{"id":22914,"date":"2021-10-28T16:11:04","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T21:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=22914"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:11:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T21:11:04","slug":"the-negro-league-is-the-greatest-travesty-in-the-history-of-sports-list-of-negro-league-baseball-players-who-played-in-major-league-baseball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=22914","title":{"rendered":"THE NEGRO LEAGUE IS THE GREATEST TRAVESTY IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS. List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"collection-headline-flex\" role=\"presentation\"><strong>This List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball is largely based on the research compiled by the <a class=\"new\" title=\"Center for Negro League Baseball Research (page does not exist)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Center_for_Negro_League_Baseball_Research&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1\">Center for Negro League Baseball Research<\/a>. The list includes those who played on <a title=\"Negro league baseball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_league_baseball#Negro_major_leagues\">major Negro league teams<\/a> prior to integration (and any caliber Negro league team after integration) as well as in <a title=\"Major League Baseball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_League_Baseball\">Major League Baseball<\/a>. The list does not include Negro league players who only played in the minor leagues.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\" class=\"toc\" role=\"navigation\" aria-labelledby=\"mw-toc-heading\">\n<p><strong><input id=\"toctogglecheckbox\" class=\"toctogglecheckbox\" role=\"button\" type=\"checkbox\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"toctitle\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22923\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/NEGRO-LEAGUE.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Pre-integration_players\" class=\"mw-headline\">Pre-integration players<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Major League Baseball was segregated from 1887 until 1946. The <a title=\"Baseball color line\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baseball_color_line\">integration of Major League Baseball<\/a> happened at the beginning of the 1947 MLB season when <a title=\"Jackie Robinson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jackie_Robinson\">Jackie Robinson<\/a> played his first game for the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn Dodgers<\/a>. By the 1950s, enough black talent had integrated into the formerly &#8220;white&#8221; leagues (both major and minor) that the Negro leagues themselves had become a minor league circuit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Below is a list of 52 players who played for major Negro league teams up to 1950 and eventually saw playing time for a Major League team. Of these, eight have been inducted into the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a> and two of them (Greason and Mays) are still alive.<\/strong><\/p>\n<table class=\"wikitable\">\n<caption><strong>Key<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><small>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"wikitable\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th><strong>Player<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Negro league Team(s)<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Negro league Year(s)<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Major League Team(s)<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Major League Year(s)<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Jackie Robinson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jackie_Robinson\">Jackie Robinson<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1945<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn\/LA Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player in MLB since 1884<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>1947 ML RoY, 1949 NL MVP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>6x NL All-Star, 1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1942\u20131944<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Larry Doby\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larry_Doby\">Larry Doby<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Newark Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newark_Eagles\">Newark Eagles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1942\u20131944,1946\u20131947<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Detroit Tigers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Detroit_Tigers\">Detroit Tigers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131955,1958<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956\u20131957,1959<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1959<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>7x AL All-Star, 1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Navy during WWII 1944\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Hank Thompson (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hank_Thompson_(baseball)\">Hank Thompson<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1943,1946\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"St. Louis Browns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Browns\">St. Louis Browns<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"New York Giants (NL)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Giants_(NL)\">New York Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1949\u20131956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for St. Louis Browns and New York Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1944\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Willard Brown\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Willard_Brown\">Willard Brown<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1935\u20131944,1946\u20131949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"St. Louis Browns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Browns\">St. Louis Browns<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>6x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1944\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Dan Bankhead\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dan_Bankhead\">Dan Bankhead<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis Red Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1940\u20131942,1944<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1946\u20131947<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947,1950\u20131951<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>3x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Marine Corp during WWII 1943\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Roy Campanella\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roy_Campanella\">Roy Campanella<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Baltimore Elite Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Elite_Giants\">Wash\/Balt Elite Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1937\u20131945<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948\u20131957<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>3x NL MVP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>8x NL All-Star, 3x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Satchel Paige\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Satchel_Paige\">Satchel Paige<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Cleveland Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Cubs\">Cleveland Cubs<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Crawfords\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Crawfords\">Pittsburgh Crawfords<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"St. Louis Stars (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Stars_(baseball)\">St. Louis Stars<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Newark Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newark_Eagles\">Newark Eagles<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1924\u20131955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"St. Louis Browns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Browns\">St. Louis Browns<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Kansas City Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Athletics\">Kansas City Athletics<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948\u20131949<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1951\u20131953<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1965<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2x AL All-Star, 6x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Minnie Minoso\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Minnie_Minoso\">Minnie Minoso<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Texas Rangers (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Texas_Rangers_(baseball)\">Washington Senators<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1949,1951,1958\u20131959<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1951\u201357,60\u201361,64,76,80<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1962<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1963<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>9x AL All-Star, 2x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Don Newcombe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Don_Newcombe\">Don Newcombe<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Newark Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newark_Eagles\">Newark Eagles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1944\u201345<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn\/LA Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1949\u20131951,1954\u20131958<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1958\u20131960<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1960<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1949 NL RoY, 1956 ML Cy Young &amp; NL MVP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>4x NL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Navy during WWII 1943<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during Korean War 1952\u20131953<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Monte Irvin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Monte_Irvin\">Monte Irvin<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Newark Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newark_Eagles\">Newark Eagles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1937\u20131942,1945\u20131949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"New York Giants (NL)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Giants_(NL)\">New York Giants<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Cubs\">Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1949\u20131955<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>1x NL All-Star, 4x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1943\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Luke Easter (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Luke_Easter_(baseball)\">Luke Easter<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1949\u20131954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1948 NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1942\u20131943<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Sam Jethroe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sam_Jethroe\">Sam Jethroe<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Indianapolis ABCs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indianapolis_ABCs\">Indianapolis ABCs<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cleveland Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Buckeyes\">Cin\/Cleveland Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1938<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1942\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Boston Braves (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Braves_(baseball)\">Boston Braves<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1950\u20131952<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Boston Braves<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>1950 NL RoY<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>4x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Luis Marquez\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Luis_Marquez\">Luis Marquez<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Black Yankees\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Black_Yankees\">New York Black Yankees<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Baltimore Elite Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Elite_Giants\">Baltimore Elite Giants<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1945<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1946<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1946\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Boston Braves (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Braves_(baseball)\">Boston Braves<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Cubs\">Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1954<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Ray Noble (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ray_Noble_(baseball)\">Ray Noble<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1945\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"New York Giants (NL)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Giants_(NL)\">New York Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951\u20131953<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Artie Wilson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Artie_Wilson\">Artie Wilson<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1944\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"New York Giants (NL)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Giants_(NL)\">New York Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>4x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Harry Simpson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harry_Simpson\">Harry Simpson<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Philadelphia Stars (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philadelphia_Stars_(baseball)\">Philadelphia Stars<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Kansas City Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Athletics\">Kansas City Athletics<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"New York Yankees\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Yankees\">New York Yankees<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951\u20131953,1955<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1955\u20131957,1958\u20131959<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1957\u20131958<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1959<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1959<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x AL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1941\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Willie Mays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Willie_Mays\">Willie Mays<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"New York Giants (NL)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Giants_(NL)\">NY\/SF Giants<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"New York Mets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Mets\">New York Mets<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951\u20131952,1954\u20131972<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1972\u20131973<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>1951 NL RoY, 2x NL MVP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>24x NL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during Korean War 1952\u20131953<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Sam Hairston\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sam_Hairston\">Sam Hairston<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Indianapolis Clowns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indianapolis_Clowns\">Cin-Ind\/Indianapolis Clowns<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1944<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1945\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Bob Boyd (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Boyd_(baseball)\">Bob Boyd<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis Red Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Baltimore Orioles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Kansas City Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Athletics\">Kansas City Athletics<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Milwaukee Braves\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milwaukee_Braves\">Milwaukee Braves<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951,1953\u20131954<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956\u20131960<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1961<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1961<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>3x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1944\u20131946<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Sam Jones (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sam_Jones_(baseball)\">Sam Jones<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Buckeyes\">Cleveland Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Cubs\">Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"San Francisco Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Francisco_Giants\">San Francisco Giants<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Detroit Tigers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Detroit_Tigers\">Detroit Tigers<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Baltimore Orioles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1951\u20131952<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1955\u20131956<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1957\u20131958,1963<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1959\u20131961<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1962<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1964<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2x NL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1943\u20131947<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Hector Rodriguez (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hector_Rodriguez_(baseball)\">Hector Rodriguez<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1944<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"George Crowe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/George_Crowe\">George Crowe<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Black Yankees\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Black_Yankees\">New York Black Yankees<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131948<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1948\u20131949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Boston Braves (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Braves_(baseball)\">Boston\/Mil Braves<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952\u20131953,1955<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956\u20131958<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1959\u20131961<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NL All-Star, 1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1944\u20131946<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Buzz Clarkson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buzz_Clarkson\">Buzz Clarkson<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Crawfords\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Crawfords\">Pit\/Tol\/Tol-Ind Crawfords<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Newark Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newark_Eagles\">Newark Eagles<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Philadelphia Stars (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philadelphia_Stars_(baseball)\">Philadelphia Stars<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1938\u20131940<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1940<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1942,1946,1949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Boston Braves (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Braves_(baseball)\">Boston Braves<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1943\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Quincy Trouppe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quincy_Trouppe\">Quincy Trouppe<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"St. Louis Stars (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Stars_(baseball)\">St. Louis Stars<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Detroit Wolves\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Detroit_Wolves\">Detroit Wolves<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago American Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_American_Giants\">Chicago American Giants<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Indianapolis ABC's\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indianapolis_ABC%27s\">Indianapolis ABC&#8217;s<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cleveland Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Buckeyes\">Cleveland Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1930\u20131931,1939<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1932<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1932<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1932,1934\u20131936<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1933,1935,1948<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1938\u20131939<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1944\u20131947<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>5x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Joe Black\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_Black\">Joe Black<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Baltimore Elite Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Elite_Giants\">Baltimore Elite Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1943,1946\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Washington Senators (1901-1960)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Washington_Senators_(1901-1960)\">Washington Senators<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952\u20131955<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1955\u20131956<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1957<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1952 NL RoY<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>3x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1943\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Dave Pope\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dave_Pope\">Dave Pope<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946,1948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Baltimore Orioles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952,1954\u20131955,1956<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1955\u20131956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1943\u20131946<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Sandy Amoros\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sandy_Amoros\">Sandy Amoros<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn\/LA Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Detroit Tigers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Detroit_Tigers\">Detroit Tigers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1952,1954\u20131957,1959\u20131960<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1960<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Junior Gilliam\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Junior_Gilliam\">Junior Gilliam<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Baltimore Elite Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Elite_Giants\">Baltimore Elite Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Brooklyn Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brooklyn_Dodgers\">Brooklyn\/LA Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131966<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1953 NL RoY<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2x NL All-Star, 3x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Connie Johnson (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Connie_Johnson_(baseball)\">Connie Johnson<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Atlanta Black Crackers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atlanta_Black_Crackers\">Atlanta Black Crackers<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Crawfords\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Crawfords\">Toledo-Ind Crawfords<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1940<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1940<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1940\u20131942,1946\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Baltimore Orioles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953,1955\u20131956<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956\u20131958<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1943\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Jim Pendleton\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jim_Pendleton\">Jim Pendleton<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago American Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_American_Giants\">Chicago American Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Milwaukee Braves\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milwaukee_Braves\">Milwaukee Braves<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Houston Colt .45's\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Colt_.45%27s\">Houston Colt .45&#8217;s<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131956<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1957\u20131958<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1959<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1962<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Dave Hoskins\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dave_Hoskins\">Dave Hoskins<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Cincinnati Clowns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Clowns\">Cincinnati Clowns<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago American Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_American_Giants\">Chicago American Giants<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Louisville Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Louisville_Buckeyes\">Louisville Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1942<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1943<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1944\u20131946<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Al Smith (outfielder)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Al_Smith_(outfielder)\">Al Smith<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Buckeyes\">Cleveland Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Chicago White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_White_Sox\">Chicago White Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Baltimore Orioles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Boston Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Red_Sox\">Boston Red Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131957, 1964<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1958\u20131962<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1963<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1964<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>3x AL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Bob Trice\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Trice\">Bob Trice<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Philadelphia Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philadelphia_Athletics\">Phil\/KC Athletics<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Philadelphia Athletics<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1944\u20131946<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Ernie Banks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ernie_Banks\">Ernie Banks<\/a><sup>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1950,1953<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Cubs\">Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131971<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Elected to the <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2x NL MVP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>14x NL All-Star, 1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during Korean War 1951\u20131952<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Gene Baker\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Baker\">Gene Baker<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Cubs\">Chicago Cubs<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1953\u20131957<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1957\u20131958,1960-961<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Navy during WWII 1943\u20131946<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Curt Roberts\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Curt_Roberts\">Curt Roberts<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1954\u20131956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chuck Harmon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chuck_Harmon\">Chuck Harmon<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Negro_league_baseball_players_who_played_in_Major_League_Baseball#cite_note-1\">[note 1]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Indianapolis Clowns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indianapolis_Clowns\">Indianapolis Clowns<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Philadelphia Phillies\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philadelphia_Phillies\">Philadelphia Phillies<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1954\u20131956<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956\u20131957<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1957<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Navy during WWII 1943\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Jos\u00e9 Santiago (1950s pitcher)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jos%C3%A9_Santiago_(1950s_pitcher)\">Jose Santiago<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Kansas City Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Athletics\">Kansas City Athletics<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1954\u20131955<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Charlie White (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_White_(baseball)\">Charlie White<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Philadelphia Stars (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philadelphia_Stars_(baseball)\">Philadelphia Stars<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Milwaukee Braves\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milwaukee_Braves\">Milwaukee Braves<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1954\u20131955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Jay Heard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jay_Heard\">Jay Heard<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis Red Sox<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Houston Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston_Eagles\">Houston\/NO Eagles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1945\u20131949<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1949<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1949\u20131951<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Baltimore Orioles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltimore_Orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Bill Greason\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bill_Greason\">Bill Greason<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Birmingham Black Barons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Birmingham_Black_Barons\">Birmingham Black Barons<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948\u20131951<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Elston Howard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elston_Howard\">Elston Howard<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Yankees\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Yankees\">New York Yankees<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Boston Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Red_Sox\">Boston Red Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1955\u20131967<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1967\u20131968<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"List of first black Major League Baseball players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players\">First black player for New York Yankees<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>1963 AL MVP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>12x AL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during Korean War 1951\u20131952<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Bob Thurman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Thurman\">Bob Thurman<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Homestead Grays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homestead_Grays\">Homestead Grays<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131948<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1955\u20131959<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during WWII 1942\u20131945<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Roberto Vargas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roberto_Vargas\">Roberto Vargas<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chicago American Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_American_Giants\">Chicago American Giants<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Milwaukee Braves\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milwaukee_Braves\">Milwaukee Braves<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Lino Donoso\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lino_Donoso\">Lino Donoso<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pittsburgh_Pirates\">Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1955\u20131956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Milt Smith\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milt_Smith\">Milt Smith<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Philadelphia Stars (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philadelphia_Stars_(baseball)\">Philadelphia Stars<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1949,1950\u20131951<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Webbo Clarke\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Webbo_Clarke\">Webbo Clarke<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Buckeyes\">Cleveland Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis Red Sox<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1946\u20131948<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Washington Senators (1901-1960)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Washington_Senators_(1901-1960)\">Washington Senators<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>5x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Pat Scantlebury\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pat_Scantlebury\">Pat Scantlebury<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"New York Cubans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Cubans\">New York Cubans<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1944\u20131950,1955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cincinnati Reds\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cincinnati_Reds\">Cincinnati Reds<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>3x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Charlie Peete\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_Peete\">Charlie Peete<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-2\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Negro_league_baseball_players_who_played_in_Major_League_Baseball#cite_note-2\">[note 2]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Indianapolis Clowns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indianapolis_Clowns\">Indianapolis Clowns<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1956<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Served in the US Army during Korean War 1952\u20131953<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Joe Caffie\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_Caffie\">Joe Caffie<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Buckeyes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Buckeyes\">Cleveland Buckeyes<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Cleveland Indians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Indians\">Cleveland Indians<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1956\u20131957<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Frank Barnes (right-handed pitcher)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Frank_Barnes_(right-handed_pitcher)\">Frank Barnes<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1949\u20131950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis_Cardinals\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1957\u20131958,1960<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Bob Wilson (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Wilson_(baseball)\">Bob Wilson<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Newark Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newark_Eagles\">Newark\/Houston Eagles<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1947\u20131949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Los Angeles Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles_Dodgers\">Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1958<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1x NgL All-Star<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<dl>\n<dt><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<div class=\"reflist\">\n<div class=\"mw-references-wrap\">\n<ol class=\"references\">\n<li id=\"cite_note-1\"><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"cite_note-1\"><strong><span class=\"reference-text\">Chuck Harmon played under alias of Charlie Fine for the Clowns so as not to violate his college basketball eligibility.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li id=\"cite_note-2\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"reflist\">\n<div class=\"mw-references-wrap\">\n<ol class=\"references\">\n<li id=\"cite_note-2\" value=\"2\"><strong><span class=\"reference-text\">Charlie Peete and his family died in a <a title=\"Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Linea_Aeropostal_Venezolana_Flight_253_(November_1956)\">plane crash<\/a> in 1957 when he was 27.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Post-integration_players\" class=\"mw-headline\">Post-integration players<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>An additional 35 or so players played on a Negro league team after 1950. A select few were All-Stars and one (Aaron) was inducted into the Hall of Fame.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Charlie Neal\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_Neal\">Charlie Neal<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Hank Aaron\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hank_Aaron\">Hank Aaron<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"George Altman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/George_Altman\">George Altman<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Maury Wills\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maury_Wills\">Maury Wills<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Donn Clendenon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Donn_Clendenon\">Donn Clendenon<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"John Wyatt (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Wyatt_(baseball)\">John Wyatt<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Blue Moon Odom\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blue_Moon_Odom\">Blue Moon Odom<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Paul Casanova\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Casanova\">Paul Casanova<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Baseball\u2019s &#8220;FORGOTTEN&#8221; legacy: The fascinating story of the Negro Leagues.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<article id=\"hank-aaron-on-his-time-in-the-negro-leagues-it-gave-me-opportunity\" class=\"story slug-hank-aaron-on-his-time-in-the-negro-leagues-it-gave-me-opportunity -feature post-210936 tu_feature type-tu_feature status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry tag-mlb tag-baseball tag-negro-league tag-hank-aaron tag-book espn_verticals-sports vertical-sports topic-slug-mlb\" data-page-url=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/features\/hank-aaron-on-his-time-in-the-negro-leagues-it-gave-me-opportunity\/\" data-page-title=\"Hank Aaron on his time in the Negro Leagues: \u2018It gave me opportunity\u2019\" data-short-byline=\"Henry Aaron\" data-post-id=\"210936\" data-omniture=\"{&quot;omniture&quot;:{&quot;premium&quot;:&quot;n&quot;,&quot;lang&quot;:&quot;en_us&quot;,&quot;countryRegion&quot;:&quot;en-us&quot;,&quot;userKey&quot;:&quot;unknown:unknown:anonymous:insider-no:premium-no&quot;,&quot;insiderStatus&quot;:&quot;anonymous:premium-no&quot;,&quot;eVar1&quot;:&quot;DoNotSet&quot;,&quot;birthAge&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;gender&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;loginStatus&quot;:&quot;anonymous&quot;,&quot;regType&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;fantasyPersonalize&quot;:&quot;has favorites:no-fantasy:no-notifications:no-docking:no-autostart:no&quot;,&quot;site&quot;:&quot;theundefeated&quot;,&quot;pageName&quot;:&quot;sports:story&quot;,&quot;sections&quot;:&quot;sports&quot;,&quot;section&quot;:&quot;sports&quot;,&quot;account&quot;:&quot;wdgespundefeated&quot;,&quot;contentType&quot;:&quot;story&quot;,&quot;events&quot;:&quot;event3&quot;,&quot;srchKwd&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;srchTerm&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;srchNumResults&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;storyId&quot;:&quot;210936:Hank Aaron on his time in the Negro Leagues: \\u0027It gave me opportunity\\u2019&quot;,&quot;assetInfo&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;columnist&quot;:&quot;the undefeated&quot;,&quot;espn3ContentType&quot;:&quot;hank-aaron-on-his-time-in-the-negro-leagues-it-gave-me-opportunity:theundefeated:sports&quot;,&quot;prop35&quot;:&quot;2021-01-27&quot;},&quot;chartbeat&quot;:{&quot;domain&quot;:&quot;theundefeated.com&quot;,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;\/features\/hank-aaron-on-his-time-in-the-negro-leagues-it-gave-me-opportunity\/&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;loadPubJS&quot;:false,&quot;loadVidJS&quot;:true,&quot;sections&quot;:&quot;sports,features&quot;,&quot;authors&quot;:&quot;The Undefeated&quot;}}\" data-ad-path=\"\/21783347309\/espn.theundefeated.us.com\/sports\/article\" data-ad-targeting=\"{&quot;sp&quot;:&quot;theundefeated&quot;,&quot;objid&quot;:&quot;210936&quot;,&quot;lang&quot;:&quot;en&quot;,&quot;devType&quot;:&quot;desktop&quot;,&quot;tag&quot;:[&quot;mlb&quot;,&quot;baseball&quot;,&quot;negro-league&quot;,&quot;hank-aaron&quot;,&quot;book&quot;]}\" data-post-tags=\"[&quot;MLB&quot;,&quot;Baseball&quot;,&quot;Negro League&quot;,&quot;Hank Aaron&quot;,&quot;Book&quot;]\" data-omniture-scroll-type=\"everscroll\" data-content-type=\"tu_feature\" data-content-loaded=\"loaded\">\n<div class=\"story-hero\">\n<div class=\"image\">\n<div class=\"story-header\">\n<h1 class=\"heading entry-title heading-superlong\"><strong>Hank Aaron on his time in the Negro Leagues: \u2018It gave me opportunity\u2019<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"story-body\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div id=\"story-content\" class=\"story-content entry-content\">\n<p><strong><i>Henry \u201cHank\u201d Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1934. In February 1952 he turned 18 and joined the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues. He played outstandingly for the Clowns, at one point leading the Negro American League in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in and total bases. He drew the notice of major league scouts, and was signed in June 1952 to the Boston Braves\u2019 minor-league team, the Eau Claire Bears. He rose quickly through the minors, and in 1954 was called up to the major league roster for the Braves. Aaron played with the Braves for 20 seasons, from 1954 to 1974, and had one of the greatest major league careers in history, eventually being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>In August 2020, Aaron wrote about his Negro Leagues experience for the foreword of the upcoming book <\/em>Comeback Season: My Unlikely Story of Friendship with the Greatest Living Negro League Baseball Players,<em> by Cam Perron with Nick Chiles, which will publish March 30.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"drop-cap\">L<\/span>et me start by saying if it hadn\u2019t been for the Indianapolis Clowns offering me a chance to play in the Negro Leagues, I don\u2019t know what would have happened to me. I have no idea what I would have done. They gave me the opportunity to keep playing a sport I wanted to play more than anything in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>My dad had played a little baseball, but he never went further than playing on a local team. My uncles also played a little on local teams. Up until I joined the Clowns in 1952, at age eighteen, I had only been playing on local teams as well. When the Clowns gave me the opportunity to show what I could do, I told myself: <i>Don\u2019t let this chance pass you by! <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When I was growing up in Mobile, Alabama, I taught myself how to hit by swinging at bottle caps with a broomstick. When you don\u2019t have a lot, you take it upon yourself to learn how to do things, to discover what you are capable of. But I never thought I was developing some kind of special talent by learning how to hit bottle caps. It\u2019s just what we had available. My friend Cornelius Giles, who is no longer with us, would pitch the bottle caps to me. Or I would toss them up myself. We would do this all day long.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019ve heard people say that the bottle caps gave me the eye to later hit a baseball so well, but I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s true. I feel like God was the one who gave me the eye to do some of the things in baseball I wound up doing. In addition to that, I took it upon myself to learn how to play the game the way it\u2019s supposed to be played. I told myself: <i>No matter what happens, you have to be the best you can possibly be.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_210937\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-210937\" src=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/COMEBACK-SEASON-cover-final.jpg?w=700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/COMEBACK-SEASON-cover-final.jpg?w=700 1x, https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/COMEBACK-SEASON-cover-final.jpg?w=1400 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1206\" data-src=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/COMEBACK-SEASON-cover-final.jpg?w=700\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/COMEBACK-SEASON-cover-final.jpg?w=700 1x, https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/COMEBACK-SEASON-cover-final.jpg?w=1400 2x\" \/><\/strong><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The first professional baseball game I saw was when the Clowns came to Mobile when I was fourteen, in 1948. They were playing against little scrap teams that were put together from players in Mobile. I was excited by what I saw on the field, but I also had an important realization that day. I knew I could play on the same level as those guys. I could compete on a professional level.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The atmosphere at that game was so much fun; the Black community was so excited. We had no other forms of entertainment \u2014 to us, this was baseball at its height. This was our major league. I saw kids on the field that day who easily could have put on a Major League Baseball uniform and played in the white league \u2014 though I wasn\u2019t thinking about the white league at the time. [Jackie Robinson had debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers only a year earlier.] I just enjoyed watching them play.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was seventeen years old in November 1951 when I heard from the Clowns that they wanted me to play with them the next year, after I turned eighteen in February. They sent me a contract for $200 a month. I thought I was in a dream. I couldn\u2019t believe I would get an opportunity to play in the Negro Leagues \u2014 and they would actually pay me. It was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. Two hundred dollars seemed like an awful lot of money \u2014 I felt like I was robbing the bank. I had certainly never seen that much money. When I was growing up in Mobile, a nickel was a lot of money to me. But to be honest, I would have played in the Negro Leagues for free; I just wanted to play baseball.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When I left Mobile and showed up to spring training in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I didn\u2019t know whether I would even make the team and get a uniform. It was a lot colder in North Carolina and I didn\u2019t even have a jacket or warm clothes. All I was thinking was that I had to show them I could play.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When I walked out on the field for my first game wearing a Clowns uniform, I felt like I was something special. I was getting a chance to do the thing I had been wanting to do my entire life. I still wasn\u2019t thinking about the major league, about playing in the white leagues. I was just thinking about showing that I was capable of playing in the Negro Leagues, against that level of competition. If somebody had told me at the time that this was the highest I would ever go in baseball, I would have been fine with that. After all, we had no other choice at the time but to think that this was the highest we would go, and that we just had to do the best we could. We didn\u2019t know whether we would have the opportunity to play in the major league.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was lucky; they discovered that I could really hit the ball. God had put His hands on me. He had showed me the direction. I was so happy \u2014 I had $2 a day for meal money; I could wash my clothes every day, which was something I appreciated since I didn\u2019t have anything else to put on. God showed me the way. I continued to have success.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Many years after my playing career was over and I had become an executive for the Braves, I heard that Major League Baseball was going to provide a pension to former Negro Leaguers, and I thought it was one of the greatest things that ever happened to the Negro Leagues. I was pleased that Major League Baseball was going to make sure things were made right. I didn\u2019t have anything to do with it, but I was very happy when they passed it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was impressed when I learned of the work that Cam Perron is doing on behalf of former Negro League players, getting them what they deserve. I know how very, very important his work has been to them. They didn\u2019t make much money when they were playing. Having an opportunity to receive a pension was one of the greatest things that could happen to them. There\u2019s no question Cam should be applauded. For too many of the players, there was nothing there for them before.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Negro League baseball has been so important to my life. I won\u2019t ever forget the way I felt when I walked on the field for the Clowns \u2014 like I was already in the major league. There was nothing else I wanted to be doing. And the Negro Leagues gave me the opportunity to go on to play Major League Baseball. Those months I spent on the Clowns helped me tremendously \u2014 not only teaching me how to play the game itself but also showing me that I belonged at that level. I\u2019ll never forget that.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"manfred-misses-the-mark-with-braves\" class=\"story slug-manfred-misses-the-mark-with-braves post-235650 tu_feature type-tu_feature status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry tag-commentary tag-mlb tag-atlanta-braves tag-houston-astros tag-world-series tag-rob-manfred espn_verticals-sports vertical-sports topic-slug-commentary\" data-page-url=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/features\/manfred-misses-the-mark-with-braves\/\" data-page-title=\"Manfred misses the mark with Braves\" data-short-byline=\"By Clinton Yates\" data-post-id=\"235650\" data-omniture=\"{&quot;omniture&quot;:{&quot;premium&quot;:&quot;n&quot;,&quot;lang&quot;:&quot;en_us&quot;,&quot;countryRegion&quot;:&quot;en-us&quot;,&quot;userKey&quot;:&quot;unknown:unknown:anonymous:insider-no:premium-no&quot;,&quot;insiderStatus&quot;:&quot;anonymous:premium-no&quot;,&quot;eVar1&quot;:&quot;DoNotSet&quot;,&quot;birthAge&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;gender&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;loginStatus&quot;:&quot;anonymous&quot;,&quot;regType&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;fantasyPersonalize&quot;:&quot;has favorites:no-fantasy:no-notifications:no-docking:no-autostart:no&quot;,&quot;site&quot;:&quot;theundefeated&quot;,&quot;pageName&quot;:&quot;sports:index&quot;,&quot;sections&quot;:&quot;sports&quot;,&quot;section&quot;:&quot;sports&quot;,&quot;account&quot;:&quot;wdgespundefeated&quot;,&quot;contentType&quot;:&quot;story&quot;,&quot;events&quot;:&quot;event3&quot;,&quot;srchKwd&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;srchTerm&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;srchNumResults&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;storyId&quot;:&quot;235650:Manfred misses the mark with Braves&quot;,&quot;assetInfo&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;columnist&quot;:&quot;clinton_yates&quot;,&quot;espn3ContentType&quot;:&quot;&quot;},&quot;chartbeat&quot;:{&quot;domain&quot;:&quot;theundefeated.com&quot;,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;\/ajax\/single_infinite_scroll\/210936\/1\/tu_feature\/sports\/4\/&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Manfred misses the mark with Braves&quot;,&quot;loadPubJS&quot;:false,&quot;loadVidJS&quot;:true}}\" data-ad-path=\"\/21783347309\/espn.theundefeated.us.com\/sports\/index\" data-ad-targeting=\"{&quot;sp&quot;:&quot;theundefeated&quot;,&quot;objid&quot;:&quot;235650&quot;,&quot;lang&quot;:&quot;en&quot;,&quot;devType&quot;:&quot;desktop&quot;}\" data-post-tags=\"[&quot;Commentary&quot;,&quot;MLB&quot;,&quot;Atlanta Braves&quot;,&quot;Houston Astros&quot;,&quot;World Series&quot;,&quot;Rob Manfred&quot;]\" data-omniture-scroll-type=\"everscroll\" data-content-type=\"tu_feature\" data-content-loaded=\"loaded\">\n<div class=\"story-body\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div id=\"story-content\" class=\"story-content entry-content\">\n<aside class=\"wp-block-espn-block-espn-recirc single-recirc\">\n<h5 class=\"single-recirc-hed\"><strong><a class=\"single-recirc-link\" href=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/features\/hank-aaron-and-the-eternal-connection-to-black-baseball\/?source=single-recirc\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"single-recirc-image\" src=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16x9.jpg?w=700\" data-src=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/16x9.jpg?w=700\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Buck O&#8217;Neil<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox ib-baseball-bio vcard\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-above fn\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><span class=\"note\">Buck O&#8217;Neil<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Buck_O%27Neil.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/4\/42\/Buck_O%27Neil.jpg\/220px-Buck_O%27Neil.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/42\/Buck_O%27Neil.jpg 1.5x\" alt=\"Buck O'Neil.jpg\" width=\"220\" height=\"188\" data-file-width=\"275\" data-file-height=\"235\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a title=\"First baseman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/First_baseman\">First baseman<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Born: November 13, 1911<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Carrabelle, Florida\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carrabelle,_Florida\">Carrabelle, Florida<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Died: October 6, 2006 (aged\u00a094)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Kansas City, Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City,_Missouri\">Kansas City, Missouri<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"ib-baseball-bio-batsthrows\">\n<div><strong>Batted: Right<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong>Threw: Right<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>debut<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>1937,\u00a0for the\u00a0Memphis Red Sox<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Last appearance<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>1955,\u00a0for the\u00a0Kansas City Monarchs<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Negro American League statistics<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"Batting average (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Batting_average_(baseball)\">Batting average<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>.258<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"Home run\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Home_run\">Home runs<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>9<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Runs batted in\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Runs_batted_in\">Runs batted in<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>175<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Teams<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"ib-baseball-bio-teams\">\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis Red Sox<\/a> (1937)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a> (1938\u20131943, 1946\u20131948)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career highlights and awards<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"ib-baseball-bio-highlights\">\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2x <a title=\"East\u2013West All-Star Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/East%E2%80%93West_All-Star_Game\">All-Star<\/a> (1942\u20131943)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Negro World Series\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_World_Series\">Negro World Series<\/a> champion (<a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"1942 Colored World Series\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1942_Colored_World_Series\">1942<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>John Jordan &#8220;Buck&#8221; O&#8217;Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 \u2013 October 6, 2006) was a <a title=\"First baseman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/First_baseman\">first baseman<\/a> and <a title=\"Manager (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Manager_(baseball)\">manager<\/a> in the <a title=\"Negro American League\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_American_League\">Negro American League<\/a>, mostly with the <a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a>. After his playing days, he worked as a <a title=\"Scout (sport)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scout_(sport)\">scout<\/a> and became the first <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"African American\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/African_American\">African American<\/a> <a title=\"Coach (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Coach_(baseball)\">coach<\/a> in <a title=\"Major League Baseball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_League_Baseball\">Major League Baseball<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_O%27Neil#cite_note-1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> 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 <a title=\"Negro Leagues Baseball Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_Leagues_Baseball_Museum\">Negro Leagues Baseball Museum<\/a> in <a title=\"Kansas City, Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City,_Missouri\">Kansas City, Missouri<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s life was documented in <a title=\"Joe Posnanski\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_Posnanski\">Joe Posnanski<\/a>&#8216;s award-winning 2007 book <i><a title=\"The Soul of Baseball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Soul_of_Baseball\">The Soul of Baseball<\/a>.<\/i><sup id=\"cite_ref-2\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\" class=\"toc\" role=\"navigation\" aria-labelledby=\"mw-toc-heading\">\n<div class=\"toctitle\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><\/div>\n<p><strong><span id=\"Growing_up\" class=\"mw-headline\">Growing up<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil was born in <a title=\"Carrabelle, Florida\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carrabelle,_Florida\">Carrabelle, Florida<\/a>, to John Jordan O&#8217;Neil (1873\u20131954) and Louella Campbell (maiden; 1884\u20131945). O&#8217;Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school owing to <a title=\"Racial segregation in the United States\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Racial_segregation_in_the_United_States\">racial segregation<\/a>. At the time, Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans.<sup id=\"cite_ref-3\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> However, after working a summer in a celery field with his father, O&#8217;Neil left home to live with relatives and attend <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Edward Waters College\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Edward_Waters_College\">Edward Waters College<\/a> in <a title=\"Jacksonville, Florida\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jacksonville,_Florida\">Jacksonville<\/a>, where he completed high school and two years of college courses.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Playing_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">Playing career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>He left Florida in 1934 for several years of semi-professional &#8220;barnstorming&#8221; experiences (playing interracial exhibition games).<sup id=\"cite_ref-4\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> The effort paid off, and in 1937, O&#8217;Neil signed with the <a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis Red Sox<\/a> for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil had a career <a title=\"Batting average (baseball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Batting_average_(baseball)\">batting average<\/a> 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 <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"East-West All-Star Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/East-West_All-Star_Game\">East-West All-Star Games<\/a> in three different seasons and two <a title=\"Negro World Series\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_World_Series\">Negro World Series<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-5\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s baseball career was interrupted for two years (1944 and 1945) during <a title=\"World War II\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_War_II\">World War II<\/a> when he joined the <a title=\"United States Navy\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_Navy\">U.S. Navy<\/a> after the close of the 1943 season. He served his enlistment in a naval construction battalion in New Jersey. He returned to the Monarchs at the start of the 1946 season.<sup id=\"cite_ref-6\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 after <a title=\"Frank Duncan (baseball, born 1901)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Frank_Duncan_(baseball,_born_1901)\">Frank Duncan<\/a>&#8216;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<sup id=\"cite_ref-7\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Negro_leagues_career_statistics\" class=\"mw-headline\">Negro leagues career statistics<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;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.<sup id=\"cite_ref-9\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"145\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"30\"><strong>Age<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>AB<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\"><strong>R<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>H<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>2B<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>3B<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>HR<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>RBI<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>SB<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40\"><strong>BB<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\"><strong>BA<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\"><strong>OBP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\"><strong>SLG<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1937<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Memphis Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Memphis_Red_Sox\">Memphis<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>25<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>34<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>10<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.294<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.294<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.559<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1938<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Kansas City Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs\">Kansas City<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>26<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>39<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>127<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>25<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>33<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>19<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>16<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.260<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.343<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.433<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1939<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>46<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>155<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>19<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>28<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>22<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.181<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.249<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.284<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1940<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>28<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>31<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>114<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>19<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>35<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>30<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.307<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.342<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.447<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1941<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>29<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>32<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>129<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>18<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>30<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.233<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.272<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.302<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1942<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>30<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>46<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>178<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>47<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>22<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.264<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.307<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.337<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1943<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>31<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>39<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>144<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>21<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>42<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>17<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.292<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.333<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.340<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1944-45<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Naval service<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1946<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>34<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>95<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.284<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.376<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.347<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1947<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>35<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>36<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>127<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>34<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>13<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.268<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.340<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.378<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1948<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>36<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>19<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>69<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>18<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>10<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.261<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.311<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.275<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1949<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>37<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>45<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>109<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>17<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>36<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.330<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.330<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.394<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1950<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>38<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>31<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>83<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>21<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.253<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.340<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.398<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1951<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>39<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>42<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>134<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>44<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>26<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.328<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>~.328<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.396<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1952<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>40<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1953<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>41<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>21<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>10<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.476<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>~.476<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.476<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1954<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>42<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>1955<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Kansas City<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>43<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>&#8212;<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>12 seasons<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(through 1950)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong>400<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1364<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>213<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>361<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>55<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>22<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>176<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>56<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>105<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.288<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.317<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.361<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong>2.469 Seasons<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>162-gm avg<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong>162<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>552<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>86<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>146<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>22<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>71<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>23<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>43<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.288<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.317<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.361<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Off_the_field\" class=\"mw-headline\">Off the field<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/76\/Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg\/250px-Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/76\/Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg\/375px-Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/76\/Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg\/500px-Buck_O%27Neil_autograph.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"214\" data-file-width=\"640\" data-file-height=\"547\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Buck O&#8217;Neil signing autographs, 2005<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>When Tom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O&#8217;Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the <a title=\"Chicago Cubs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Cubs\">Chicago Cubs<\/a>,<sup id=\"cite_ref-11\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> and is credited for signing <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Hall of Fame<\/a> player <a title=\"Lou Brock\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lou_Brock\">Lou Brock<\/a> to his first professional baseball contract. O&#8217;Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer <a title=\"Ernie Banks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ernie_Banks\">Ernie Banks<\/a> to his first contract; Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs by <a title=\"Cool Papa Bell\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cool_Papa_Bell\">Cool Papa Bell<\/a>, then manager of the Monarchs&#8217; barnstorming <a class=\"new\" title=\"B team (page does not exist)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=B_team&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1\">B team<\/a> in 1949. He played briefly for the Monarchs in 1950 and 1953, his play interrupted by Army duty. O&#8217;Neil was Banks&#8217; manager during those stints, and Banks was signed to play for the Cubs more than two years before O&#8217;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&#8217; &#8220;<a title=\"College of Coaches\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_of_Coaches\">College of Coaches<\/a>&#8221; system, and was never allowed to manage the team during that time. After many years with the Cubs, O&#8217;Neil became a <a title=\"Kansas City Royals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Royals\">Kansas City Royals<\/a> scout in 1988, and was named &#8220;Midwest Scout of the Year&#8221; in 1998.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part of <a title=\"Ken Burns\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ken_Burns\">Ken Burns<\/a>&#8216; 1994 <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Baseball (documentary)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baseball_(documentary)\">PBS documentary<\/a> on baseball.<sup id=\"cite_ref-16\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on the <i><a title=\"Late Show with David Letterman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Late_Show_with_David_Letterman\">Late Show with David Letterman<\/a><\/i> and <i><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"The Late Late Show (CBS TV series)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Late_Late_Show_(CBS_TV_series)#Tom_Snyder_(1995\u20131999)\">The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder<\/a><\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 1990, O&#8217;Neil led the effort to establish the <a title=\"Negro Leagues Baseball Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_Leagues_Baseball_Museum\">Negro Leagues Baseball Museum<\/a> (NLBM) in <a title=\"Kansas City, Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City,_Missouri\">Kansas City<\/a>, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death.<sup id=\"cite_ref-18\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> In 1996, O&#8217;Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"University of Missouri \u2013 Kansas City\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/University_of_Missouri_%E2%80%93_Kansas_City\">University of Missouri \u2013 Kansas City<\/a> in <a title=\"Kansas City, Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City,_Missouri\">Kansas City, Missouri<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In February 2002, at the end of the <a title=\"Negro Leagues Baseball Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negro_Leagues_Baseball_Museum\">NLBM&#8217;s<\/a> Legacy Awards annual banquet, O&#8217;Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis.<sup id=\"cite_ref-20\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil and all-star <a title=\"Ichiro Suzuki\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ichiro_Suzuki\">Ichiro Suzuki<\/a> developed a relationship, with Ichiro attending the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with O&#8217;Neil and seeking O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s knowledge of the game when the <a title=\"Seattle Mariners\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Seattle_Mariners\">Seattle Mariners<\/a> would have road games in Kansas City. &#8220;With Buck, I felt something big. The way he carried himself, you can see and tell and feel he loved this game.&#8221;<sup id=\"cite_ref-21\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"A_busy_final_year\" class=\"mw-headline\">A busy final year<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>On May 13, 2006, he received an <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Honorary doctorate\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Honorary_doctorate\">honorary doctorate<\/a> in education from <a title=\"Missouri Western State University\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Missouri_Western_State_University\">Missouri Western State University<\/a> where he also gave the commencement speech.<sup id=\"cite_ref-22\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil was a member of the 18-member <a title=\"National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum\">Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a> <a title=\"Veterans Committee\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Veterans_Committee\">Veterans Committee<\/a> 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 league PLAYER per year.<sup id=\"cite_ref-23\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> O&#8217;Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2006\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_balloting,_2006\">2006<\/a>, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission; however, 17 other Negro league figures were selected.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>God&#8217;s been good to me. They didn&#8217;t think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That&#8217;s the way they thought about it and that&#8217;s the way it is, so we&#8217;re going to live with that. Now, if I&#8217;m a Hall of Famer for you, that&#8217;s all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don&#8217;t weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful.<sup id=\"cite_ref-25\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>On July 29, 2006, O&#8217;Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro league players at the Baseball Hall of Fame.<sup id=\"cite_ref-26\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Still_playing_after_all_these_years\" class=\"mw-headline\">Still playing after all these years<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City,_Kansas.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/0c\/Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City%2C_Kansas.JPG\/220px-Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City%2C_Kansas.JPG\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/0c\/Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City%2C_Kansas.JPG\/330px-Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City%2C_Kansas.JPG 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/0c\/Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City%2C_Kansas.JPG\/440px-Left_field_wall_of_Community_America_Ballpark_in_Kansas_City%2C_Kansas.JPG 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"165\" data-file-width=\"3264\" data-file-height=\"2448\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>The Kansas City T-Bones retired O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s jersey. The team is now known as The Kansas City Monarchs as a tribute to O&#8217;Neil and former Monarchs players.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O&#8217;Neil signed a contract with the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Kansas City T-Bones\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_T-Bones\">Kansas City T-Bones<\/a> on July 17 to allow him to play in the <a title=\"Northern League (baseball, 1993\u20132010)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Northern_League_(baseball,_1993%E2%80%932010)\">Northern League<\/a> All-Star Game.<sup id=\"cite_ref-27\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Before the game, O&#8217;Neil was &#8220;traded&#8221; to the <a title=\"Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fargo-Moorhead_RedHawks\">Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks<\/a> and was listed as the starting <a title=\"Shortstop\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shortstop\">shortstop<\/a>, although after drawing an <a title=\"Intentional base on balls\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Intentional_base_on_balls\">intentional walk<\/a>, he was replaced before actually playing in the field. At the end of the inning, another &#8220;trade&#8221; was announced that brought O&#8217;Neil back to the Kansas City team, allowing him to lead off the bottom of the inning as well (drawing another intentional walk).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The T-Bones originally claimed that O&#8217;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).<sup id=\"cite_ref-29\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> However, that claim was in error, as the <a title=\"Schaumburg Flyers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Schaumburg_Flyers\">Schaumburg Flyers<\/a> of the Northern League had signed <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Double Duty Radcliffe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Double_Duty_Radcliffe\">Ted &#8220;Double Duty&#8221; Radcliffe<\/a> to a one-game contract and allowed him to face one batter on June 19, 1999 when he was 96 years old. While O&#8217;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.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Kansas City T-Bones <a title=\"Retired number\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Retired_number\">retired<\/a> his number on May 26, 2006.<sup id=\"cite_ref-32\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> In 2021, the franchise changed their name to the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Kansas City Monarchs (2021\u2013present)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Monarchs_(2021%E2%80%93present)\">Kansas City Monarchs<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Death_and_legacy\" class=\"mw-headline\">Death and legacy<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/60\/BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg\/220px-BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/60\/BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg\/330px-BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/60\/BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg\/440px-BuckONeilLegacySeat.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"165\" data-file-width=\"640\" data-file-height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>The Buck O&#8217;Neil Legacy Seat at <a title=\"Kauffman Stadium\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kauffman_Stadium\">Kauffman Stadium<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On August 5, 2006, O&#8217;Neil was admitted to a Kansas City hospital after complaining that he did not feel well. He was admitted for <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Fatigue (physical)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fatigue_(physical)\">fatigue<\/a> and was released three days later only to be re-admitted on September 17. On September 28, Kansas City media reported O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s condition had worsened.<sup id=\"cite_ref-33\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> On October 6, O&#8217;Neil died at the age of 94 due to <a title=\"Heart failure\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heart_failure\">heart failure<\/a> and <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Bone marrow cancer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bone_marrow_cancer\">bone marrow cancer<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>During the <a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a> opening day broadcast of the 2007 <a title=\"Kansas City Royals\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City_Royals\">Kansas City Royals<\/a>, on April 2, 2007, <a title=\"Joe Morgan\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_Morgan\">Joe Morgan<\/a> announced the Royals would honor O&#8217;Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O&#8217;Neil Legacy Seat<sup id=\"cite_ref-36\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> in <a title=\"Kauffman Stadium\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kauffman_Stadium\">Kauffman Stadium<\/a> each game who best exemplifies O&#8217;Neil&#8217;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 &#8220;Buck&#8217;s seat&#8221; was Buck O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s brother, Warren G. O&#8217;Neil (1917\u20132013), who also played in the Negro American League.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom\" class=\"mw-headline\">Presidential Medal of Freedom<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On December 7, 2006, O&#8217;Neil was posthumously awarded the <a title=\"Presidential Medal of Freedom\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom\">Presidential Medal of Freedom<\/a> by President <a title=\"George W. Bush\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/George_W._Bush\">George W. Bush<\/a>;<sup id=\"cite_ref-38\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> the award was presented to his brother, Warren, on his behalf on December 15. He was chosen due to his &#8220;excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field&#8221;, according to the White House news release. He joins other baseball notables such as <a title=\"Roberto Clemente\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roberto_Clemente\">Roberto Clemente<\/a>, <a title=\"Joe DiMaggio\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_DiMaggio\">Joe DiMaggio<\/a>, <a title=\"Willie Mays\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Willie_Mays\">Willie Mays<\/a>, and <a title=\"Jackie Robinson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jackie_Robinson\">Jackie Robinson<\/a> in receiving the United States&#8217; highest civilian honor. On November 13, 2012 the family of Buck O&#8217;Neil donated his Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in honor of what would have been O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s 101st birthday. The medal will be showcased in a special area of the NLBM dedicated to O&#8217;Neil.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Beacon_of_Life_Award\" class=\"mw-headline\">Beacon of Life Award<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On March 31, 2007\u2014the day of Major League Baseball&#8217;s first annual <a title=\"Civil Rights Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Civil_Rights_Game\">Civil Rights Game<\/a>\u2014O&#8217;Neil was posthumously awarded MLB&#8217;s first annual <a title=\"Civil Rights Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Civil_Rights_Game#Beacon_Awards\">Beacon of Life Award<\/a> at the inaugural MLB Beacon Awards luncheon.<sup id=\"cite_ref-40\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Lifetime_Achievement_Award\" class=\"mw-headline\">Lifetime Achievement Award<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On October 24, 2007, O&#8217;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.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2008 a lifesize statue of O&#8217;Neil was placed on display inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"18th and Vine Historic District\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/18th_and_Vine_Historic_District\">18th and Vine<\/a> in Kansas City, and the <a title=\"Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_O%27Neil_Lifetime_Achievement_Award\">Buck O&#8217;Neil Lifetime Achievement Award<\/a> will be presented no more than every three years.<sup id=\"cite_ref-42\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>At the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 27, 2008, Joe Morgan gave a dedication speech for the award and talked about O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s life, repeatedly citing the title of O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s autobiography, <i>I Was Right on Time<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Other_honors\" class=\"mw-headline\">Other honors<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Buck O&#8217;Neil Run\/Walk<sup id=\"cite_ref-43\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;John Jordan &#8216;Buck&#8217; O&#8217;Neil&#8221; exhibit (in the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ted_Williams_Museum_and_Hitters_Hall_of_Fame\">Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Baseball Reliquary\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baseball_Reliquary#Shrine_of_the_Eternals\">Shrine of the Eternals<\/a>: O\u2019Neil was inducted into the <a title=\"Baseball Reliquary\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baseball_Reliquary\">Baseball Reliquary<\/a>&#8216;s Shrine of the Eternals in 2008.<sup id=\"cite_ref-BRSOTE_Inductees_44-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Hall of Famous Missourians\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hall_of_Famous_Missourians\">Hall of Famous Missourians<\/a>: In February 2012 O&#8217;Neil was inducted to the Hall, located in the Missouri state capitol building in <a title=\"Jefferson City, Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jefferson_City,_Missouri\">Jefferson City<\/a>. A bronze bust of O&#8217;Neil will be on permanent display by the sculptor <a title=\"E. Spencer Schubert\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E._Spencer_Schubert\">E. Spencer Schubert<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-45\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Buck O'Neil Bridge\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_O%27Neil_Bridge\">Buck O&#8217;Neil Bridge<\/a> <a title=\"Kansas City, Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kansas_City,_Missouri\">Kansas City, Missouri<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Right on Time Caf\u00e9 onboard the <a title=\"USS Kansas City (LCS-22)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/USS_Kansas_City_(LCS-22)\">USS <i>Kansas City<\/i> (LCS-22)<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-47\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_O%27Neil#cite_note-47\">[47]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In the <i><a title=\"Get Fuzzy\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Get_Fuzzy\">Get Fuzzy<\/a><\/i> comic strip, Bucky the <a title=\"Siamese cat\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Siamese_cat\">Siamese cat<\/a> is named in honor of O&#8217;Neil.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>BUC O&#8217;NEAL, THE TRUE CEO, AND, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER OF THE NEGRO LEAGUE HISTORY TELLING PLATFORM<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table width=\"590\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"100%\">\n<table width=\"102%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"102%\">\n<h1><strong>Pre-Negro Leagues Candidate Profile:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>John Jordan &#8220;Buck&#8221; O&#8217;Neil<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20070608094140\/http:\/\/www.baseballhalloffame.org\/hofers_and_honorees\/negro_leaguers.htm\">Twenty-Ninth of 39 Profiles<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Born: November 13, 1911, in Carabelle, Florida<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>John &#8220;Buck&#8221; O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s life in baseball notes the quintessential experience of the Negro leagues. The extensive travel, connection to Latin America, All-Star teams, championship victories, leadership on and off the field, pioneering coaching and scouting, and ambassadorship of the game after his career, mark him as an iconic and influential figure in baseball history.He left the celery fields of Florida in 1934, armed with natural ability, big hands and an eager spirit, to embark on a professional career as player and team leader for the next 30 years. After semi-professional &#8220;barnstorming&#8221; experiences with the Miami Giants, New York Tigers, Shreveport Acme Giants, and Zulu Cannibal Giants, O&#8217;Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox in 1937.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He was soon recruited by the well-established Kansas City Monarchs to play first base, beginning a dominant period of success for the team. From 1938-42, the Monarchs won consecutive Negro American League pennants. In 1942, his bat earned him an East-West All-Star game selection, the first of three, and that same year he led the Monarchs to victory over the Homestead Grays in the Negro Leagues World Series.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-45, returning to the Negro leagues, now transitioning to the integration of baseball in 1946. The Monarchs pushed forward with success, as O&#8217;Neil took over as player\/manager under new owner T.Y. Baird in 1948. His consistent hitting and baseball knowledge served him and the Monarchs well, as he lead the Monarchs to the 1950 Negro American League western division pennant. O&#8217;Neil was also selected to manage the Western team at the annual All-Star Classic for four consecutive years, from 1951-54.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In addition, O&#8217;Neil starred on winter league teams in Almendares, Cuba and Orbegon, Mexico. Yet, one of his greatest experiences may have been as one of the stars of the Satchel Paige All-Stars in 1946, touring the nation with a hand selected team to challenge major league players.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He managed the Monarchs until 1955 when his career took an important turn. O&#8217;Neil became a scout for the Chicago Cubs, helping to shepherd the integration of black baseball players from the Negro leagues and Black colleges to the major leagues. Among his successful projects were future Hall of Fame players Ernie Banks and Lou Brock. In 1962, O&#8217;Neil made history by becoming the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball, with the Chicago Cubs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#8217;Neil left the Cubs as a scout in 1988, but many more great accomplishments awaited him. He returned to Kansas City and helped lead the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, established in 1990. He served on the National Baseball Hall of Fame&#8217;s Committee on Veterans, helping ensure the induction of several Negro Leagues players. O&#8217;Neil also continues to touch thousands of people each year through promotion of baseball history, public speaking, and educational endeavors.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"maincontent\">\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<article class=\"articlecontent allowvig loaded\" data-id=\"58\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:58,&quot;p&quot;:55,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;article&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:3}\" data-nativead-placements=\"article_aside:3;singlecard1:1;singlecard2:1;singlecard3:1;singlecard4:1;singlecard5:1;singlecard6:1;singlecard7:1;singlecard8:1;singlecard9:1;singlecard10:1;singlecard11:1;\">\n<section class=\"flexarticle\" data-id=\"59\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:59,&quot;p&quot;:58,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;flexarticle&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:1}\">\n<section class=\"articlebody \" data-id=\"60\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:60,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;articlebody&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:1}\"><strong>KANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2013 It was a normal weekday in 1993 when Bob Kendrick went to work, which on this occasion meant traveling to the third floor of the Lincoln Building at the corner of 18th and Vine here, the city\u2019s historic hub of jazz, Black business and baseball.<span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal\" data-caption=\"A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo.\" data-id=\"61\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:61,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:1}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2KP6.img?h=1198&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=195&amp;y=196\" alt=\"A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;120&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2KP6.img?h=1198&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=195&amp;y=196&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;94&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2KP6.img?h=935&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=195&amp;y=196&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;94&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2KP6.img?h=935&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=195&amp;y=196&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal<\/span> A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo. <\/span> <\/span> <span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal\" data-caption=\"A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes for an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.\" data-id=\"62\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:62,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:2}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2RxO.img?h=534&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=208&amp;y=120\" alt=\"A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes for an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;53&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2RxO.img?h=534&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=208&amp;y=120&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;42&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2RxO.img?h=417&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=208&amp;y=120&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;42&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2RxO.img?h=417&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=208&amp;y=120&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal<\/span> A chair made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats makes for an ideal throne for Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. <\/span> <\/span>He arrived at a modest, one-room office. A few pictures featuring <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/2021\/01\/24\/hank-aaron-negro-leagues-indianapolis-clowns-bob-kendrick\/6692571002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"69\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:69,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:9}\">Black faces, bats and<\/a> gloves lined the walls.Kendrick asked the only person there for the <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/2020\/12\/16\/negro-leagues-officially-become-part-of-mlb-history\/3922455001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"70\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:70,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:10}\">Negro Leagues <\/a>Baseball Museum.\u201cSon, you\u2019re standing in it,\u201d the late Don Motley, one of the museum\u2019s founding members and longtime executive director, told him.Then a 31-year-old senior copywriter for the Kansas City Star, Kendrick spotlighted local nonprofit groups that received free advertising space from the newspaper. The museum, four years away from opening in its current location across the street, wanted to promote its first traveling exhibition. Kendrick didn\u2019t even know the <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/2021\/06\/15\/baseball-reference-negro-leagues-official-stats\/7694595002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"72\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:72,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:12}\">Negro Leagues<\/a> Baseball Museum existed \u2013\u00a0or that it had been founded in 1990.He soon met one of the men in those pictures, John \u201cBuck\u201d O\u2019Neil, as much a Kansas City institution as barbecue, one of the museum\u2019s founders and <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/2020\/12\/18\/negro-leagues-how-players-stats-being-added-mlb-history\/3948761001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"73\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:73,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:13}\">a star player<\/a> with the Kansas City Monarchs in the heyday of the <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/2021\/02\/11\/7-negro-leagues-recommended-for-major-league-status\/115461428\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"74\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:74,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:14}\">Negro Leagues<\/a>. O&#8217;Neil\u00a0knew Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson and developed a reputation as one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Kendrick became enamored with the tales of forgotten Black stars at a time when men \u2013 and a few women \u2013 would play, then be forced to travel miles upon miles for a hot meal and a bed that night at a place that would accommodate Black people.<\/strong><strong>The museum assignment\u00a0ended, but Kendrick wanted to stay on O\u2019Neil\u2019s team. So he joined it, first as a volunteer at the museum, then on the board, then as the marketing director and, for the past 10 years, the president.<\/strong><strong>\u201cOnce you\u2019re bitten by the Buck bug,\u201d Kendrick said, \u201coh, man, it\u2019s a wrap.\u201d<\/strong><strong>The grandson of slaves and the first Black coach in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs, O\u2019Neil \u2013 up until his death on Oct. 6, 2006, a month before his 95th birthday \u2013 was the unofficial Black baseball historian.<\/strong><strong>\u201cI learned the stories. I didn\u2019t live the stories,\u201d Kendrick said. \u201cBut I think having watched him and his interactions with our guests, and I walked on so many of those tours with him, it\u2019s opened me up to wanting to do the same thing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>During his presidency, Kendrick has forged a new chapter for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum that led to Major League Baseball, in an announcement last December, recognizing the feats, statistics and accomplishments of yesteryear. Without this museum and the proper acknowledgment, the history of baseball is incomplete. And without Kendrick, there\u2019s a chance the baseball world wouldn\u2019t have arrived at this reckoning point.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cEvery American should engage the history of Black baseball to understand the long story of the way baseball was seen as a point of entry into an integrated American life,\u201d said Adrian Burgos, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor who studies sports history.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And as both America and baseball confront their history regarding race, the museum becomes a beacon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThis museum is a civil rights museum. It is a social justice museum. It\u2019s just seen through the lens of baseball,\u201d Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For Kendrick, the story of the Negro Leagues is the quintessential American success story. He said\u00a0that story has never been more relevant than it is today as the nation picks at the painful scars of the past.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cYou won\u2019t let me play? I\u2019ll go create my own. That,\u201d he said, \u201cis such the American spirit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>That spirit also drove Kendrick from humble beginnings of rural Georgia to the Midwest and a life as this history\u2019s keeper.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\"><strong>A segregated pastime<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Baseball is often referred to as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Pastime,\u201d which makes its period of racial exclusion particularly American.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Developed in the aftermath of the Civil War, baseball included mixed rosters with Black, Latino and white people on military, college and even company teams across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. Jim Crow laws ushered in the whites-only era in which MLB began.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The \u201cNegro Leagues\u201d can trace its roots back to three independent Black teams joining to form the \u201cCuban Giants\u201d \u2013 they picked up the nickname because they toured in Cuba in 1885. The Giants spawned teams that operated without an official structure until Rube Foster,\u00a0the owner of the Chicago American Giants,\u00a0called a meeting\u00a0in 1920 at the Kansas City YMCA, a brick building still standing on The Paseo, around the corner from the museum. Today, the left exterior of the building features murals dedicated to O\u2019Neil and the Monarchs, and it is the future site of the Buck O\u2019Neil Education and Research Center.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Foster and other Midwest owners formed the Negro National League, the first organized league that existed in variations until about 1960 (historians argue about the exact year) in cities from Birmingham, Alabama, to Pittsburgh\u00a0to Newark, New Jersey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Many people know the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 \u2013 part of what catalyzed the civil rights movement \u2013 and know his professional career started with the Kansas City Monarchs alongside the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige. Some people know that Hank Aaron, the onetime home run king, played for three months with the Indianapolis Clowns.\u00a0Yet only the most fervent baseball historian is\u00a0familiar with the legendary speed of James \u201cCool Papa\u201d Bell \u2013 said to be so fast that he could turn off a light and be in bed before the room got dark.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"Earl Shugars, AP\" data-caption=\"Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher and Montreal Royals first baseman Jackie Robinson chat in the Havana dugout during an exhibition game on March 31, 1947. Robinson became the first Black man to play in major league baseball, with the Dodgers.\" data-id=\"64\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:64,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:4}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQI.img?h=607&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=709&amp;y=302\" alt=\"Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher and Montreal Royals first baseman Jackie Robinson chat in the Havana dugout during an exhibition game on March 31, 1947. Robinson became the first Black man to play in major league baseball, with the Dodgers.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;61&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQI.img?h=607&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=709&amp;y=302&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;47&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQI.img?h=474&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=709&amp;y=302&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;47&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQI.img?h=474&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=709&amp;y=302&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 Earl Shugars, AP<\/span> Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher and Montreal Royals first baseman Jackie Robinson chat in the Havana dugout during an exhibition game on March 31, 1947. Robinson became the first Black man to play in major league baseball, with the Dodgers. <\/span> <\/span>They probably don\u2019t know Charles \u201cBullet\u201d Rogan was a two-way star\u00a0\u2013pitching and hitting \u2013 during the same time period\u00a0as Babe Ruth or that Baseball Hall of Famer and center fielder Oscar Charleston should be considered a top five player of all time. There is the little-known fact that Latinos who could not pass as white, and even those who could, started in the Negro Leagues. So did major league legends like Minnie Mi\u00f1oso, a 13-time All-Star from Cuba who played with the New York Cubans and eventually with the Chicago White Sox, and Mart\u00edn Dihigo, a fellow Cuban who never made it to the majors but was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 by the Negro League Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Three women played in the Negro Leagues. The first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Effa Manley, owned the Newark Eagles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"AP\" data-caption=\"Effa Manley, left, who co-owned the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League looks over a scrapbook with one of her former players, Don Newcombe, at her home in Los Angeles on August 7, 1973. In 2006, Manley became the first woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame among 17 people from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues.\" data-id=\"65\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:65,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:5}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2Ry8.img?h=880&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=310&amp;y=370\" alt=\"Effa Manley, left, who co-owned the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League looks over a scrapbook with one of her former players, Don Newcombe, at her home in Los Angeles on August 7, 1973. In 2006, Manley became the first woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame among 17 people from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;88&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2Ry8.img?h=880&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=310&amp;y=370&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;69&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2Ry8.img?h=688&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=310&amp;y=370&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;69&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2Ry8.img?h=688&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=310&amp;y=370&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 AP<\/span> Effa Manley, left, who co-owned the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League looks over a scrapbook with one of her former players, Don Newcombe, at her home in Los Angeles on August 7, 1973. In 2006, Manley became the first woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame among 17 people from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues. <\/span> <\/span> <span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"AP\" data-caption=\"Milwaukee Braves slugger Hank Aaron kneels in the outfield before a game, June 1957.\" data-id=\"66\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:66,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:6}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2WiZ.img?h=933&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=384&amp;y=292\" alt=\"Milwaukee Braves slugger Hank Aaron kneels in the outfield before a game, June 1957.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;93&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2WiZ.img?h=933&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=384&amp;y=292&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;73&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2WiZ.img?h=729&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=384&amp;y=292&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;73&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2WiZ.img?h=729&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=384&amp;y=292&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 AP<\/span> Milwaukee Braves slugger Hank Aaron kneels in the outfield before a game, June 1957. <\/span> <\/span>\u201cThe majority of us went through our own formal educations without knowing one of the most significant chapters, not just in baseball history but in American history,\u201d Kendrick said, \u201cand that is the history of the Negro Leagues.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick estimates there are more than 100 living Negro Leaguers who played well after the integration of the majors in the late 1950s. One of those players, Pedro Sierra \u2013 a right-handed pitcher from Cuba who joined the Clowns two seasons after Aaron \u2013 said\u00a0the number is closer to 30.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Regardless of how many are left, the day none remains approaches, making people like Kendrick essential.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe used to call Buck the voice of the Negro Leagues,\u201d Sierra, 83, said. \u201cBob has kind of taken his place. So I call him the echo.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\"><strong>Following in the steps of a\u00a0legend<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Thanks to some late-life fame gained through Ken Burns\u2019 iconic nine-part (one for every inning) documentary \u201cBaseball\u201d in 1994, the modern baseball fan became acquainted with Buck O\u2019Neil.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHe brought these individuals, these stories that he talked about,\u201d Kendrick said, \u201che brought them to life.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick likes to say O\u2019Neil had newfound celebrity status as a result of his compelling narration of the Negro Leagues portion of the documentary.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cAmerica fell in love with Buck O\u2019Neil,\u201d Kendrick said. \u201cIt literally set off a new career for him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O\u2019Neil would enjoy that fame for 12 more years, which he spent gallivanting around the U.S. preaching the gospel of the Negro Leagues and the virtues of his new museum to anyone willing to listen.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cGuess who was along for the ride? Old Bob,\u201d Kendrick said\u00a0with his trademark laugh.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Three months prior to O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s passing in 2006,\u00a0Congress distinguished the museum as\u00a0\u201cAmerica\u2019s National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O\u2019Neil became more than a friend to Kendrick, despite the five-decade age difference between the two men. He was a mentor, a confidante. The baseball stories brought them together, but the shared time \u2013 traveling, at the museum, or on the golf course \u2013 bonded them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter how many times he had told a story. But if he\u2019s telling it to you, he was going to tell it like the first time he ever told that story. He wasn\u2019t gonna cheat you,\u201d Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>One of Kendrick\u2019s favorite stories to tell centers on the time O\u2019Neil hit for the cycle \u2013 single, double, triple, home run in the same game \u2013 on Easter Sunday 1943.\u00a0\u00a0As he had a celebratory dinner in a Memphis, Tennessee, hotel lobby that evening, O\u2019Neil approached the first woman he saw. Ora Lee Owen was O\u2019Neil\u2019s wife for 51 years until she died in 1997.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sometimes, as O\u2019Neil regaled him with another story from the first half of the 20th century, Kendrick would think he was on the receiving end so he could one day serve as the conduit to the past, to the stories that make the Negro Leagues so important.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI honestly believe that he guides my footsteps,\u201d he said,\u00a0\u201cthat he really is kind of this angel looking over my shoulder.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Before the cross-country road-tripping, during one of their first chats, Kendrick asked O\u2019Neil why the museum was important. O\u2019Neil answered succinctly:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cSo that we would be remembered.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>These days, he shares O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s stories with pride, hoping museumgoers will say, &#8220;&#8216;Oh, Bob didn\u2019t cheat us.\u2019 He gave us every ounce of energy that he had,\u201d Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, Kendrick\u2019s own story of humble beginnings starts in Crawfordville, Georgia. He\u2019s\u00a0quick to inform that the town of 500 is 80 miles east of Atlanta, 50 miles west of Augusta. He has fond memories of watching his mother churn fresh ice cream during this \u201ccarefree environment&#8221; growing up\u00a0as the youngest of six boys.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI didn\u2019t know I was poor until I got to college,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Around age 11 or 12, his family installed indoor plumbing. \u201cWe had everything we needed,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., had been his plan, but a partial basketball scholarship brought him to Park College in Parkville, Missouri (now Park University), in the fall of 1980.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIn the information they sent me they made it seem like it was really close to Kansas City,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Parkville is 11 miles from the museum, and Kendrick\u00a0never left the area once he arrived.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He bought a winter jacket for the first time and played on the school\u2019s team for two years. The 3-point line hadn\u2019t been adopted in the collegiate ranks yet, and Kendrick jokes that maybe his career would have been prolonged if it had been around.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A broken foot at the start of his junior season prompted him to focus solely on his studies, and he earned a communications degree in 1985.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For his first job out of college, in the composing room of the Star, he donned a denim-blue apron. Equipped with an X-Acto knife, Kendrick would receive editors\u2019 hand-drawn layouts of the pages. He cut the type, pasted it and created the pages that ultimately became the plates for that edition of the newspaper\u2019s printing presses. The job taught him about pressure and deadlines. He joined the paper\u2019s promotions group, which operated as the Star\u2019s in-house advertising agency, two years later.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As a copywriter, he led\u00a0the advertising efforts for space donated by the paper to nonprofit groups. And in 1993, he drew the assignment of popularizing a museum about Black baseball players that opened on 18th and Vine.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\"><strong>\u2018No one gave it any chance of succeeding\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>When the Monarchs played at Municipal Stadium, not far from where the museum now\u00a0sits, businesses thrived, and the jazz of Charlie Parker and Count Basie played inside clubs like Street\u2019s Blue Room.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIt was the epicenter for Black life in Kansas City,\u201d he said. \u201cWherever you had successful Black baseball, you typically had thriving Black economies. 18th and Vine was no exception.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But when Kendrick arrived at the cross street nearly three decades ago, the neighborhood \u201chad been left to die,\u201d he said. Vacant storefronts and half-caved-in buildings took up whole blocks. O\u2019Neil and other ex-Negro Leaguers took turns paying the rent to keep the space.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNo one gave it any chance of succeeding,\u201d Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Twenty-eight years later, Kendrick is the one leading the museum \u2013 in a much different form than the one-room venture it started out as across the street from the current edifice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On this scalding, sweaty August afternoon, too toasty for his customary suit, Kendrick is as cool as a tall glass of iced tea in a crisp cream-colored\u00a0short-sleeve button-down shirt, white pants and light brown shoes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Some of the unopened boxes that fill his office, he said, are from when he moved in. The constant deluge of memorabilia only adds to the clutter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On any given day, visitors could be roaming the museum\u2019s corridors and suddenly hear Kendrick\u2019s voice. For those who don\u2019t recognize him, he keeps his identity secret until the end of the tour. Sometimes he\u2019ll point out the T-shirt in the gift shop with a caricature of himself and the words \u201cChief Storytelling Officer.\u201d That\u2019s becoming harder these days, between his social media presence and the growing popularity of the museum.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBuck was the greatest storyteller of all time,\u201d said Jessie Murphy, the museum\u2019s operations manager. \u201cMr. Kendrick is right up there with him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick worked his way into the presidency after years behind the scenes on the board. He\u00a0spent 13 months away from the museum as the director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled before being asked to return in 2011, this time as president.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBob is a good-hearted person,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cHe has created many avenues for this museum. In fact, when we were going down, he picked it up and it\u2019s been rising up ever since.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A 100-year birthday celebration for the late O\u2019Neil marked Kendrick&#8217;s first year back. Kansas City hosted the 2012 All-Star Game, bringing the spotlight to the city, and the Royals\u2019 success in 2014 and \u201915 kept it there, helping\u00a0the museum flourish\u00a0with an influx of visitors. In between, Kendrick hosted a Hollywood-style \u201c42\u201d premiere with Chadwick Boseman, who played Robinson, and Harrison Ford conducted\u00a0media interviews on the release date from the museum\u2019s famous \u201cField of Legends.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI\u2019m not saying this just because he\u2019s here,\u201d said Cathie Moss, the museum\u2019s event coordinator and occasional tour guide herself. \u201cI don\u2019t think this museum would be on the same level or footing it is today had (Kendrick) not come back when he did.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The museum has been profitable for years\u00a0and is on solid financial footing now \u2013 a $20 million turnaround for the organization, Kendrick said. Tax records confirmed this.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick\u00a0and curator Raymond Doswell, who is responsible for the museum\u2019s layout and content, helped museum attendance grow year-over-year \u201cexponentially.\u201d They hoped to attract 100,000 visitors in 2020 before the pandemic hit.\u00a0More than 2 million visitors have passed through the glass doors since the museum building opened in 1997.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal\" data-caption=\"Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, walks through a portion of the museum showcasing eras in baseball that feature prominent Black players on Oct. 5, 2021.\" data-id=\"67\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:67,&quot;p&quot;:60,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:7}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQR.img?h=534&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f\" alt=\"Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, walks through a portion of the museum showcasing eras in baseball that feature prominent Black players on Oct. 5, 2021.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;53&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQR.img?h=534&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;42&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQR.img?h=417&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;42&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQ2YQR.img?h=417&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\"> <span class=\"attribution\">\u00a9 Evert Nelson, Topeka Capital-Journal<\/span> Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, walks through a portion of the museum showcasing eras in baseball that feature prominent Black players on Oct. 5, 2021. <\/span> <\/span>The 10,000-square-foot space houses decades worth of baseball artifacts. Photos with insightful descriptions line the walls, walking visitors through a timeline of Negro Leagues history in a quiet atmosphere \u2013 unless Kendrick\u2019s voice is booming during another impromptu tour.\u00a0Thirteen life-size, bronze statues situated around a baseball diamond make up the Field of Legends, the final stop of the tour.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBreaking Barriers,\u201d the seventh traveling exhibit, will debut next year in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of Robinson\u2019s feat and honors the player to break each organization\u2019s color barrier until 1959.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>One year and one day after the museum closed for three months because of the pandemic, a vaccination site opened on the premises \u2013 an example of the public service function the museum carries, Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe still operate in the heart of an African American community, and a lot of people who live in this community are underserved,\u201d Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Through a partnership with MLB\u2019s Kansas City Royals and the local Boys &amp; Girls Club, a state-of-the-art baseball complex sits one block behind the museum.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The focus, however, remains on the baseball players from decades ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThrough Bob\u2019s storytelling and his gregarious personality and Raymond\u2019s commitment to staying true to the story and telling it and sharing it through the collection, through the exhibits, through the communities, you really see the best of the Negro Leagues,\u201d said Burgos, the Illinois professor who wrote \u201cCuban Star: How One Negro League Owner Changed the Face of Baseball,\u201d about the Afro-Cuban-American Alejandro \u201cAlex\u201d Pompez.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2\"><strong>Keeper of the legends<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>The museum allowed Kendrick to meet his baseball hero: Aaron.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick recalls being 12 and running around his parents&#8217; living room in joy the April night Aaron broke Ruth\u2019s home run record in 1974. Taking Aaron on a tour of the museum will always be the highlight of his career.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201c(He\u2019s) the only person I\u2019ve ever been star-struck around,\u201d Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His tour with Aaron ended with them and Aaron\u2019s wife, Billye Aaron, sitting around a plate of ribs doused in original sauce at the revered local food joint Gates BBQ.\u00a0The couple jokingly asked Kendrick if he had any ribs on him every time they saw each other until Aaron\u2019s death in January.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cMemories mean a whole lot to me,\u201d Kendrick said. \u201cThis museum is filled with memories.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Memories also fueled one of Kendrick\u2019s latest ideas, \u201cMy Baseball Memory,\u201d which launched Oct. 6 \u2013 the 15-year anniversary of O\u2019Neil\u2019s death. Former Black MLB players Frank White and Joe Carter sat on a panel to help launch the campaign, designed to raise Alzheimer\u2019s awareness in the Black community. Fans were\u00a0encouraged to share their most-cherished memories related to baseball on social media accompanied by the hashtag #MyBaseballMemory.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick has jumped headfirst into the challenge of making the museum relevant for both younger and older generations, including those who use a variety of online platforms. His 20-episode podcast series, \u201cBlack Diamonds,\u201d includes conversations about Negro Leagues stars and teams with historians and other baseball luminaries.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He might be prone to retweeting mostly everything he\u2019s tagged in, but his Twitter account also supplies his 45,000 followers timelines with facts, figures and stories of the Negro Leagues and their legends. He sees it all as a tool to connect the museum with the younger generation, who will one day become responsible for financially supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When the coronavirus pandemic dashed the grand plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Foster\u2019s creation of the Negro Leagues that Kendrick had coordinated with Major League Baseball for 2020, he adjusted. The \u201cTip Your Cap\u201d campaign was born, and it kicked off with four living U.S. presidents \u2013 Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama \u2013 giving their support to the museum with short video messages and literally tipping their baseball caps on social media to honor the men and women who were denied the chance to play in the majors.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cMy Baseball Memory\u201d and \u201cTip Your Cap\u201d are examples of ideas that Kendrick wakes up with in the middle of the night. He jots them down immediately. The museum is never far from his mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Like a baseball manager, Kendrick feels he receives too much credit for the museum\u2019s success. He, obviously, hands it all to his old friend.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI talk to Buck almost every day. There\u2019s not a single day that I don\u2019t talk to Buck. He don\u2019t always talk back to me,\u201d Kendrick said. \u201cIt just seems like everything we try to do, it seems to work. And I ain\u2019t that smart.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In previous generations, Burgos \u2013 the Illinois professor \u2013 argued it was men like Kendrick and Doswell who would have been Negro Leagues leaders, either guiding or owning teams or chronicling it like famous Black journalist Wendell Smith, who followed Robinson in 1946 and 1947.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThis is why so many of us love Buck O\u2019Neil,\u201d Burgos said. \u201cBecause he was the legacy. And these men are carrying that legacy forward.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kendrick\u2019s goal is to leave the museum on more stable ground compared with when he returned. Improving life for those who come next is a duty of the human condition, he reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cOne day, my granddaughter will bring her children here\u00a0and say \u2018your great-grandfather had a hand in this,\u2019\u201d Kendrick said. \u201cNone of us are going to get rich doing this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>They are rich in so many other ways, Kendrick said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rich in memories. Rich in passion. Powered by the stories of those who are enshrined here and the people who have made that mission of remembrance \u2013 and equality \u2013 their life\u2019s work.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"postarticlecontent\" data-id=\"85\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:85,&quot;p&quot;:58,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;postarticlecontent&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:6,&quot;o&quot;:2}\">\n<div id=\"civsci-id-76398579\" class=\"civsci\" data-civicscience-widget=\"dc47b0af-1755-c124-4d1b-758f0eee9014\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"normalsection\" role=\"region\" data-section-id=\"oneriversection\">\n<div class=\"full-width\">\n<div class=\"sectioncontent\" data-region=\"oneriversection_section\">\n<div id=\"oneriverajax\" class=\"show\" data-first-page-ajax-url=\"\/en-us\/sports\/oneriverajax?li=BB15ms5q&amp;xd-name=ArticlePageOneRiver&amp;startIndex=0&amp;count=25&amp;contentId=AAQ2P0w&amp;page-mode=Normal&amp;pageIndex=1&amp;pvid=e5e03f767a334688a2cc954a86467e40&amp;rnd-mode=Flexible\" data-service-page-data=\"{&quot;cc&quot;:25,&quot;ipqsp&quot;:&quot;&amp;li=BB15ms5q&quot;,&quot;pci&quot;:&quot;AAQ2P0w&quot;,&quot;pageMode&quot;:&quot;Normal&quot;,&quot;excl&quot;:[],&quot;exclcss&quot;:[],&quot;excljs&quot;:[],&quot;rcc&quot;:0,&quot;p&quot;:1}\" data-dist-first-page=\"2000\">\n<div class=\"oneriverpage\" data-js=\"\/\/static-entertainment-eus-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/en-us\/Sports\/_sc\/js\/d7cb56b9-ce16e029\/direction=ltr.locales=generic-generic.themes=start.dpi=resolution1x\/2d-d73afb-892ace9\/ff-f4f6da-68ddb2ab\/e2-2522eb-75383857\/4c-b97298-68ddb2ab?ver=20211023_25345434&amp;fdhead=gholdout&amp;csopd=20210720141208&amp;csopdb=20211004194641\" data-css=\"\/\/static-entertainment-eus-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/en-us\/Sports\/_sc\/css\/d7cb56b9-b96ddae1\/direction=ltr.locales=generic-generic.themes=start.dpi=resolution1x\/f5-5c0439-ecdc80c3\/9c-ab9525-ebb81256\/7d-a8907f-df02ef6a\/de-0ae0e7-ae503b62\/f4-697f29-5de3d677?ver=20211023_25345434&amp;fdhead=gholdout&amp;csopd=20210720141208&amp;csopdb=20211004194641\" data-ajax-xd-id=\"AAtEZ2j\">\n<div class=\"normalsection show\" role=\"region\" data-section-id=\"oneriver.main\">\n<div class=\"full-width\">\n<div class=\"sectioncontent\" data-region=\"oneriver.main_section\">\n<h2><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball is largely based on the research compiled by the Center for Negro League Baseball Research. The list includes those who played on major Negro league teams prior to integration (and any caliber Negro league team after integration) as well as in Major [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,11,8,1314,2432,1456,1156,2416,13,2404,2406,107,14,1,7,9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-gamers","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-hall-of-fame","category-health","category-high-school-sports","category-mbs-hss","category-mlb-sports-news","category-most-commented","category-news","category-sports","category-us","category-world","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}