June 18, 1939 – September 6, 2020
As a baseball player, one could certainly do worse than follow the path of Lou Brock. From joining the baseball team in college in hopes of securing a scholarship to be able to stay in school…to setting stolen base records and becoming a first-ballot hall of famer, Brock’s baseball career was anything but typical.
He made the team in his first year at Southern University and batted a paltry .189.
He got better. Continue reading
January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986
Hank Greenberg was a Hall of Fame baseball player who is widely regarded as one of the best sluggers of the 1930s and ’40s. Nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank” (or “The Hebrew Hammer”) he was a 5-time All-Star, 2-time league MVP and won 2 World Series titles with the Detroit Tigers. He led the American League in home runs 4 times. Despite his historic success and consistent numbers, Greenberg is perhaps most fondly remembered for the nearly 4-year period in the middle of his career when he left baseball to serve in the Army before and during the United States’ involvement in World War II. Continue reading
January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972
It would be incredibly easy to just speak of Jackie Robinson in the terms of his single most famous accomplishment: becoming the first Black player in modern Major League Baseball. But, it would miss out on so much. For instance, Jack was a tremendously gifted ALL-AROUND athlete. He excelled in multiple sports through high school and eventually lettered in FOUR different sports while attending UCLA. He played semi-professional football until the U.S. was dragged into World War II in 1941. Because of the latter, he was drafted into the Army, but never saw combat due to a trumped-up court martial (he was ultimately acquitted). After the war, Robinson signed to play with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues. He was immediately identified by a number of major league teams – some serious, some not so much – as a legitimate candidate to become the first Black player in the majors. Continue reading
August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002
John Francis “Jack” Buck was a Hall of Fame broadcaster primarily known for his work for the St. Louis Cardinals. In addition to his play-by-play work for St. Louis, he also covered radio for more than a dozen World Series and Superbowl broadcasts as well as other, prominent events. Buck served in the military as a young man where he received a Purple Heart in France during World War II. After the war – and college – Jack began his career as a broadcaster, working alongside fellow legends Harry Caray and Joe Garagiola. He worked his way through the ranks and became the Cardinals’ go-to play-by-play guy in 1969. Continue reading
May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991
“Cool Papa Bell was so fast that he could turn out the lights and be under the covers before the room got dark.” – Satchel Paige
James Thomas “Cool Papa” Bell was a Negro Leagues center fielder who is widely regarded as one of the fastest men to ever play the position. His 28-year career in both the U.S. and Latin America garnered plenty of attention during the height of the popularity of the Negro Leagues. A feared baserunner, Bell was known to steal 2nd and 3rd base in a single play. Pitchers tried to avoid walking him as, once he was on base, he would almost assuredly score a run. Continue reading
February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998
The giant scoreboard that towers over center field at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium said it best throughout the 1980’s. When Dan Quisenberry – the closer with the unmistakable submarine delivery – entered the game, a graphic appeared that read: “There’s no berry like a Quisenberry.”
Dan Quisenberry was one of the most dominant closing pitchers in the American League all through the early ’80’s. He set the single-season saves record 5 times and retired with a total of 244 saves. Continue reading
November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006
In lieu of writing something new about Buck O’Neil, I decided I will just re-post the tribute I wrote about him on an old blog the day after he died:
There is a man. Revered in some circles. Beloved in others. Unknown in most. To those who did know him, he was simply known as “Buck.”
John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil died yesterday at the age of 94. This is a sad day for the city of Kansas City. And, it is a sad day for the sport he loved and came to embody: baseball.
Buck’s career in baseball spanned 7 decades. He was a player, a coach, a scout and an ambassador. He began playing in Memphis in the newly formed Negro American League 1937. A year later, he was traded to the Kansas City Monarchs where he would stay (serving as first baseman and – eventually – manager) until 1955. After his stint in KC, he went on to become a scout for the Chicago Cubs. A position that led in 1962 to him being named a coach…the first Black coach in the major leagues.
In 1988, he returned to Kansas City as a scout for the Royals. Shortly thereafter, he helped lead the charge to create a museum dedicated solely to the players and teams that made up the Negro Leagues. The museum opened in 1990 and found its new home in Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine district in 1994. Buck continued to work as honorary chairman until his death.
Most recently, (this summer in fact) Buck played in the Northern League All-Star game as a member of the Kansas City T-Bones minor league team. He was intentionally walked. Continue reading
July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982
One of the most celebrated pitchers of the Negro Leagues, Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige dazzled crowds with his charismatic personality and wide array of pitches. In 1948, Paige became the oldest rookie to play in Major League Baseball when he started for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 42. His five year MLB career was impressive, especially for someone in his 40’s, but his 20+ years touring the country in the Negro Leagues and stints in Latin America were what built his legacy. Continue reading
June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941
It doesn’t get much more “New York” than Hall of Famer Henry Louis Gehrig. He was born in New York. He died in New York. And, he played 17 seasons for the New York Yankees. As a player, Gehrig was outstanding. With a career batting average of .340, the left-handed first baseman was a 7-time All-Star, won six World Series titles won the Triple Crown in 1934 and set franchise offensive records that stood for more than 70 years. Nicknamed, “The Iron Horse,” Gehrig set one of his most famous records when he played in 2.130 consecutive games – a feat eventually broken by Cal Ripkin, Jr some 56 years later.
November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013
Stanisław Franciszek Musial, better known to baseball fans as Stan “The Man,” was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee and one of the best hitters of all time. Throughout his 22 year career, Musial batted .331 with 3,630 hits, 475 home runs and 1,951 runs batted in for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a 24-time All-Star, 7-time National League batting champion, 3-time NL MVP and helped lead the Cardinals to 3 World Series titles. Oh, and he took a year off to serve the Navy at the end of World War II. He also played a mean harmonica. Continue reading
Celebrity Graveland 