Buck O'Neil

Today I am venturing into something that I have not, heretofore, done. I just watched an interview on television (something that I taped from PBS whilst I slept last night.) The subject of the interview was Buck O'Neil and I am so impressed with the love that this man has and lives (sadly now, lived is more appropriate) that I am compelled to share him with you. Please take a moment to listen to this gentle spirit. I know that the words excerpted and selected from the several sources accredited will bless you as they have me. Here is a wonderful human being who knew what BEing is all about.

John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil
13 November 1911 - 06 October 2006

O'Neil became the first black coach ever hired by a major league team when he was signed by the Cubs in 1962. From 1948 through 1955, he managed some of the finest Kansas City Monarch clubs, leading them to five pennants and two Black World Series. He managed East-West all-star teams in 1951-54. He had been an excellent clutch hitter and a top first baseman. He led the Negro National League with a .353 batting average in 1946, then hit .333 with two home runs in the BWS. O'Neil was the first officially recognized black coach ever hired by a major league team.


O'Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro League players at the Baseball Hall of Fame… he, inexplicably, fell short of induction himself, by one vote. After hearing that he had not been elected to the Hall at age 94, O'Neil spoke to about 200 well-wishers who had gathered to celebrate, but instead stood hushed and solemn, telling the crowd: “God's been good to me. They didn't think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That's the way they thought about it and that's the way it is, so we're going to live with that. Now, if I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful“


(excerpt from) O’Neil’s Final Address at the Baseball Hall of Fame
delivered 30 June 2006

And I tell you what, they always said to me Buck, "I know you hate people for what they did to you or what they did to your folks." I said, "No, man, I -- I never learned to hate." I hate cancer. Cancer killed my mother. My wife died 10 years ago of cancer. (I'm single, ladies.) A good friend of mine -- I hate AIDS. A good friend of mine died of AIDS three months ago. I hate AIDS. But I can’t hate a human being because my God never made anything ugly. Now, you can be ugly if you wanna, boy, but God didn’t make you that way. Uh, uh.

So, I want you to light this valley up this afternoon. Martin [Luther King] said "Agape" is understanding, creative -- a redemptive good will toward all men. Agape is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. And when you reach love on this level, you love all men, not because you like 'em, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loved them. And I love Jehovah my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and I love every one of you -- as I love myself.

Now, I want you to do something for me. I’m fixin' to get off this stage now. I think I done my six minutes. But I want you to do something for me. I want you to hold hands. Whoever’s next to you, hold a hand. Come on, you Hall of Famers, hold hands. All you people out there, hold hands. Everybody hooked up? Everybody hooked up? Well then I tell you what. See, I know my brothers up here, my brothers over there -- I see some black brothers of mine and sisters out there -- I know they can sing. Can you white folks sing? I want you to sing after me:

The greatest thing -- come on everybody --
The greatest thing in all of my life is loving you.
The greatest thing in all of my life is loving you.
The greatest thing in all of my life is loving you.
The greatest thing in all my life is loving you.¹

Thank you, folks. Thank you, folks. Thank you, folks. Thank you, folks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now, sit down. Now, sit down. I could talk to you 10 minutes longer, but I got to go to the bathroom.


My very Dear Friends, I do hope that the spirit of this remarkable man will resonate within you and leave you with the gift of a more loving, accepting, and gracious willingness to embrace whatever your personal world brings your way today. It is with that hope and my thanks to the following sources of this offering that I remain, as always, your loving Friend and willing Servant,

John-Michael


Sources: Hall of Fame speech: American Rhetoric; ¹ = from the contemporary Christian praise song, The Greatest Thing by Mark Pendergrass, Sparrow Records (1977); Others: Negro League Baseball Museum, Wikipedia, Baseball Library, PBS