Saturday, October 07, 2006
A Huge Loss for Baseball
I just read the sad news that Buck O'Neil died Friday night at the age of 94.
Buck first came to the attention of many baseball fans in 1994 when he was featured in Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary. He was one of a number of players, sportswriters and other baseball personalities who shared their insights on the game, and was the only person to have a full interview during the program. Most of O'Neil's perspectives dealt with his experience in the Negro Leagues, where he played with some of the great black players of the pre-Robinson era. He also roomed with Satchel Paige when he was a catcher for the Kansas City Monarchs.
Even if you aren't a baseball fan, you had to like O'Neil for his charming personality, his ability to tell a story well, and the fact that he was never bitter about not being able to play in the Major Leagues, although he did become the first black coach in MLB.
Earlier this year, a special committee met to make final judgments on Hall of Fame selection for Negro League figures. O'Neil was considered a shoo-in, but for reasons that aren't really clear, he missed election by one vote. True to character, O'Neil insisted he wasn't disappointed, instead saying how lucky he was to have spent his life in baseball. But in addition to having been MLB's first black coach, here are some additional points to ponder:
Buck first came to the attention of many baseball fans in 1994 when he was featured in Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary. He was one of a number of players, sportswriters and other baseball personalities who shared their insights on the game, and was the only person to have a full interview during the program. Most of O'Neil's perspectives dealt with his experience in the Negro Leagues, where he played with some of the great black players of the pre-Robinson era. He also roomed with Satchel Paige when he was a catcher for the Kansas City Monarchs.
Even if you aren't a baseball fan, you had to like O'Neil for his charming personality, his ability to tell a story well, and the fact that he was never bitter about not being able to play in the Major Leagues, although he did become the first black coach in MLB.
Earlier this year, a special committee met to make final judgments on Hall of Fame selection for Negro League figures. O'Neil was considered a shoo-in, but for reasons that aren't really clear, he missed election by one vote. True to character, O'Neil insisted he wasn't disappointed, instead saying how lucky he was to have spent his life in baseball. But in addition to having been MLB's first black coach, here are some additional points to ponder:
- He was one of the great players of the Negro Leagues. Probably only Josh Gibson, who was sometimes compared to Babe Ruth, surpassed O'Neil as a catcher.
- O'Neil served unofficially as the greatest historian of Negro League history for decades after most other players of that era had passed away.
- As a scout for the Chicago Cubs, he discovered Lou Brock and Ernie Banks.
- Regardless of his official position at any given time, he is always referred to as a goodwill ambassador for baseball, and has done more for the betterment of baseball than many players enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
- This past July, Buck batted in both halves of the first inning at the Northern League All-Star Game, making him the oldest man to ever play professional baseball.
- At the time of his death, Buck served as chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, and also was a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown) Veteran's Committee.
To give you an idea of the scope of O'Neil's involvement in baseball, consider that he saw home runs hit by Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson, Bo Jackson, and Barry Bonds.
On a more personal note, Buck O'Neil was a native Floridian, and I'm sorry to say that he was denied the chance to share my alma mater (as well as that of the late Red Barber), as the University of Florida did not admit black students in Buck's time.
Rest in peace, Buck. :-(
