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Friday, July 25, 2008

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.

Gamingboy Posted: July 25, 2008 at 01:21 PM | 25 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: hall of fame, history, negro leagues

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1. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:00 PM (#2872614)

I have a Buck O'Neil baseball card and he looks just like Daryl Strawberry. It's uncanny.

Oh yeah. This is good.

2. Dan Szymborski

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:11 PM (#2872627)

Do you know what would have been an even better award for O'Neil?

Putting him in the Hall of Fame instead of laughable choices like BOWIE KUHN.

3. Win one for Agrippa (haplo53) Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:15 PM (#2872633)

Does he have inside him blood of kings?

4. Paul D(uda) Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:20 PM (#2872644)

I didn't have the impression that he always yearned to be in the Hall of Fame. Am I wrong?

5. buddaley Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:21 PM (#2872646)

The Hall of Fame had the opportunity to create this award while he was alive and were too slow-witted to do it. It was then that I decided not to renew my membership in that organization. The recent farce of electing Kuhn while ignoring Marvin Miller simply confirms my conviction that the Hall of Fame is unworthy of any kind of support despite the fact that I do recognize it does fine museum work.

I wish it were possible for a real Hall of Fame to be established, say in Hoboken, one that establishes some sort of creditable criteria for enshrinement and that is run by people one can respect.

6. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:31 PM (#2872663)

I didn't have the impression that he always yearned to be in the Hall of Fame. Am I wrong?

All more the reason to do it.

7. J. Lowenstein Apathy Club Posted: July 25, 2008 at 02:39 PM (#2872682)

All more the reason to do it.

Geez, tell me about it. If the Hall adopted a rule that anyone who ever complained about not being elected to the Hall was banned forever, I would be perfectly happy with that.

8. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 03:05 PM (#2872760)

I remember when I saw the Burns film, O'Neil started talking about younger ballplayers from the Negro Leagues, and I thought, "He's talking like he's older than Hank Aaron. That just can't be possible."

It is a damn shame that O'Neil wasn't enshrined in the Hall before he died, but one can take comfort in the fact that he lived long, lived well, and remained clear-headed and bright well into old age. If he had a secret, I'd pay for it.

9. willcarrolldoesnotsuk Posted: July 25, 2008 at 03:05 PM (#2872763)

I wish it were possible for a real Hall of Fame to be established, say in Hoboken, one that establishes some sort of creditable criteria for enshrinement

Please. A HOF in Hoboken would be an absurdly bad idea.

Creditable criteria for enshrinement in Hoboken would be "finding parking".

10. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L)

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 03:07 PM (#2872765)

Creditable criteria for enshrinement in Hoboken would be "finding parking".

It's called "double parking"

11. The Good Face Posted: July 25, 2008 at 03:07 PM (#2872767)

Does he have inside him blood of kings?

He has no rivals. No man could be his equal.

12. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: July 25, 2008 at 04:17 PM (#2872861)

I'll have to go up there someday and power-drill an asterisk into Buck's forehead. You know, to "spark discussion" of his exclusion, and for the sake of confrontational conceptual art, and all that good stuff.

13. Brandon in MO (Yunitility Infielder) Posted: July 25, 2008 at 04:31 PM (#2872881)

The Buck O'Neil legacy seat is a better tribute. Plus, it's a pretty darned good seat (row C behind home plate)

14. SoSH U at work Posted: July 25, 2008 at 04:44 PM (#2872903)

I'll have to go up there someday and power-drill an asterisk into Buck's forehead. You know, to "spark discussion" of his exclusion, and for the sake of confrontational conceptual art, and all that good stuff.

If you purchase the Buck statue before you donate it to the HOF, by all means start drilling.

15. Swedish Chef Posted: July 25, 2008 at 04:47 PM (#2872907)

Oh, I thought they had frozen his head or something.

16. willcarrolldoesnotsuk Posted: July 25, 2008 at 04:55 PM (#2872921)

Yeah, good luck finding double parking.

17. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 05:00 PM (#2872932)

Yeah, good luck finding double parking.

We have lots of museums in NYC without much parking. People come anyway. For selfish reasons, I would love if the HOF were in Hoboken. 10 minutes on the PATH and I could revel in the greatness that was Bowie Kuhn!

18. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 25, 2008 at 05:00 PM (#2872933)

Awesome.

19. S.F. Giangst Posted: July 25, 2008 at 05:07 PM (#2872941)

A statue. Street clothes. At the entrance.

It's Buck F. O'Neil not Ronald McDonald ferchrissake!

20. McCoy Posted: July 25, 2008 at 05:17 PM (#2872950)

It is a damn shame that O'Neil wasn't enshrined in the Hall before he died, but one can take comfort in the fact that he lived long, lived well, and remained clear-headed and bright well into old age. If he had a secret, I'd pay for it.

Steroids

21. Rusty Priske Posted: July 25, 2008 at 06:25 PM (#2873040)

Luckily there IS a better version of the Hall of Fame.

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/hall_of_merit/

22. Esoteric Posted: July 25, 2008 at 06:33 PM (#2873057)

Do you know what would have been an even better award for O'Neil?

Putting him in the Hall of Fame instead of laughable choices like BOWIE KUHN.

QFT. A ####### disgrace.

23. JoeC Posted: July 25, 2008 at 06:49 PM (#2873079)

Coincidentally, O'Neil also became an Eternal last weekend. I love the Baseball Reliquary...

24. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 06:54 PM (#2873088)

Buck O’Neil, Emmett Ashford, and Bill Buckner will join twenty-seven other baseball luminaries who have been inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals since elections began in 1999, including, in alphabetical order, Jim Abbott, Dick Allen, Moe Berg, Yogi Berra, Ila Borders, Jim Bouton, Jim Brosnan, Roberto Clemente, Rod Dedeaux, Dock Ellis, Mark Fidrych, Curt Flood, Josh Gibson, William “Dummy” Hoy, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Bill James, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Marvin Miller, Minnie Minoso, Satchel Paige, Jimmy Piersall, Pam Postema, Jackie Robinson, Lester Rodney, Fernando Valenzuela, Bill Veeck Jr., and Kenichi Zenimura.

An interesting list.

25. Tuque

Posted: July 25, 2008 at 11:23 PM (#2873566)

Buck O’Neil becomes an immortal

There can be only one!

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Friday, July 25, 2008

Passan: Buck O’Neil becomes an immortal

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