Northeast News
May 5, 2011

JEFFERSON CITY — Buck O’Neill now has his own day in Missouri. The Missouri General Assembly approved House Concurrent Resolution 15 on May 3, which designates Nov. 13, 2011, as “Buck O’Neill Day” in honor of the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball.

Rep. Michael Brown, D-Kansas City in the Missouri House and Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City in the Missouri Senate, carried the measure.

“It is a great honor for me to be given the privilege of shepherding this bill through the Missouri Senate that recognizes a true Missouri hero,” Sen. Curls said. “Buck O’Neill was a kind and gentle man who overcame many hardships to pursue his dreams, and he will be remembered fondly in our hearts for his wisdom, his humor and his love of the game.”

John Jordan “Buck” O’Neill was born in Florida Nov. 13, 1911, and later became a first baseman and manager in Negro Leagues baseball, most notably in the Negro American League with the Kansas City Monarchs.

O’Neill continued playing baseball through 1955, and later became the first African-American to coach in the majors with the Chicago Cubs in 1962.

As a baseball scout, O’Neill signed Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Lou Brock. However, O’Neill himself failed to make the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown by one vote. On the day of Hall of Fame selections, O’Neill displayed great class and humility in front of his friends and admirers.

“God’s been good to me,” O’Neill told the crowd. “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.”

O’Neill was a role model and a hero to black baseball players and a respected voice in the baseball community, tirelessly promoting the need to recognize and honor the Negro League players.

Thanks in large part to O’Neill’s efforts, the Baseball Hall of Fame held a special election a few years ago to honor outstanding Negro League players and executives. Although O’Neill failed to make the cut for Cooperstown, the Hall of Fame in 2007 created the Buck O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award in his honor. President Bush posthumously awarded O’Neill the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006 for his “excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field.” A bronze statue of O’Neill graces the entrance to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum at 18th and Vine in Kansas City, a museum O’Neill played a major role in establishing.

On Oct. 6, 2006, O’Neill died of heart failure and bone marrow cancer at a hospital in Kansas City. He was 94.