Buck O'Neil - Great American 1911-2006

Sad news today in the passing of Buck O'Neil, former Negro Leagues Player, former Major League Baseball Coach, and the greatest ambassador for the game you could ever find. In my mind and the mind of many others he was a Hall of Famer.

Like many others I was first introduced to Buck in Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball". If you didn't like him immediately I believe there is something wrong with you. His infectious grin and knack for telling the story of what he had experienced made him someone you would love to sit down with and while away a day listening to him. I dare say that Burns' greatest contribution to baseball was to introduce the general public to Buck. Buck put a face and a voice to what the Negro Leagues were.

It is really a shame that he just missed being inducted into the Hall of Fame when they voted in a number of people from the Negro League at once. Some of the voters felt his play in the field was not quite good enough, but there are plenty of people out there who say that is false. Many people felt that even if the statistics weren't as brilliant, his stature as ambassador of goodwill for baseball should have made him a shoo in.

I am not a great historian of baseball, but as a human being Buck was a Hall of Famer.