In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder. O'Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part of Ken Burns' 1994 PBS documentary on baseball. After many years with the Cubs, O'Neil became a Kansas City Royals scout in 1988, and was named "Midwest Scout of the Year" in 1998. 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' " College of Coaches" system, and was never allowed to manage the team during that time. O'Neil was Banks' manager during those stints, and Banks was signed to play for the Cubs more than two years before O'Neil joined them as a scout. He played briefly for the Monarchs in 19, his play interrupted by Army duty. O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks to his first contract Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs by Cool Papa Bell, then manager of the Monarchs' barnstorming B team in 1949.
#JORDAN MEDAL OF FREEDOM PROFESSIONAL#
When Tom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O'Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs, and is credited for signing Hall of Fame player Lou Brock to his first professional baseball contract. Off the field Buck O'Neil signing autographs, 2005 O'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. His two undisputed pennants were won in 19, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams. He managed the Monarchs for eight seasons from 1948 through 1955 during the declining years of the Negro leagues, winning two league titles and a shared title in which no playoff was held during that period. O'Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 after Frank Duncan's retirement, and continued to play first base as well as a regular through 1951, dropping to part-time status afterward. He returned to the Monarchs at the start of the 1946 season. He served his enlistment in a naval construction battalion in New Jersey. O'Neil's baseball career was interrupted for two years (19) during World War II when he joined the U.S.
He played in three East-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and two Negro World Series. 353 batting average and followed that in 1947 with a. In 1946, the first baseman led the NAL with a. 300-plus seasons at the plate, as well as five seasons in which he did not top. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year. The effort paid off, and in 1937, O'Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League. He left Florida in 1934 for several years of semi-professional "barnstorming" experiences (playing interracial exhibition games). He then later moved to Jacksonville with relatives and attended Edward Waters College, where he completed high school and two years of college courses. O'Neil worked the celery fields in Sarasota while his father ran a pool hall in Newtown. He grew up in Sarasota, Florida in the Newtown community. Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. O'Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school owing to racial segregation. O'Neil was born in Carrabelle, Florida, to John Jordan O'Neil (1873–1954) and Louella Campbell (maiden 1884–1945). His life was documented in Joe Posnanski's 2007 book The Soul of Baseball.
#JORDAN MEDAL OF FREEDOM SERIES#
O'Neil was prominently featured in Ken Burns's 1994 documentary series Baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 as an executive. 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 Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. (Novem– October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs.
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