[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2072-E2073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING JOHN JORDAN ``BUCK'' O'NEIL ON HIS 91ST BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. John 
Jordan ``Buck'' O'Neil, a man some call ``Mr. Kansas City.'' ``Buck'' 
is a man who has come to embody the ideals we share as a nation. As he 
celebrates his 91st birthday on November 13, 2002, I am proud and 
honored to celebrate his lifetime of achievement as our hometown hero.
  John Jordan ``Buck'' O'Neil was born November 13, 1911 in Carrabelle, 
Florida. He developed a love of baseball at an early age and his father 
nicknamed him ``Buck'' after the co-owner of the Miami Giants, Buck 
O'Neal. Though a segregated America denied Buck the opportunity to 
grace the diamonds of the Major Leagues as a player, he was able to 
showcase his unmatched talent with the Kansas City Monarchs of the 
Negro Leagues. He joined the Monarchs in 1938, and played for them 
until 1943, at which time he went to serve his country in World War II. 
Recognizing his patriotic responsibility to our country, he entered the 
United States Navy and was stationed in the Philippines from 1943 until 
his discharge in 1946. Buck was named player/manager for the Monarchs 
in 1948 and continued his association with the team through the end of 
the 1955 season.
  As a player, Buck had a career batting average of .288, including 
four .300-plus seasons at the plate, and led the Kansas City Monarchs 
to victory in the 1942 Negro World Series. After 12 years as a player, 
Buck changed hats and managed the Monarchs to four more league titles 
in six years. Following his career with the Kansas City Monarchs, Buck 
joined the major leagues as a scout for the Chicago Cubs. In 1962 the 
Chicago Cubs made him the first African American to coach in the 
Majors. Buck is credited with signing Hall of Fame baseball greats 
Ernie Banks and Lou Brock to their first professional contracts, and is 
acknowledged to have sent more Negro League athletes to the all white 
major leagues than any other man in baseball history.
  Today he serves as the Board Chairman for the Negro Leagues Baseball 
Museum in Kansas City and spends his time promoting the

[[Page E2073]]

achievements of African American baseball players who played for the 
love of the game, despite the color barriers at that time that kept 
them out of the Majors. He is also actively involved in utilizing the 
Museum to assist in the education of youth in the community through 
programs such as ``Reading Around the Bases'' where elementary school 
students learn from community readers about the pioneers of the Negro 
Leagues. I was honored to be asked to read from ``second base'' to a 
group of students as part of celebrating Buck's 88th birthday party. 
Buck participates in the Negro Leagues Museum's ``Night of the Harvest 
Moon'' program on Halloween night. It provides area children a safe 
alternative from the traditional to door-to-door trick or treating. 
More than 16,000 children have participated in the event over the past 
five years.
  Our ``Hometown Hero'' is very active in various charitable causes 
within the community. He lends his name and energy to sponsor the Buck 
O'Neil Golf Classic, a fundraiser for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 
and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In the past four years, the event 
has raised nearly $400,000 for the organizations. For the past seven 
years, the Kansas City Securities Association, Inc. Educational 
Endowment Fund has given four-year scholarships to graduating high 
school students in honor of Negro Leagues players, one each year in 
honor of Buck O'Neil. And Buck still keeps on giving. This entire 
birthday week is dedicated to giving. Buck wants to fill the Negro 
Leagues Baseball Museum for his birthday, so the museum is trying to 
get 9,100 people to the museum in honor of Buck's 91st year. Yesterday, 
Buck's actual birthday, tickets to the museum were only a dollar all 
day, and the 91st person to walk through the door won an assortment of 
prizes. On Friday, November 15, Buck will get together with friends for 
``Givin' Buck the Blues'', a star-studded celebrity roast in his honor 
and donate all of the nights proceeds to the Negro Leagues Baseball 
Museum, And there is no indication that Buck will ever slow down. He 
started his birthday on the radio, left to read to children, spoke at a 
news conference, and headlined a Project S.O.S. dinner to help kids get 
school supplies and clothes. The amazing thing about all of this is 
that he still finds time to give hugs, give autographs, speak to church 
groups, and throw baseballs to the small children who frequently walk 
up to him. Buck has risen to national prominence with his moving 
narration of the Negro Leagues as part of Ken Burns' PBS baseball 
documentary. He has been the source of countless national interviews 
including appearances on ``Late Night with David Letterman,'' and 
``Late, Late Show with Tom Snyder,'' and being interviewed numerous 
times on the Jim Rome Show, a nationally syndicated sports radio 
program. Mr. Rome has talked to Buck so often because Buck had such 
rich experiences to share about various baseball players, and baseball 
in general. He states that Buck was one of the most interesting 
interviews he had ever had on his show.
  On his 90th birthday, the City of Kansas City, Missouri named a 
street in his honor one block north of 18th and Vine, the area that 
houses the Negro Leagues Museum as well as the American Jazz Museum. 
The street's new name is John ``Buck'' O'Neil Way. I look forward to 
the day in the near future when the Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans 
Committee recognizes our hometown hero for his accomplishments on and 
off the baseball field and approve his induction into the Baseball Hall 
of Fame.
  In addition to his work in Cooperstown and at the museum in Kansas 
City, Buck has found new and exciting ways to enjoy life and spread his 
infectious charm and warm spirit. He is a local hero whose recognition 
for service is recognized at home and nationally. Buck and the Negro 
Leagues are to be honored with an award from the ``100 Black Men'' in 
New York on November 14, 2002. He was given the Trumpet Award in 1999 
by the Turner Broadcasting System saluting him for achievements to 
African Americans. The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International 
conferred on Buck its ``Paul Harris Fellow'' in appreciation of his 
``... furthering better understanding and friendly relations among 
peoples of the world.'' Kansas State University bestowed upon him the 
``Lifetime Leadership Award'' in ``recognition for leadership, 
community involvement, commitment to diversity, and life long record of 
contribution to the public.'' Buck has received numerous awards in 
recognition of his work in the community and assistance to various 
organizations. Some of these awards are: the United States Army Award 
for Outstanding Support of Army recruiting in Kansas City, the Kansas 
City Chamber of Commerce Centurion Leadership Award, the State 
Historical Society of Missouri Distinguished Service Award, and the 
2001 Jewish Community Center Ewing Kauffman Outstanding Achievement 
Award. As an award winning baseball player, esteemed baseball manager 
and scout, decorated veteran, and humanitarian Buck exemplifies 
excellence in public service and his career serves as a beacon for 
generations to come. He symbolizes the spirit of American patriotism 
and is a role model for us all. With all that Buck has done and all 
that he continues to do for Kansas City and the nation, one might 
wonder what Kansas City will give Buck for his birthday. Buck simply 
says, ``If I could just see that museum overflowing, it would make my 
heart sing. That's all I want for my birthday.'' Mr. Speaker, I am sure 
that the many lives Buck has touched will return the favor on this 
birthday and many more to come.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in saluting John Jordan ``Buck'' O'Neil. 
It is an honor and a privilege to join in the 91st birthday celebration 
of an American hero, a national treasure, a symbol of African American 
pride, and one of Kansas City's favorite sons. Buck's favorite song is 
``The Greatest Thing In All My Life, is Loving You.'' Buck, I love you, 
salute you and your heroic accomplishments, and am delighted and 
privileged to know such a patriot and to call you my friend. Thank you, 
Buck.

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