CHARLIE VASCELLARO

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THE SPORTS BEAT

COOPERSTOWN

Not quite lost in the fanfare of last week’s Hall of Fame Inductions, the first and perhaps most significant ceremony of the weekend was the dedication of a life-size bronze statue of legendary Negro Leagues’ ambassador and lifelong baseball man Buck O’Neil and the creation of a lifetime achievement award to be presented in his name.
The award will be presented not more frequently than once every three years, to individuals whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseball’s positive impact on society, broadened the game’s appeal and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O’Neil.
“It makes a lot of sense, especially for the Hall of Fame, who really has been trying to find a way to honor people like Buck and people who make contributions to the game that clearly have impact and clearly mean a lot to the fans of the game, but perhaps don’t fit into any statistical categories or contributions by owners and executives,” said Ray Doswell, deputy director and chief curator of the Negro Leagues Baseball Musuem in Kansas City. “So he’s a unique contributor to the game, and there are probably many other people like that who the Hall of Fame would like to honor.”
Recognizing Major League Baseball’s segregated past while honoring those who toiled in the Negro Leagues has always been a daunting task for the Hall of Fame.
It wasn’t until the 1966 Induction that honoring Negro leagues players came to the consciousness of the Hall of Fame. In a memorable acceptance speech that day, inductee Ted Williams spoke on behalf of a community that he did not represent.
“Inside this building are plaques dedicated to baseball men of all generations, and I’m privileged to join them,” said Williams. “I hope someday the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way can be added as a symbol of the great Negro players that are not here, only because they were not given a chance.”
Williams’ words pierced the ears of the baseball establishment, prompting the formation of the Hall of Fame’s Committee on Negro League Veterans in 1971, which selected Satchel Paige as its first honoree.
A couple of years ago the Hall of Fame made a legitimate attempt to right other historical slights with the induction of 17 Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues professional baseball players and executives. The group represented the largest induction class in the Hall of Fame’s history and was elected from a pool of 39 nominees chosen by “The Negro Leagues Researchers/Authors Group,” a body of 12 researchers and historians selected by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors.
In spite of the large number of inductees, debate brewed over who may have been overlooked. Notably absent was O’Neil, who delivered opening remarks at the Induction, then died at age 94 just a few months later.
“This is outstanding. I’ve been a lot of places, I’ve done a lot of things that I really liked doing. I hit the home run, I hit the grand slam home run, I hit for the cycle. I’ve hit a hole in one in golf. I’ve done a lot of things I like doing… but I’d rather be right here right now representing these people that helped build a bridge across the chasm of prejudice,” said O’Neil.
The comprehensive study conducted by the research group was supposed to be the last word on Negro Leagues’ history as far as inducting former players is concerned, but O’Neil’s supporters are still lobbying for him and others he might have continued to champion.
“I personally don’t believe that the door on the Negro Leagues should be shut because, even after that 17, there were still some guys that I believe deserve to be in the Hall of Fame,” said Bob Kendrick, Negro Leagues Museum director of marketing and assistant to the executive director.
“ And Buck would have picked up that baton and as a Hall of Famer, if he were elected, it would have been easier to champion for those other guys that he felt wholeheartedly should be in,” said Kendrick. “He used to carry around a little list of people that he thought belonged in the Hall.”
Perhaps the most high profile former Negro Leagues player ever, O’Neil came to National prominence with his vivid depictions of the life and times of the Negro Leagues as an interviewee in filmmaker Ken Burns, Baseball documentary series for PBS.
A 16-year veteran of the Negro Leagues, O’Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox in 1937, the inaugural season of the Negro-American League. A year later he joined the Kansas City Monarchs where he teamed with legendary hurler Satchel Paige on four consecutive Negro-American League pennant-winning teams from 1939-1942.
At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, O’Neil was a big sure-handed first baseman who could also hit, posting a .353 average in the Monarchs victory over the Homestead Grays in the first World Series played between the Negro American and National leagues in 1939. The following year O’Neil compiled a .345 average, the first of four seasons in which he would hit above .300. He hit a league leading .353 in 1946 en-route to yet another World Series for the Monarchs. O’Neil hit a career best .358 in 1947, the same year Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in the major leagues and hit .330 as player/manager for the Monarchs in 1949.

Labels: Baseball Hall of Fame, Buck O'Neil, Negro Leagues, Sports