Buck O'Neill - Cooperstown : 2022

At Cooperstown, one little red button that reads "Here for Buck" has been selling big as KC legend Buck O’Neil is finally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. "It’s just a long time coming," said William Peeples, founder and maker at Huntington Baseball Co., who has been making the buttons.

KMBC 9 News – Jackson Kurtz 2022-July-22

 

Civil Rights and Baseball

While visiting Cooperstown, my boys participated in a scavenger hunt to answer questions about the Hall. Their prize was a pack of Cooperstown baseball educational cards. The cards featured subjects like the above Civil Rights card showing Satchel paige, along with cards about Disabilities in Baseball, Geography and Baseball, Labor History, Character Education, Artifacts, Science, Communication Arts...

Satchel Paige - Hall of Fame

Satchel Paige signed Hall of Fame post card

Negro Leagues 1926-1947

Cleveland Indians 1948-49

St. louis Browns 1951-53

Kansas City A's 1965

Paige was one of the greatest stars to play in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Thrilled millions of people and won hundreds of games. Struck out 21 Major Leaguers in an exhibition game. Helped pitch Cleveland Indians to the 1948 pennant in his first big league year at age 42. His pitching was a legend among major league hitters

Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige - page 62

In 1999 Mastercard sponsored the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

100 great players were compiled by a panel of experts. Fans would then vote, selecting 2 players from each position and 6 pitchers. no latin or Negro League players made the final selection...(with the exception of Jackie Robinson, hank Aaron and Willie Mays).

July 6, 2000 Atlanta, Ga

The US Postal Service issued a sheet of stamps honoring players from the list of the 100 greatest players.

Honored from the Negro Leagues were

-- Jackie Robinson

(Kansas City Monarchs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Hall of Fame)

-- Josh Gibson

(Pittsburgh Crawford, Homestead Grays, Hall of Fame)

-- Stachel Paige

(Birmingham Black Barons, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Baltimore Black Sox, Kansas City Monarchs, Newark Eagles, New York Black Yankees, Philadelphia Stars, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, Kansas City Athletics, Hall of Fame).

Judy Johnson - page 61

Judy Johnson Night, A Tribute to Negro League Baseball
August 16, 1997 Wilmington, De

1975 elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

1976 Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame

The home field, on the site of Daniel S. Frawley Stadium, of the Carolina League Wilmington Blue Rocks is named in his honor.

Each year since 1997 Wilmington has honored a different member of the Negro Leagues in conjunction with a Blue Rocks game...

1940s Homestead Grays pinback button

Willie Wells - page 60

Willie Wells Hall of Fame Induction

Aug 31, 1997 Cooperstown, NY

US Postal Service cancellation commemorating Wille Wells' induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

1923 Austin Black Senators, Texas Negro League

1924-31 St. Louis Stars

1932 Detroit Wolves

1932 Kansas City Monarchs

1932, 1937 homestead Grays

1929, 1932-35 Chicago American Giants

1936-39, 1942 Newark Eagles

1941 Birmingham Black Barons

1940-41, 43-44 Mexican Leagues

1945-46 New York Black Yankees

1946 Baltimore Elite Giants

1947 Indianapolis clowns

1948 Memphis Red Sox

8-time All-Star

Negro National League MVP 1926, hitting 27 home runs

Career statistics are incomplete - known stats are .319 BA, 98 home runs, 644 runs scored, 399 RBIs...

Wells earned the nickname "El Diablo" from the Mexican fans for his intensity on the field.

National Baseball Hall of Fame - Satchel Paige was the first true Negro League player to be elected to the Hall of Fame, 1970.

He would be followed byJosh Gibson - 1972, Buck Leonard - 1972, Monte Irvin - 1973, Cool Papa Bell - 1974, Judy Johnson - 1975, Oscar Charleston - 1976, Pop Lloyd - 1977, Martin Dihigo - 1977, Rube Foster - 1981, Ray Dandridge - 1987, Leon Day - 1995, Bill Foster - 1996, Willie Wells - 1997, Joe "Bullett" Rogan - 1998, Smokey Joe Williams - 1999, Turkey Stearnes - 2000, Hilton Smith - 2001

June 30m, 2006 a committee of 12 Negro and pre-Negro league baseball historians elected 17 candidates.

The inductees include seven Negro leagues players:

Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Biz Mackey, Mule Suttles, Cristobal Torriente, Jud Wilson;

Five pre-Negro leagues players: Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Jose Mendez, Louis Santop, Ben Taylor

Four Negro leagues executives: Effa Manley (1^st woman elected), Alex Pompez, Cum Posey,J.L. Wilkinson

Pre-Negro leagues executive: Sol White

The Hall of Fame has had two Special Committees on the Negro Leagues. The first committee was founded in 1971. It was chaired by Monte Irvin and instituted by commissioner Bowie Kuhn. The committee was to elect one or two former Negro League players to the Hall of Fame until their mission was complete. The second was formed in 2001 by a grant to research African Americans in baseball from 1860 to 1960. Due to this new research, a committee was formed to elect players and executives that may have been previously overlooked.

Monte Irvin page 3

Monte Irvin - Newark Eagles..Joined the NY Giants in 1949. during the 1951 season Irvin drove in a league leading 121 runs, while batting .312 with 24 HRs.
Irvin had a MLB career .293 BA, 443 RBIs and 99 HRs.
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame - 1973.