John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil

Position: First Baseman, Manager
Career: 1937 – 1955

orn in Carabelle, Florida in 1911, Buck was nicknamed after the co-owner of the semi-pro Miami Giants, Buck O’Neil. He played briefly with the Memphis Red Sox before joining the Kansas City Monarchs for the remainder of his stellar career.

O’Neil led the Monarchs to a Negro American League title in 1942 and faced the Homestead Grays in the Negro World Series, hitting a robust .353 as the Monarchs swept the Grays in just four games. O’Neil won batting titles in 1940 and 1946, blasting out averages of .345 and .350, respectively.

His achievements included being named to the East-West All-Star Classic in 1942, 1943, and 1949. Buck also had the honor of managing the West squad in All-Star games in 1950, 1953, 1954 and 1955. The West was victorious in all four contests. Buck’s career also included playing for the 1946 Satchel Page All-Stars who toured the nation against Bob Feller’s All-Stars in a 14–game series.

In 1948, Buck succeeded Frank Duncan as manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, guiding the team to league titles in 1948, 1950, 1951 and 1953. In 1956, O’Neil was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a scout and in 1962 became the first African-American coach in the Major Leagues with the Cubs. After 33 years as a “Cubbie,” he returned home in 1988 to scout for the Kansas City Royals. O’Neil died in 2006 at the age of 94.

*Players' biographies are excerpted from copyrighted materials and used with permission of the Negro League Baseball Players Association (www.NLBPA.com)

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