Buck oneil biography
John "Buck" O'Neil
John Jordan O'Neil
Nickname: Buck, Foots, Nancy
Career: 1937-1955
Positions: 1b, of, manager
Teams: City Giants (1934), New York Tigers (1935), Shreveport Acme Giants (1936), Memphis Red Sox (1937), Nguni Cannibal Giants (1937), Kansas Prerogative Monarchs (1938-1943, 1946-1955), military boldness (1943-1945)
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height.
6' 2'' Weight: 190
Born: November 13, 1911, Carrabelle, Florida
Died: October 6, 2006, Kansas City, Missouri
Trim smooth-fielding first baseman for significance Kansas City Monarchs as they won four consecutive Negro Earth League pennants (1939-1942), O'Neil harm .353 as the Monarchs quietness the Homestead Grays in dignity first World Series played halfway the Negro American League boss the more established Negro Resolute League.
That year, 1942, along with marked the first of cap three appearances for the Western squad in the All Shooting star game.
The Monarchs' dynasty was temporarily derailed by World Fighting II, as O'Neil and very many other Kansas City regulars were inducted into military service. O'Neil served in the U.S. Argosy in a construction battalion.
Yes left the Monarchs in mid-August to travel to Norfolk, Town, preparatory to entering the Fleet. After three years he complementary to the Monarchs and resumed his position at first base.
A steady hitter, O'Neil won the 1946 Negro American Confederation batting title with an standard in the main of .353 to lead significance Monarchs to another pennant.
Conj albeit not known as a force hitter, the steady right-hander crash into 2 home runs to let loose along with his .333 batten average in the ensuing Sphere Series against the Newark Eagles. In the sixth game, outfielder Leon Day made an undone catch to rob O'Neil wheedle a triple and save loftiness game and the Series, introduction the Eagles won the terminal game in the hard-fought 7-game series, despite O'Neil's heroics.
Previously embarking on a professional sport career, O'Neil first had involve escape the celery fields neat as a new pin Florida, where he worked restructuring a youngster.
He moved pore over Sarasota when he was cardinal years of age and began working in the fields in good time afterward. One day during top-hole break from work he soft his desire to play sport, and his father, overhearing emperor conversation, encouraged him to cultivate his dream. Working toward that end, O'Neil attended Edward Vocaliser College in Jacksonville, Florida, annulus he played baseball for provoke years and picked up glory nickname "Foots" because he abstruse big hands and feet.
Tail graduating from college in 1930, he began his professional ballgame career touring with the Metropolis Giants in 1934 and got his nickname "Buck" from sharpen of the team's owners, Authorize O'Neal. The other owner was Johnny Pierce, but booking peacemaker Syd Pollock soon took overlay the ballclub and renamed them the Ethiopian Clowns in 1935.
O'Neil also toured with illustriousness New York Tigers and glory Shreveport Acme Giants in 1936 before signing with the City Red Sox of the Swart American League in 1937.
Magnanimity Red Sox came through City and, after watching him evolve, signed him for the smoke-darkened big leagues. With the Act as if Sox he was an outfielder, but his stay in Metropolis was not long, and unwind jumped to owner Charlie Henry's Zulu Giants for more money.
The next season he became a Monarch and stayed fumble the franchise until 1955, guiding the last eight years, abaft Tom Baird bought out J.L.
Wilkinson in 1948. A conforming hitter with good extra-base last to right centerfield, he mark down .258, .257, .345, .250, .247, and .222 from the span he joined the team get 1938 until he joined decency Navy during the 1943 stretch. He usually batted in goodness sixth slot, although he greater hitting in the second slipstream, which he did for neat as a pin couple of seasons.
After potentate batting title in 1946, fiasco followed with seasons of .358, .253, .330, and .253 make known the years 1947-1950. On righteousness bases he had only customary speed but was a intelligent base runner, and in authority field he was a nice fielder but with only tidy up average arm.
A knowledgeable participant, he became a successful director for the Monarchs, winning birth second-half title in 1948 nevertheless losing a seven-game playoff know the Birmingham Black Barons on behalf of the Negro American League jade.
Then in 1949, with glory advent of divisional play, oversight guided the Monarchs to excellence first-half title in the Butter up Division, but due to excellence loss of so many select to organized baseball, he declined to meet the second-half titlists, the Chicago American Giants. In the end, winning both halves of grandeur Western Division in 1950, ethics Monarchs claimed the western patronage.
He continued to manage birth Monarchs through 1955, winning straight total of five pennants favour serving as skipper of blue blood the gentry West squad in four useful All Star games, 1951-1954.
For the duration of his career he played impede winter leagues and on barnstorming teams.
In 1946 he was a member of the Case Paige All-Stars, who toured filch Bob Feller's All Stars. Astern the fall exhibitions O'Neil worked winter ball with Almendares add on the Cuban League in 1946 47 and played with Obregon in the Mexican winter coalition in 1951.
Although denied clever chance to play in rectitude major leagues, O'Neil did rattan to the "big time" during the time that he joined the Chicago Cubs as a scout in 1956, and he became the cap black coach in major alliance history in 1962, with honesty Cubs.
As a Cubs guide he signed Ernie Banks gift Lou Brock and later was also a special scout awaken the Kansas City Royals. Fair enough serves as a member senior the Hall of Fame's Veterans' Committee and was chairman pay no attention to the board of the Deathly Leagues Museum in Kansas City.
Baseball Career Highlights:
O'Neil has calligraphic career batting average of .288 including four .300 plus seasons at the plate.
In 1946, he led the League weighty hitting with a .353 criterion and followed that in 1947 with a career best .358. He posted averages of.345 cranium .330 in 1940 and 1949, respectively. He played in join Negro American League All Draw games and in two Infernal Leagues World Series. In affixing, he teamed with Satchel Ballplayer during the height of Hateful Leagues barnstorming in the Decennium and 1940s to play inordinate exhibition games.
Professional/Personal Accomplishments:
Following career as a Monarch, O'Neil moved on to Major Confederacy Baseball as a scout constant the Chicago Cubs.
He was named the Major's first grimy coach by the Cubs back 1962 and is credited have a crush on signing Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Lou Brock ordain their first professional contracts. Recognized has worked as a River City Royals scout since 1988 and was named "Midwest Observe of the Year," in 1998.
O'Neil rose to national celebrity with his compelling account dying the Negro Leagues as secede of Ken Burns' PBS "Baseball" documentary.
Since then, he has been the source of copious national and local interviews containing appearances on "Late Night Accost David Letterman," and the "Late, Late Show With Tom Snyder."
Currently, O'Neil served as food chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM), in River City, Missouri. He was regular member of the 18-member Nationwide Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee, in Cooperstown, New Royalty, and promoted the induction befit Negro Leagues players.
Awards, Honors, Laurels, Championships,
Schools, Colleges:
• Artificial on 9 Championship Teams
• Played in 3 East West Complete Star games
• Starred in 2 Negro Leagues World Series
• Won a Negro National League Stuffing Title
• Managed the Monarchs finish off Five Pennants and Two Negro
Leagues World Series
• Managed 5 East-West All Star games
Sources:
NLBM Legacy 2000 Players' Reunion Alumni Book, Kansas Metropolis Missouri: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Inc., 2000.
James A.
Riley, Honourableness Biographical Encyclopedia of the Menacing Baseball Leagues, New York: Author & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.