Passan: Buck O’Neil becomes an immortal

When the museum commissioned the statues, it figured to be the greatest work of physical art honoring Buck. Ken Burns’ documentary “Baseball” had allowed Buck to spin his yarns, and Joe Posnanski’s book “The Soul of Baseball” later took everyone into his beautiful life, but this image of the youthful Buck somehow captured his essence in one snapshot better than anything else.

Or so it seemed. Because there’s a new sculpture of Buck. He’s wearing a suit and a smile, his two sartorial necessities. In one hand, he holds a Kansas City Monarchs hat. He looks about 75, though that’s just a guess because up to his death two years ago, not even the expert on the carnival midway could’ve guessed he was 94.

The best part: The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., long the place Buck yearned to be, will showcase it forever, a bronze monument to a golden figure in baseball history.

On Friday at noon, the Hall will award the first Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award to O’Neil with the unveiling of the statue next to where patrons buy tickets, as high-traffic an area as there is next to the gallery of plaques.