[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3738-S3739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING BUCK O'NEIL AND MINNIE MINOSO

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, at long last, it is official. Buck O'Neil 
and Minnie Minoso are finally where they deserve to be: in the National 
Baseball Hall of Fame.
  These two remarkable men, who were friends for decades, both started 
their careers in baseball's storied Negro Leagues. They went on to make 
history again in the Major Leagues--in the city of Chicago--and they 
stayed involved with baseball all their lives.
  And they were both known, as one writer said, ``as much for their 
grace and spirit of generosity as for their immense achievements in the 
game.''
  I never had the good fortune to meet Buck O'Neil, but I have a 
baseball that he signed, and I keep it as a treasure.
  I did meet Minnie Minoso. He and Satchel Paige came to a Springfield 
Redbirds game many years ago, and I summoned the courage to shake their 
hands between innings. What a thrill that was. But meeting Minnie 
Minoso was an honor shared by so many Chicagoans.
  As his widow, Sharon Rice-Minoso, recalled at the Hall of Fame 
induction ceremony, ``Baseball was his life. He was proud to wear his 
uniform and come to the ballpark every day to greet fans with a smile 
and sign autograph and after autograph. Some people believe that Minnie 
signed an autograph for every man, woman, and child in the Windy 
City.''
  ``The Cuban Comet'' and ``Mr. White Sox.'' That is what the fans 
called him. His full name was Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta. 
He was born on a sugarcane ranch in Cuba in 1923--or maybe it was 1924 
or `25. He was a little fuzzy on his age.
  He was a two-time All-Star in the Negro Leagues before becoming the 
first Black player for the Chicago White Sox in 1951 and the first 
Latino star in Major League Baseball, the Jackie Robinson of Latino 
ballplayers.
  He was one of the best hitters in the American League in the 1950s, a 
seven-time All-Star while with the White Sox and Cleveland Indians.
  He hit over .300 eight times, led the American League in stolen bases 
three times, hammered double-digit home runs almost every season, and 
won three Gold Gloves in left field.
  He retired in 1964--or so it seemed. Twelve years later, when Minnie 
was 50, the White Sox called him back for three games. He hit a line 
drive to left field, making him one of the oldest players in MLB 
history to score a base hit.
  The White Sox retired his No. 9 in 1983, and he remained close to the 
organization and its players until he died in 2015.
  Baseball analysts have long considered his omission from Cooperstown 
a glaring error. Now, finally, it has been set right.
  Buck O'Neil was a two-time All-Star first baseman with the Negro 
Leagues Kansas City Monarchs. He went on to be a scout for the Chicago 
Cubs, the first Black coach in Major League Baseball, and one of the 
most beloved ambassadors for baseball in the sport's history.
  He was born John Jordan O'Neil, Jr., in Florida in 1911, the grandson 
son of an enslaved man. He joined the Monarchs in 1938 and was a star 
player in the 1940s and `50s. As a first baseman, he was known for his 
smooth glove work, but he could also handle a bat. He was a three-time 
All-Star and became a Negro World Series champion in 1942.
  In 1943, at the height of World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and 
served for 2 years, including time in the Pacific. He returned to the 
Monarchs after the war and was the Negro League's batting champ his 
first year out of the service. In 1948, the Monarchs promoted him to 
player-manager. Among the many players whose careers he helped shape 
was a shy young shortstop who would go on to become the first African-
American player for the Chicago Cubs, ``Mr. Cub,'' Ernie Banks.
  After the Monarchs were sold in 1955, Buck found work as a scout for 
the Cubs. Players he signed as a scout with Chicago--and later, the 
Kansas City Royals--included Lou Brock, Oscar Gamble, Lee Smith, and 
Joe Carter. He made history when the Cubs hired him as a coach in 1962, 
making him the first Black coach in the American or National League.
  In 1990, Buck O'Neil began what would become perhaps his greatest 
contribution to baseball. With a handful of others, he founded the 
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, just blocks from where he 
had played with the Monarchs and where Rube Foster had founded the 
Negro Leagues in 1920.
  He devoted the rest of his life to baseball and especially keeping 
alive the memories of the Negro Leagues. He helped build the Negro 
Leagues Museum from one room to a 10,000-square-foot showplace. He 
traveled widely, using his grace and wit to tell the stories of Negro 
League stars such as Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, Oscar 
Charleston, and his old Monarchs teammate, Satchel Paige.
  In 1994, not long after the World Series was canceled because of a 
labor dispute, Ken Burns' nine-part PBS series ``Baseball'' introduced 
Buck O'Neil to an even larger audience. He became the beloved Bard of 
Baseball.
  Also inducted into Cooperstown last weekend were: David Ortiz, ``Big 
Papi,'' the slugger who led the Boston Red Sox to three World Series 
Championships; Gil Hodges, All-Star first baseman for the Brooklyn 
Dodgers and manager of the 1969 ``Miracle Mets;'' Tony Oliva and Jim 
Kaat, two teammates from the

[[Page S3739]]

1965 pennant-winning Minnesota Twins; and Bud Fowler, born in 1858 and 
often regarded as the first Black professional baseball player.
  Minnie Minoso and Buck O'Neil were voted in under new rules that 
officially designated the Negro Leagues as a major league in 2020.
  Buck had been nominated once before--in 2006--but to the surprise of 
nearly everyone, fell one vote short. He accepted the verdict with his 
usual grace, even agreeing to speak on behalf of the 17 players who 
made it into Cooperstown that year.
  With this typical optimism, he told the crowd gathered at Cooperstown 
that day, ``I've done a lot of things I liked doing, but I'd rather be 
right here, right now, representing these people who helped build a 
bridge across the chasm of prejudice.''
  Minnie Minoso and Buck O'Neil helped build that bridge, too. And now, 
they are finally where they deserve to be, among baseball's immortals.

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