he also gave the commencement speech. O'Neil was a member of the 18-member

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame 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. O'Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, 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. Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O'Neil signed a contract with the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

on July 17 to allow him to play in the Northern League All-Star Game. Before the game, O'Neil was "traded" to the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Lea ...

and was listed as the starting

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

, although after drawing an

intentional walk 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 ...

, 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 The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The team played in the Northern League from 1999 to 2010, with their home games at Alexian Field, near the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. T ...

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. The Kansas City T-Bones

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

his number on May 26, 2006. In 2021, the team rebranded itself as the

as a salute to O'Neill and the historic franchise.

Death and legacy

On August 5, 2006, O'Neil was admitted to a Kansas City hospital after complaining that he did not feel well. He was admitted for

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

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. On October 6, O'Neil died at the age of 94 due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

and bone marrow cancer. During the

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

opening day broadcast of the 2007

, on April 2, 2007,

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Fran ...

announced the Royals would honor O'Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat in

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium () (nicknamed "The K") is a ballpark located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Bo ...

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."Memories are Cherished for a Lifetime," ''

Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. Headquartered at 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's ...

,'' September 23, 1994, p. 1D (accessible ''via''

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

at )

Presidential Medal of Freedom

On December 7, 2006, O'Neil was posthumously awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

; 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 as

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

, and

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

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.

Beacon of Life Award

On March 31, 2007—the day of Major League Baseball's first annual

Civil Rights Game The Civil Rights Game was an annual game in Major League Baseball (MLB) that honored the history of civil rights in the United States. Its first two playings also marked an unofficial end to the league's spring training. The game was played annua ...

—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. In 2008 a life size statue of O'Neil was placed on display inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on 18th and Vine in Kansas City, and the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented no more than every three 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''.

Baseball Hall of Fame

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. On December 5, the Hall of Fame announced that O'Neil and

Bud Fowler Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913), born "John W. Jackson", was an American baseball player, manager, and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball. He was elected to the ...

had been elected, with 13 and 12 votes, respectively."Fowler, Hodges, Kaat, Miñoso, Oliva, O'Neil Elected to Hall of Fame"
baseballhall.org. December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021. He was formally enshrined on July 24, 2022, with his niece Angela Terry accepting the nomination and delivering a speech on his behalf.

Other honors

* Buck O'Neil Run/Walk * "John Jordan 'Buck' O'Neil" exhibit (in the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame) * Shrine of the Eternals: O’Neil was inducted into the

Baseball Reliquary The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit educational organization "dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibiliti ...

's Shrine of the Eternals in 2008."Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees"
. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved August 14, 2019. * Hall of Famous Missourians: In February 2012 O'Neil was inducted to the Hall, located in the Missouri state capitol building in

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

. A bronze bust of O'Neil will be on permanent display by the sculptor E. Spencer Schubert. * Buck O'Neil Bridge

* Right on Time Café onboard the USS ''Kansas City'' (LCS-22) * In the ''

Get Fuzzy ''Get Fuzzy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip written and drawn by Darby Conley. It features Boston advertising executive Rob Wilco and his two anthropomorphic pets, a dog, Satchel Pooch, and a cat, Bucky Katt. While there have been no ne ...

'' comic strip, Bucky the

Siamese cat The Siamese cat (; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam; แมววิเชียรมาศ, Maeo Wichien Maat) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. It derives from the Wichianmat landrace. The Siamese cat is one ...

is named in honor of O'Neil. * The Northern Florida chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research is named in honor of O'Neil.

Notes

References

Address at the National Baseball Hall of Fame

SRQ Magazine interview September 2006

External links

Buck O'Neil
at th
Baseball Hall of Fame
an
Seamheads
*Coaching career statistics and player information fro

Baseball Hall of Fame: Inaugural O'Neil Award bestowed to its namesake

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

John "Buck" O'Neil's oral history video excerpts
at The National Visionary Leadership Project

at The Deadball Era * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneil, Buck 1911 births 2006 deaths National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Museum founders Kansas City Monarchs players Memphis Red Sox players Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri Baseball players with retired numbers Chicago Cubs coaches African-American baseball coaches Negro league baseball managers Chicago Cubs scouts Kansas City Royals scouts 20th-century African-American sportsmen United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II African-American United States Navy personnel African Americans in World War II Edward Waters University alumni People from Carrabelle, Florida Deaths from cancer in Missouri Deaths from leukemia in the United States Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States