Buck O’Neil’s baseball journey was a winding odyssey from enjoying within the Negro American League to scouting and training in Main League Baseball, adopted by a long time of dedication to telling the story of the Negro Leagues to the lots and making a legacy that lives on to at the present time. On Sunday, that journey reached a new, much-deserved vacation spot: the Baseball Hall of Fame.
O’Neil was one of six inductees introduced on Sunday, all voted in by the Hall’s Golden Days and Early Baseball Period Committee. Becoming a member of him within the class of 2022 are Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva and Bud Fowler.
O’Neil’s long-overdue induction comes 15 years after his dying in 2006 at 91. He performed for the Kansas Metropolis Monarchs from 1938-42, profitable 4 straight Negro League World Sequence titles. He was drafted into the Navy in 1943, then returned to baseball in 1946 earlier than being named player-manager of the Monarchs in 1948.
In 1955, he grew to become a scout for the Cubs, then was promoted to teach in 1962, making him the primary Black coach on an AL or NL roster. He returned to being a scout in 1964, then went again to Kansas Metropolis to be a scout for the Royals in 1988, the place he helped discovered the Negro League Baseball Museum in 1990 and function its chairman.
O’Neil was posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2006.
Hodges debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers at 19 years outdated in 1943, then was drafted into the Marines to serve in World Conflict II. He returned to play 17 extra seasons—15 with the Dodgers and two with the Mets. Hodges received three World Sequence titles and made eight All-Star groups, retiring after the 1963 season. He went on to handle Senators and Mets till his dying in 1972 at age 47.
The epitome of longevity and consistency, Kaat pitched for 25 seasons, 15 of which got here with the Twins. He debuted within the 1950’s and retired within the 1980’s, making three All-Star groups with 16 Gold Glove awards and a World Sequence championship with the Cardinals in 1982. He led the majors in video games began in back-to-back seasons in 1965 and 1966, and his 16 Gold Gloves are tied with Brooks Robinson for essentially the most all-time.
In his autobiography, fellow Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda wrote that Miñoso was “to Latin ballplayers what Jackie Robinson is to Black ballplayers.” Debuting in 1949, he was the “first acknowledged dark-skinned Latin participant in AL/NL historical past,” according to the Hall. Miñoso performed 20 years within the main leagues, making 9 All-Star groups.
From 1964 to 1971, Oliva was one of the perfect hitters in baseball. He made eight All-Star groups and received three AL batting titles throughout that span, profitable the AL Rookie of the Yr award in 1964. Knee accidents robbed him of the possibility to increase his prime, however his influence on his era was indelible. He performed for the Twins for everything of his profession, and later was on the teaching workers for Minnesota’s World Sequence wins in 1987 and 1991.
Fowler grew up in Cooperstown within the mid-Nineteenth century, half of one of the few Black households within the space at the moment. He’s thought of the first Black player in organized, skilled baseball, persisting within the face of widespread racism to steer a profession all through North America that spanned almost 20 years. Fowler was recognized to play with no glove, but maintained a stellar fame for his defensive prowess.
Simply lacking induction was Dick Allen, a seven-time All-Star and 1972 AL MVP who fell one vote short of qualifying.
The Hall of Fame inductees from the BBWA poll will probably be introduced on Jan. 15, with the induction ceremony held on July 24.
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