KC Royals: Buck O’Neil and some baseball memories

This past weekend, a major wrong was finally righted when the legendary Buck O’Neil was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It was an honor O’Neil should have received long before his death 15 years ago, but the former KC Royals scout has finally gained his rightful place in Cooperstown.

Many, many career events created great O’Neil memories. Here are a few.

Before he was a KC Royals scout, Buck O’Neil was an excellent Monarch.

O’Neil began his professional baseball career with the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League in 1937. He hit .294 with four triples and four RBIs, and scored five runs in nine games before making his home in Kansas City when he joined the Monarchs in 1938.

O’Neil helped the Monarchs win four straight Negro American League pennants from 1939-1942 and the 1942 Negro World Series.

After serving in the Navy in World War II, O’Neil returned to hit .353 in 1946 and win the Negro American League batting title. He then hit .333 with two home runs in that season’s Negro World Series, but the Monarchs lost to the Newark Eagles.

O’Neil became the Monarchs’ player-manager in 1948 and led the team to two more pennants before retiring.

He had a career .288 average, including four .300-plus seasons. He was also a good fielder, notching a .988 fielding percentage with 63 assists and 80 double plays turned in 10 seasons at first base.

O’Neil was also a three-time All-Star, and played for Satchel Paige’s All-Stars who squared off against Bob Feller’s All-Stars in a 1946 barnstorming tour.

O’Neil recounted how important this exhibition matchup was in, as reported by Bill Francis at baseballhall.org, the biography he penned with noted writer Joe Posnanski, “I Was Right on Time:”

“I also felt that, even though it was black against white, this tour was an event that could have a real effect on big-league integration, because it took place after Jackie (Robinson) had proven himself, and if a lot of us weren’t that lucky, we could at least prove ourselves against big-leaguers in these games.”

O’Neil did make it a point to prove himself, as he hit .333 (6-for-18) during the tour.

Buck O’Neil got the nickname “Nancy” from Monarchs teammate Satchel Paige.

O’Neil and fellow Hall of Fame pitching great Satchel Paige, who later played for the Kansas City A’s, were teammates on the Kansas City Monarchs during their heydays of the 1940s and, by all accounts, were also great friends. But while most everyone took to calling O’Neil “Buck” instead of his given name “John,” Paige had another nickname for him.

“Nancy.”

And that nickname arose from the most unlikely of events.

According to O’Neil biographer Posnanski, when the Monarchs were staying at a Chicago hotel, Paige encountered a woman named Nancy and had her belongings taken to his room.

Paige’s fiancée, Lahoma, then arrived. O’Neil’s room was next to Paige’s; O’Neil had the hotel place Lahoma in the vacant room next to his.

Later that night, Paige went to Nancy’s door and knocked more than once. But after receiving no response, he knocked louder and shouted, “Nancy!”

O’Neil heard Paige’s door open so he opened his own door and then said to Paige, “Satchel, are you looking for me?” Paige quickly responded with “Yes, Nancy. What time is the game tomorrow?”

From that moment on, Buck was also known as “Nancy,” making him the rare baseball player with two nicknames.

Buck O’Neil becomes the oldest professional baseball player in history.

Picture this for a moment—a 94-year-old man making his way to the plate to hit in a professional baseball game.

Of course, no other person but Buck O’Neil would do such a thing.

And there he was in 2006, during the Northern League All-Star game in Kansas City. O’Neil led off for the West squad at the age of 94, appearing at the plate in a game for the first time since 1955 and, as reported at the time by the Associated Press, becoming the oldest professional player in baseball history. And he fared well, taking a walk before being replaced by a pinch-runner.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. The then-Kansas City T-Bones (since renamed the Monarchs) made a mid-inning trade that made O’Neil a T-Bone (he even signed a contract that gave him status as a professional). That meant he could, and did, play for the East—he led off the bottom of the first, actually took a swing, then drew another walk.

In typical O’Neil fashion, when asked who the last pitcher he faced off against was, O’Neil told the Associated Press, “I don’t remember yesterday, and you ask me who the pitcher was in 1955?”

Former Royals scout Buck O’Neil was a superb ballplayer and great ambassador for the game of baseball. He definitely made good memories.