It's Hall Of Fame Week here at Diamond Jesters! In years past, I've honored recent inductees by displaying the top 5 cards I own. This year turned out to be a slight challenge however. One inductee (I'm sure you could guess who) I had over 100 cards to choose from, and another I owned exactly 5 cards of. The rest however, my collection was found lacking and I had to search through the TCDB and find some other cards to display. We kick things off with the esteemed Buck O'Neil. In honor of his long-overdue induction, I present the one card I own (plus 4 additional favorites) in chronological order:
1994 Ted Williams #109 (PNL)
O'Neil's full name is John Jordan O'Neil Jr. He was born November 13, 1911 in Carrabelle, FL. After barnstorming for a few years, he joined the Memphis Red Sox in 1937, and the next year joined the Kansas City Monarchs. He remained a member of the Monarchs from 1938-1948 (minus a two year stint during WWII when he joined the US Navy). He managed the Monarchs as a player/manager from 1948-1955.
1999 Sports Illustrated Greats Of The Game #59
After his time in the Negro Leagues was done, O'Neil joined the Chicago Cubs as a scout, and was credited with signing Lou Brock. Later, he became the first African-American coach in MLB (although he wasn't ever given in-game responsibilities or allowed to be a part of the notorious "College Of Coaches" employed by the team at the time).
2001 Fleer Greats Of The Game #119
This is the only Buck O'Neil card I own, and it's a recent acquisition. I picked it up earlier this year when The Diamond King held the first of his card drafts.
2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #138
Like most modern baseball fans, I was first introduced to Buck O'Neil courtesy of the epic Ken Burns documentary on PBS. O'Neil's passion and knowledge of the Negro Leagues was on full display, and he became a revered ambassador for a part of baseball's history that was often ignored and in danger of being lost forever.
2021-22 Topps Now Off-Season #OS-52
O'Neil spent 20 years as a member of the Hall Of Fame's Veterans Committee, and helped get numerous Negro League players a place among baseball's greats. It took the Hall over 20 years after to grant him that same honor.
Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Mr. O'Neil! Your passion for the game will never be forgotten!
I didn't have any cards of O'Neil or Bud Fowler when their elections were announced. Fortunately, I found a dime box which had a bunch of those Ted Williams set cards, including both. I'm pretty convinced that the only reason no one beat me to the O'Neil is that they didn't recognize that "John" O'Neil was Buck. Hopefully I'll get more of him at some point but I was very glad to pick up that and the Fowler.
ReplyDeleteNice! The Ted Williams sets have been quite helpful with getting cards of Negro League players. I should try and pick some more up.
DeleteHopefully his induction helps him get more cardboard representation, such as in Archives, Ginter, and whatnot. I consider him a "top PC guy" of mine, yet probably only have about a dozen cards of him. The Greats Of The Game was a dupe of mine for DK's draft.. glad it found a good home!
ReplyDeleteAwesome collection! Happy for his family and fans that he finally got in.
ReplyDeleteThe Ken Burns special had a lot of problems, but Buck wasn't one of them. He's probably the best thing in that series.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! He's what I remember most from that documentary.
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