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I Was Right On Time
From Babe Ruth to Bo Jackson, from Cool Papa Bell to Lou Brock, Buck O'Neil has seen it all. As a first baseman and then manager of the legendary Kansas City Monarchs, O'Neil witnessed the heyday of the Negro leagues and their ultimate demise. In I Was Right on Time, he charmingly recalls his days as a ballplayer and as an African-American in a racially divided country. Whether he's telling of his barnstorming days with the likes of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson or the day in 1962 when he became the first African-American coach in the major leagues, O'Neil takes us on a trip not only through baseball's past but through America's as well.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
April 22, 2024
3 and 1/2 stars Though the man himself gets more than 5, as many stars as I could possibly give him!
Like others, I was first introduced to Buck O'Neil thanks to Ken Burns' wonderful Baseball documentary. I fell in love with him then, as did so many other viewers. In July, 2006, I listened on TV to his speech at a Hall of Fame induction (he died less than 3 months later), and then wrote (to myself) that he was my hero (in the same way that my paternal grandmother was my 'hero'), though I'm not one for having 'heroes.' So I wasn't surprised in the foreword to this book that Burns calls O'Neil a hero, not in the sporting sense, he elaborates, but in the "human sense of a man we all should look to and strive to be more like." I completely agree. I was tearing up reading the foreword and also during the last chapter, when O'Neil talks about getting his high school diploma from the formerly all-white high school in his hometown that he wished he could've attended 69 years earlier -- the only disappointment in his life, he called it.
As far as reviewing the book itself, the foreword was well-written and that unfortunately let me down as I started reading the text itself. I found it didn't read well in the beginning, though later it picked up considerably. It's rare when I think a book would work better as an audio, but this is one case when I do think so, especially if it could've been narrated by O'Neil himself. Having said that, I think it's important to have this in print, as a record of oral history. Sports, especially baseball, can be both a reflection of and an impetus to our social history as a whole.
Like others, I was first introduced to Buck O'Neil thanks to Ken Burns' wonderful Baseball documentary. I fell in love with him then, as did so many other viewers. In July, 2006, I listened on TV to his speech at a Hall of Fame induction (he died less than 3 months later), and then wrote (to myself) that he was my hero (in the same way that my paternal grandmother was my 'hero'), though I'm not one for having 'heroes.' So I wasn't surprised in the foreword to this book that Burns calls O'Neil a hero, not in the sporting sense, he elaborates, but in the "human sense of a man we all should look to and strive to be more like." I completely agree. I was tearing up reading the foreword and also during the last chapter, when O'Neil talks about getting his high school diploma from the formerly all-white high school in his hometown that he wished he could've attended 69 years earlier -- the only disappointment in his life, he called it.
As far as reviewing the book itself, the foreword was well-written and that unfortunately let me down as I started reading the text itself. I found it didn't read well in the beginning, though later it picked up considerably. It's rare when I think a book would work better as an audio, but this is one case when I do think so, especially if it could've been narrated by O'Neil himself. Having said that, I think it's important to have this in print, as a record of oral history. Sports, especially baseball, can be both a reflection of and an impetus to our social history as a whole.
November 28, 2009
I had the pleasure of doing a joint book-signing with Buck O'Neil in Kansas City when my own book Hanging Curve was published. That was the only time I hoped for no customers because I wanted to listen to him speak without interruption! It was almost hypnotic to hear him as he talked about his incredible life in baseball. Reading this charming autobiography, I can almost hear his magical voice again.
December 9, 2017
What a fascinating book. Was so good I literally could not put it down. If you like baseball read this.
May 15, 2024
I Was Right On Time by Buck O’Neil, and I was late, not on time in reading this great personal history and perspective on black baseball and the Negro Leagues, preceding the slow integration of black baseball into the MLB. A pox on Judge Landis, and others that prevented this from occurring sooner.
Snippets of Interest from Mr. O’Neil:
“There is nothing greater for a human being than to get his body to react to all the things one does on a ballfield. It’s as good as sex; it’s as good as music. It fills you up. Waste no tears for me. I didn’t come along too early—I was right on time.”
“While the major leagues relied on the longball that Babe Ruth brought to the game, black baseball was fast and aggressive, with lots of stealing, bunting, hit-and-run play. It was the game Jackie Robinson learned and then brought to the majors twenty-four years later—speed, intelligence, unbridled aggressiveness on the basepaths—and I always claim that Willie Mays was the greatest major league player I have ever seen … but then I pause and say that Oscar Charleston was even better.”
“Andrew “Rube” Foster, who’s often called the father of black baseball, although he came along after black baseball had been around for fifty years. Rube Foster was black baseball starting in the early part of this century. Only a man like Rube, with his genius and ambition, could have established the Negro National League in 1920. He was so astute and so far ahead of his time. Baseball didn’t expand until 1962, but Rube was thinking expansion in 1920.”
“Some you’ve got to stroke, some you’ve got to challenge to get the best out of them. But the most important rule was that every player on a team was equal. That rule stayed with me through the years.”
“I got an offer to join the Miami Giants. It seems like half the teams in black baseball were called the Giants. —Bacharach Giants, Lincoln Giants, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, the Brooklyn Cuban Giants, the Cuban X Giants, the Philadelphia Giants, the Pittsburgh Giants, the Chicago Giants, the Chicago American Giants, Cole’s American Giants, Gilkerson’s Union Giants, the Celeron Acme Colored Giants, the Shreveport Acme Giants, the Page Fence Giants, the St. Louis Giants, the Harrisburg Giants, Twin City Giants, the Quaker Giants of New York, the Zulu Canniba... sorry rest of Buck’s list was truncated as too long… “Giants became a code word. If you saw a placard in a store window or an advertisement in the newspaper announcing that the River City Giants were coming to town to play the local semipro team, you knew right away that the visiting team was a black one.”
“I actually got a salary for playing baseball: ten dollars a week, plus room and board.”
“You can imagine what Harlem represented to a fourteen-year-old boy from the Deep South. Any black kid in the world would have had to have heard of Harlem. I went to see showtime at the Apollo. Me and everybody else in town. Uncle Handy knew all the places to go. But to me, Harlem was more than great attractions. It was a state of mind. In Sarasota, you knew your place. But in Harlem, I didn’t know anything about segregation. —didn’t have to go the back seat, or back door for nothing …”
“A zoot suit, the kind made famous by Cab Calloway, with the big flaps down the back. I wore it and then I took it home to Sarasota and wore it some more. I remember it so well: Oxford gray. Wide at the shoulders and tight at the hips. Made me feel like a movie star. — now I was a man, twenty-three years old, and for a man Harlem had added meaning. You had to look good for the ladies, like you knew what you were doing. So when we left Sarasota, I was the guy in charge of telling these older guys about Harlem.”
“We stayed at the Woodside Hotel, which was another dream come true. The Woodside was where all the black ballteams stayed. The big bands, too. That was a jumping joint, a lot of action, and Count Basie immortalized it in his song “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.” Black baseball was a matter of great pride in the black community, and it was important for black celebrities to be associated with the game. Negro league ball was one of the black arts, like jazz and the blues.”
“My favorite player was David “Showboat” Thomas, the flashiest first baseman I have ever seen. The Cubans had the great Martin Dihigo, the only player to be elected to the Mexican, Cuban, and American Baseball Halls of Fame. -one of the pitchers for the Cubans was a left-hander named Luis Tiant, the father of the Luis Tiant” [Luis Tiant Sr. discouraged his son Luis from playing baseball because of the bigotry he encountered playing in the US. -Luis Tiant- Son of Havana.]
“Negro league all-stars played teams headed up by Dizzy Dean or Bob Feller, guys could make more money in thirty days than they made all season. Satchel was a money tree for all of us, and for our game”
“Cool Papa [Bell] was the fastest man I’ve ever seen. He was faster than Maury Wills and Lou Brock and Mickey Mantle when Mickey had good legs. He was faster than Bo Jackson and Kenny Lofton.
— baserunning isn’t only about speed. It’s about technique, cutting the corners and keeping your balance. And Cool Papa, he was a master at all of that.”
“We didn’t have but the one car, and we had eleven ballplayers. So what we did was, we put three guys into the front seat, three more in the jump seat, three in the back seat, and two guys out on the running boards. — you would go about 250 miles, you’d stop and two other guys would come out and the two on the running boards would come in. We’d rotate that way.” —“ hoboed on that trip, too. Caught a freight train. That was when we lost the automobile. -we had to get to Wichita Falls, Texas, to play a team there called the Black Spudders—this was potato country, you see—on June 19. celebrated by the blacks in the South as Emancipation Day, the day in 1863 when the last slaves in west Texas were notified of their freedom.”
“I got to be a fair country pool player. When we got stranded in Wichita Falls, I collected the little bit of money we had and started playing some nine-ball. I did pretty well, too. With the four or five dollars I made, we bought some groceries—beans, rice, cornmeal, bread, white pork.”
“-it’s not generally known that out in the heartland and in the West, black baseball had a good base of white fans… no big-league teams of their own, knew there was another “big-league” level of baseball around, and they loved to come watch black teams.”
Satchel Paige. “Satchel was blazing in Wichita, winning all four of his games and striking out sixty batters, which I hear is still the tournament record. Satchel had pitches that included the bat-dodger, the two-hump blooper, the four-day creeper, the dipsy-do, the Little Tom, the Long Tom, the bee ball, the wobbly ball, the hurry-up ball and the nothin’ ball.” [Satchel & Buck were close friends- he called Buck, Nancy. Buck tells the great story behind that endearment.]
“Baseball is better than sex. It is better than music, although I do believe jazz comes in a close second. It does fill you up.”
Well that’s one pg of hi-lights. My 2nd pg is posted, and visible on Goodreads.
Better yet read Buck’s book… and you’ll be right on time! A great read…
it’s American History!
Snippets of Interest from Mr. O’Neil:
“There is nothing greater for a human being than to get his body to react to all the things one does on a ballfield. It’s as good as sex; it’s as good as music. It fills you up. Waste no tears for me. I didn’t come along too early—I was right on time.”
“While the major leagues relied on the longball that Babe Ruth brought to the game, black baseball was fast and aggressive, with lots of stealing, bunting, hit-and-run play. It was the game Jackie Robinson learned and then brought to the majors twenty-four years later—speed, intelligence, unbridled aggressiveness on the basepaths—and I always claim that Willie Mays was the greatest major league player I have ever seen … but then I pause and say that Oscar Charleston was even better.”
“Andrew “Rube” Foster, who’s often called the father of black baseball, although he came along after black baseball had been around for fifty years. Rube Foster was black baseball starting in the early part of this century. Only a man like Rube, with his genius and ambition, could have established the Negro National League in 1920. He was so astute and so far ahead of his time. Baseball didn’t expand until 1962, but Rube was thinking expansion in 1920.”
“Some you’ve got to stroke, some you’ve got to challenge to get the best out of them. But the most important rule was that every player on a team was equal. That rule stayed with me through the years.”
“I got an offer to join the Miami Giants. It seems like half the teams in black baseball were called the Giants. —Bacharach Giants, Lincoln Giants, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, the Brooklyn Cuban Giants, the Cuban X Giants, the Philadelphia Giants, the Pittsburgh Giants, the Chicago Giants, the Chicago American Giants, Cole’s American Giants, Gilkerson’s Union Giants, the Celeron Acme Colored Giants, the Shreveport Acme Giants, the Page Fence Giants, the St. Louis Giants, the Harrisburg Giants, Twin City Giants, the Quaker Giants of New York, the Zulu Canniba... sorry rest of Buck’s list was truncated as too long… “Giants became a code word. If you saw a placard in a store window or an advertisement in the newspaper announcing that the River City Giants were coming to town to play the local semipro team, you knew right away that the visiting team was a black one.”
“I actually got a salary for playing baseball: ten dollars a week, plus room and board.”
“You can imagine what Harlem represented to a fourteen-year-old boy from the Deep South. Any black kid in the world would have had to have heard of Harlem. I went to see showtime at the Apollo. Me and everybody else in town. Uncle Handy knew all the places to go. But to me, Harlem was more than great attractions. It was a state of mind. In Sarasota, you knew your place. But in Harlem, I didn’t know anything about segregation. —didn’t have to go the back seat, or back door for nothing …”
“A zoot suit, the kind made famous by Cab Calloway, with the big flaps down the back. I wore it and then I took it home to Sarasota and wore it some more. I remember it so well: Oxford gray. Wide at the shoulders and tight at the hips. Made me feel like a movie star. — now I was a man, twenty-three years old, and for a man Harlem had added meaning. You had to look good for the ladies, like you knew what you were doing. So when we left Sarasota, I was the guy in charge of telling these older guys about Harlem.”
“We stayed at the Woodside Hotel, which was another dream come true. The Woodside was where all the black ballteams stayed. The big bands, too. That was a jumping joint, a lot of action, and Count Basie immortalized it in his song “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.” Black baseball was a matter of great pride in the black community, and it was important for black celebrities to be associated with the game. Negro league ball was one of the black arts, like jazz and the blues.”
“My favorite player was David “Showboat” Thomas, the flashiest first baseman I have ever seen. The Cubans had the great Martin Dihigo, the only player to be elected to the Mexican, Cuban, and American Baseball Halls of Fame. -one of the pitchers for the Cubans was a left-hander named Luis Tiant, the father of the Luis Tiant” [Luis Tiant Sr. discouraged his son Luis from playing baseball because of the bigotry he encountered playing in the US. -Luis Tiant- Son of Havana.]
“Negro league all-stars played teams headed up by Dizzy Dean or Bob Feller, guys could make more money in thirty days than they made all season. Satchel was a money tree for all of us, and for our game”
“Cool Papa [Bell] was the fastest man I’ve ever seen. He was faster than Maury Wills and Lou Brock and Mickey Mantle when Mickey had good legs. He was faster than Bo Jackson and Kenny Lofton.
— baserunning isn’t only about speed. It’s about technique, cutting the corners and keeping your balance. And Cool Papa, he was a master at all of that.”
“We didn’t have but the one car, and we had eleven ballplayers. So what we did was, we put three guys into the front seat, three more in the jump seat, three in the back seat, and two guys out on the running boards. — you would go about 250 miles, you’d stop and two other guys would come out and the two on the running boards would come in. We’d rotate that way.” —“ hoboed on that trip, too. Caught a freight train. That was when we lost the automobile. -we had to get to Wichita Falls, Texas, to play a team there called the Black Spudders—this was potato country, you see—on June 19. celebrated by the blacks in the South as Emancipation Day, the day in 1863 when the last slaves in west Texas were notified of their freedom.”
“I got to be a fair country pool player. When we got stranded in Wichita Falls, I collected the little bit of money we had and started playing some nine-ball. I did pretty well, too. With the four or five dollars I made, we bought some groceries—beans, rice, cornmeal, bread, white pork.”
“-it’s not generally known that out in the heartland and in the West, black baseball had a good base of white fans… no big-league teams of their own, knew there was another “big-league” level of baseball around, and they loved to come watch black teams.”
Satchel Paige. “Satchel was blazing in Wichita, winning all four of his games and striking out sixty batters, which I hear is still the tournament record. Satchel had pitches that included the bat-dodger, the two-hump blooper, the four-day creeper, the dipsy-do, the Little Tom, the Long Tom, the bee ball, the wobbly ball, the hurry-up ball and the nothin’ ball.” [Satchel & Buck were close friends- he called Buck, Nancy. Buck tells the great story behind that endearment.]
“Baseball is better than sex. It is better than music, although I do believe jazz comes in a close second. It does fill you up.”
Well that’s one pg of hi-lights. My 2nd pg is posted, and visible on Goodreads.
Better yet read Buck’s book… and you’ll be right on time! A great read…
it’s American History!
December 19, 2016
When I was a boy, my father took me to old Municipal Stadium in Kansas City to see the 1961 New York Yankees play the Kansas City Athletics. I was chiefly interested in seeing my heroes Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. (Maris hit his 51st home run that day on his way to break Babe Ruth's record.) But I managed to sneak down to the box seats during batting practice where I stood, dumbfounded and opened mouth, not 6 feet away from Elston Howard, the Yankee's catcher/outfielder on that historic team.
There is no way I could have known then as a 9 year old boy that Elston had played on that very field for an equally as great franchise, the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Major League. I would not truly discover that team and league until I watched Ken Burns PBS anthology, Baseball where I discovered, along with millions of others, Buck O'Neil who served as the living memory of those times and those men.
O'Neil's autobiography I Was Right On Time details his life in baseball and the men who played the game with him in the days of baseball segregation. He never glosses over the injustices and indignities of the Jim Crow area, but it is obvious that he has avoided bitterness and regret over the fact that he did not get into the game as a player though he had a long career as a scout and coach. He was, in fact, the first black coach in major league baseball beginning in 1962 with the Chicago Cubs.
O'Neil writes about the games in which he and other black ball players played. He also writes about what life was like as a Negro League player, how they traveled, where they played, and the contributions they made to the game of baseball. For example, because most of their fans were working people, James Wilkerson, the owner of the Monarch's had a portable lighting system for night games long before the major league owners installed them in their stadiums.
O'Neil claims to have few regrets about not being in the major leagues as a player. He feels that he was "right on time" to help with the transition that began with Jackie Robinson. Robinson played for the Monarchs for the season before he joined the Dodgers organization. O'Neil also developed players like Ernie Banks and scouted several other players including Billy Williams and Lou Brock.
At the time of the writing, O'Neil had not been selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He is now in the BHOF. Sadly, this happened shortly after his death. However, his celebration of a great baseball era stands as a permanent monument to a true baseball legend.
Recommended for sports fans, particularly baseball fans; history lovers; and lovers of good writing.
There is no way I could have known then as a 9 year old boy that Elston had played on that very field for an equally as great franchise, the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Major League. I would not truly discover that team and league until I watched Ken Burns PBS anthology, Baseball where I discovered, along with millions of others, Buck O'Neil who served as the living memory of those times and those men.
O'Neil's autobiography I Was Right On Time details his life in baseball and the men who played the game with him in the days of baseball segregation. He never glosses over the injustices and indignities of the Jim Crow area, but it is obvious that he has avoided bitterness and regret over the fact that he did not get into the game as a player though he had a long career as a scout and coach. He was, in fact, the first black coach in major league baseball beginning in 1962 with the Chicago Cubs.
O'Neil writes about the games in which he and other black ball players played. He also writes about what life was like as a Negro League player, how they traveled, where they played, and the contributions they made to the game of baseball. For example, because most of their fans were working people, James Wilkerson, the owner of the Monarch's had a portable lighting system for night games long before the major league owners installed them in their stadiums.
O'Neil claims to have few regrets about not being in the major leagues as a player. He feels that he was "right on time" to help with the transition that began with Jackie Robinson. Robinson played for the Monarchs for the season before he joined the Dodgers organization. O'Neil also developed players like Ernie Banks and scouted several other players including Billy Williams and Lou Brock.
At the time of the writing, O'Neil had not been selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He is now in the BHOF. Sadly, this happened shortly after his death. However, his celebration of a great baseball era stands as a permanent monument to a true baseball legend.
Recommended for sports fans, particularly baseball fans; history lovers; and lovers of good writing.
May 27, 2013
Buck O'Neil is as charming on the page as he is in Ken Burns' Baseball, and he gets to go into a lot more detail on how baseball has changed over the course of his life. You probably already know whether or not you like Buck O'Neil (and he's a hard man not to like), if you like him, you'll like this.
September 1, 2016
I've read this book a couple times - Buck's gentle attitude and humor shine in this memoir. I had the great privilege of meeting him about 15 years ago and he was charming, delightful, and flirtatious. I cherish the photo of us together and the signed baseball. A class act all the way. The book is filled with wonderful anecdotes, loved all of it.
February 5, 2017
I already loved Buck O'Neal but this book made me love him even more. And it definitely helped to spark my interest in Negro League baseball. Such an amazing history that is finally being told. I really enjoyed reading this book
January 4, 2018
I love the Ken Burns series on Baseball, and Buck was my favorite from the show. He never was bitter about not making it to the Majors as a player, but he was the first black coach - that was a big measure of respect. I could hear his voice in each sentence.
October 10, 2007
Light-hearted and wonderfully told. It's as close to a book-on-tape with actual pages as there is.
May 14, 2009
True story about Buck O'Neil playing in the Negro Leagues. I love the story about how he got the nickname "Nancy" from Satchel Paige.
October 9, 2018
Just like sitting at a table, drinking coffee and listening to stories about baseball and life lessons. Very humbling but uplifting. Filled with joy.
May 31, 2020
An absolutely flawless autobiography. O’Neil’s voice is of a grandfather. His passion for what he loves, his humility concerning his profound accomplishments, and the love he exudes for all fellow humans is inspiring.
That this man isn’t in Cooperstown for what he did for baseball is a fucking crime. The HOF committee routinely votes in executives, but Buck was denied on a secret ballot earlier this century. That needs to change. If Buck doesn’t belong in Cooperstown’s hallowed halls, then the majority of new inductees don’t.
Whew. Little rant. Read this. It is phenomenal. I can’t wait to drive out to KC and see the important pieces of history that this man had a hand in.
That this man isn’t in Cooperstown for what he did for baseball is a fucking crime. The HOF committee routinely votes in executives, but Buck was denied on a secret ballot earlier this century. That needs to change. If Buck doesn’t belong in Cooperstown’s hallowed halls, then the majority of new inductees don’t.
Whew. Little rant. Read this. It is phenomenal. I can’t wait to drive out to KC and see the important pieces of history that this man had a hand in.
May 11, 2022
Oh Buck 💚 It’s only been a few years since I even knew about Buck O’Neil, but he’s quickly become one of my favorite baseball figures of all time. This autobiography is funny and full of depth. It’s in many ways a history of the Negro Leagues through the eyes of O’Neil. But it’s also a story of this man’s life, a life lived with joy in the midst of sorrow, a life of giving to others, of letting go of bitterness, of holding on to hope. Buck gets a little long winded in the middle, but the beginning had me beaming and the end had me choking back tears.
March 21, 2020
It's a perfect early summer afternoon, late, turning to night. A hotel porch in Shreveport or Kansas City. I'm sitting listening to the crickets come alive, and Buck O'Neil is telling me stories. I'm rapt. We order a couple of more beers, he serves up more stories, and I lap them up. That's what reading "I Was Right On Time" feels like. The stories flow effortlessly from the memory of this lovely man who's seen and done it all in baseball. Through the indignities, pleasures and triumphs of the Negro Leagues and the "majors," he's maintained his optimism and belief in the goodness of the human race. I'm grateful for the time he's shared with me. Co-authors Steve Wulf and David Conrads were the recipients of Buck's stories first hand, and credit to them for massaging and organizing these stories into a beautiful night on the porch. Every spring training I read one baseball book. Some years are more rewarding than others. This one will last in my memory for a very long time.
April 13, 2024
Just like talking to the man himself... Not complicated or high art, just an interesting man telling you about his life and the book is beautiful in its simplicity. Must read for a baseball fan, or someone interested old time baseball.
August 29, 2020
Buck O’Neil was such an amazing man and an inspiration. The kind of hope and joy he played and lived with is beautiful. His graciousness and compassion to all people is also a breath of fresh air in our current age of hate, fear and anger. I long to be more like Buck O’Neil!
May 26, 2023
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the Major League, but John Jordan O’Neil aka Buck, was the first African American to coach in the MLB (Chicago Cubs).
Born in November of 1911 in Carrabelle, FL.
Buck played in the Negro Leagues as a first Baseman as well as the Skipper for the Kansas City Monarchs.
Satchel Paige is the first baseball player to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame on his Negro league career alone.
J.L. Wilkinson, the owner of the Monarch’s, invented night baseball five years before the MLB did.
Satchel called Buck, “Nancy.” For the time Buck saved him from getting exposed for cheating on his wife with a Native American named, Nancy.
Buck’s grandfather, Julius O’Neil, was a pure Mandingo. Born on the banks of the Niger River who was taken by a slave ship to America. He worked on a plantation in the Carolinas.
Black baseball, as Buck referred to it, relied on their speed and was aggressive. A lot of stealing, bunting, hit-and-run play. The style Jackie Robinson took with him to the Majors.
Andrew “Rube” Foster was referred to as the “Father of Black Baseball.” Even though black baseball was around a long time before Rube came around. He is also the creator of the “Hit-and-Run” or in his case, the “Bunt-and-Run.” Foster also established the Negro National League, created in 1920, in hopes of being be adopted by the MLB. Which didn’t happen until 1962.
Rube is why Buck wanted to become a manger one day. At the age of 12 is when he came to this conclusion.
It was also around that time did Buck join a semipro team in Sarasota called the “Tigers.” They needed someone to fill in for their injured first baseman due to sickness so they asked Buck’s principal, Miss Emma Booker, and he stayed for two seasons, eventually took over the position for the older guy. For thirty years he didn’t leave first base.
Buck’s dad left for several years after an altercation with a white deputy sheriff who was going to hit Buck’s mom for being too “uppity.”
Back in that time, black students only went up to the 8th grade. There were only four high schools in Florida that accepted black students. Buck got to attend Edward Waters College, a small Methodist School, in Jacksonville, who had a high school for black kids, on a scholarship thanks to his friend Lloyd Haisley, who introduced him to Ox Clemons, who was the baseball and football coach at the time.
Buck was also a “Box Boy” on a celery farm where his dad worked in the fall as well.
Buck spent four years at Edward Waters. Two for high school and two for college.
He then signed with his first professional baseball team, the Tampa Black Smokers in 1933. After a month, he signed with the Miami Giants.
Half of the black teams were called the Giants for a specific reason: newspapers refused to print pictures of black people across the Country. But there were a lot of good black baseball teams around and they were attractions. So “Giants” became a code word. If you saw an advertisement that a Giants team was coming to town to play a semipro team, you knew right away the visiting team was black. Buck was a “Giant” three times in his career.
The Miami Giants were sort of the unofficial minor league team for the Negro National League. Not Rube Foster’s league but the one that started in 1932 on the East coast. This was also the first time Buck got paid for playing baseball. He got $10/week. Plus room and board.
The New York Cubans first basemen, Martin Dihigo is the only player to be inducted into the Mexican, Cuban, and American baseball Halls of Fame. One of the Cubans pitchers was Luis Tiant, the father of Luis Tiant, who pitched for the Red Sox and pitched in the World Series.
Buck eventually joined Ollie Marcelle, Wayne Carr, Bill Riggins on the New York Tigers. A traveling baseball team that had nothing to do with New York. They were headed out west at the time. This is when he got shot at waiting to jump a train while trying to boil corn, having to jump trains, being broke, and having to jump out of boarding houses because they couldn’t afford the stay.
After coming back from Wichita and promising his mom that he was done with baseball in ‘36, Buck got a letter from Winfield Welch, who was the chief bellman at the biggest hotel in in Shreveport and the owner of the Shreveport Acme Giants, which were a farm team for the Kansas City Monarchs. He wanted Buck to join his club.
The owner of the Monarch’s was James Leslie Wilkinson. A white man.
In 1937, a new league was created, The Negro American League. The Memphis Red Sox bought Buck from the Acme Giants. A way for Wilkie to get him in the league until he could find a spot for him on the Monarchs.
Buck then went to play for the Cannibal Giants. Where he had to wear a grass skirt while playing in Canada.
After, Buck returned to the Memphis Red Sox with a $10 raise.
Two things happened that landed Buck with the Monarchs: one, the first basemen of the Monarchs, Head Mayweather, broke his leg, then Dr. Martin brought in Double Duty Redcliffe from the Cincinnati Tigers to manage the Red Sox. Double Duty brought in his own first baseman, Jelly Taylor. So Buck was free to go and Kansas City signed him.
Willard Brown is credited for hitting the first American League home run by a black player for the St. Luis Browns.
The 1942 Kansas City Monarchs were the greatest team to every play according to Buck.
Willie Wells invented the batting helmet after getting hit in the head by Bill Byrd.
Buck got drafted during WW2 and was assigned to the Navy Stevedore Battalion. His job was to load/unload ships. His assignments were in the Marina Islands and then Subic Bay in the Philippines.
During this time, Ora, his future wife agreed to marry him.
Hilton Smith is the player from the Monarch’s to recommend Jackie Robinson to the Monarchs.
The old commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis publicly acknowledged that there was no discrimination in baseball, but behind the scenes did everything he could to stop it. It wasn’t until he died in 1944, did Branch Rickey, who was ready to integrate baseball, bring in Jackie Robinson. Or he was “allowed” too.
In 1943, Bill Veeck wanted to buy the Philadelphia Phillies, but it was known he was going to field a team of Negro-players. Landis instead reward the team to a gambler.
Bunch left the Navy is 1946.
When Jackie Robinson left for the MLB and was playing well, that was the beginning of the end for the Negro Leagues. 1946 was highest grossing season for the Negro League, making $2 Million in profit.
In 1948, Buck became the manager for the Monarchs. As a player-manager.
Elston Howard was the first black ball player to play for the Yankees. Buck is the reason for the introduction.
Cool Papa found Earnie Banks. Future Chicago Cub. Buck signed him to the Monarchs on Cool Papa’s opinion.
In 1953, the then General Manager of the Cubs, offered Buck a job. Buck not only signed Earnie Banks to the Monarchs but to the Cubs too.
17 Monarchs got sent to the MLB in total. Buck credits Banks as the best of them all.
The Red Sox almost signed Willie Mays. Except the scout who came to see him play went home instead of staying an extra day over a rain delay. The Giants signed him instead. Side note: the Red Sox owned the stadium the Birmingham Black Barons played in.
Buck signed four future Hall-of-Famers during his time with the Monarchs: Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Lee Smith, and Joe Carter. He almost signed Bob Gibson. Except he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 1954, the highest paid ball player for the Monarchs was a woman by the name of Toni Stone. Who used to play for the Indianapolis Clowns. She was a second baseman. Kansas City brought her in for attendance purposes.
When Buck was a scout for the Cubs, one of the few black scouts in the league, he found Oscar Gamble. Played 17 years and in two World Series with the Yankees.
Lou Brock named the middle name of one of his sons, “O’Neil,” after Buck.
In 1962, at the age of 50, the Cubs named Buck a coach. Making him the first black coach in the MLB.
In 1963, Gene Baker, was the first black manager with the Pirates minor league team, Batavia.
In 1975, the Cleveland Indians made Frank Robinson their players manager. The first skipper in the history of the majors.
Between 1949-1962, 11 of the 14 NFC MVP’s went to black men.
1964, Buck returned to scouting.
Bunch signed Joe Carter. Cubs traded him away too soon. He ended up hitting a HR to win the World Series for the Blue Jays in ‘93.
In 1965, Kansas City Athletics owner, Charles O., signed Satchel, more for the publicity stunt than anything. Until, Sept. 25th of that year when he instructed then, manager, Haywood Sullivan, to start Paige against the Boston Red Sox. Satchel went three innings giving up only one hit. That one hit was by, Carl Yastrzemski. That made him the oldest player to every appear in an MLB game. Paige was 59.
Buck retired after 32 years with the Cubs in 1988 to spend more time with his wife Ora who had just retired from teaching.
Shortly after, he got a call from the Kansas City Royals. To serve as special assignment scout.
Buck received his high school diploma at 83 years old. His proudest moment.
Buck now serves on the Veterans Committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Him and Monte Irvin are the only former Negro league players on the committee now that Roy Campanella passed. His job is to forward names of the players he thinks belong on the Hall. - He also runs the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City
Good read. Not quite what I expected as I was hoping to get a more in depth look at the man, Buck O’Neil. Instead Buck in a humiliating way, used his platform to shed light on players of the Negro League that haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve. I think I read more about Satchel Paige than I did about Buck. Nonetheless, I found out a lot of stuff that I didn’t know. Glad I found this book and glad I now know who John Jordan O’Neil is, or should I say, “Nancy,” since that’s what Satchel called him.
Born in November of 1911 in Carrabelle, FL.
Buck played in the Negro Leagues as a first Baseman as well as the Skipper for the Kansas City Monarchs.
Satchel Paige is the first baseball player to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame on his Negro league career alone.
J.L. Wilkinson, the owner of the Monarch’s, invented night baseball five years before the MLB did.
Satchel called Buck, “Nancy.” For the time Buck saved him from getting exposed for cheating on his wife with a Native American named, Nancy.
Buck’s grandfather, Julius O’Neil, was a pure Mandingo. Born on the banks of the Niger River who was taken by a slave ship to America. He worked on a plantation in the Carolinas.
Black baseball, as Buck referred to it, relied on their speed and was aggressive. A lot of stealing, bunting, hit-and-run play. The style Jackie Robinson took with him to the Majors.
Andrew “Rube” Foster was referred to as the “Father of Black Baseball.” Even though black baseball was around a long time before Rube came around. He is also the creator of the “Hit-and-Run” or in his case, the “Bunt-and-Run.” Foster also established the Negro National League, created in 1920, in hopes of being be adopted by the MLB. Which didn’t happen until 1962.
Rube is why Buck wanted to become a manger one day. At the age of 12 is when he came to this conclusion.
It was also around that time did Buck join a semipro team in Sarasota called the “Tigers.” They needed someone to fill in for their injured first baseman due to sickness so they asked Buck’s principal, Miss Emma Booker, and he stayed for two seasons, eventually took over the position for the older guy. For thirty years he didn’t leave first base.
Buck’s dad left for several years after an altercation with a white deputy sheriff who was going to hit Buck’s mom for being too “uppity.”
Back in that time, black students only went up to the 8th grade. There were only four high schools in Florida that accepted black students. Buck got to attend Edward Waters College, a small Methodist School, in Jacksonville, who had a high school for black kids, on a scholarship thanks to his friend Lloyd Haisley, who introduced him to Ox Clemons, who was the baseball and football coach at the time.
Buck was also a “Box Boy” on a celery farm where his dad worked in the fall as well.
Buck spent four years at Edward Waters. Two for high school and two for college.
He then signed with his first professional baseball team, the Tampa Black Smokers in 1933. After a month, he signed with the Miami Giants.
Half of the black teams were called the Giants for a specific reason: newspapers refused to print pictures of black people across the Country. But there were a lot of good black baseball teams around and they were attractions. So “Giants” became a code word. If you saw an advertisement that a Giants team was coming to town to play a semipro team, you knew right away the visiting team was black. Buck was a “Giant” three times in his career.
The Miami Giants were sort of the unofficial minor league team for the Negro National League. Not Rube Foster’s league but the one that started in 1932 on the East coast. This was also the first time Buck got paid for playing baseball. He got $10/week. Plus room and board.
The New York Cubans first basemen, Martin Dihigo is the only player to be inducted into the Mexican, Cuban, and American baseball Halls of Fame. One of the Cubans pitchers was Luis Tiant, the father of Luis Tiant, who pitched for the Red Sox and pitched in the World Series.
Buck eventually joined Ollie Marcelle, Wayne Carr, Bill Riggins on the New York Tigers. A traveling baseball team that had nothing to do with New York. They were headed out west at the time. This is when he got shot at waiting to jump a train while trying to boil corn, having to jump trains, being broke, and having to jump out of boarding houses because they couldn’t afford the stay.
After coming back from Wichita and promising his mom that he was done with baseball in ‘36, Buck got a letter from Winfield Welch, who was the chief bellman at the biggest hotel in in Shreveport and the owner of the Shreveport Acme Giants, which were a farm team for the Kansas City Monarchs. He wanted Buck to join his club.
The owner of the Monarch’s was James Leslie Wilkinson. A white man.
In 1937, a new league was created, The Negro American League. The Memphis Red Sox bought Buck from the Acme Giants. A way for Wilkie to get him in the league until he could find a spot for him on the Monarchs.
Buck then went to play for the Cannibal Giants. Where he had to wear a grass skirt while playing in Canada.
After, Buck returned to the Memphis Red Sox with a $10 raise.
Two things happened that landed Buck with the Monarchs: one, the first basemen of the Monarchs, Head Mayweather, broke his leg, then Dr. Martin brought in Double Duty Redcliffe from the Cincinnati Tigers to manage the Red Sox. Double Duty brought in his own first baseman, Jelly Taylor. So Buck was free to go and Kansas City signed him.
Willard Brown is credited for hitting the first American League home run by a black player for the St. Luis Browns.
The 1942 Kansas City Monarchs were the greatest team to every play according to Buck.
Willie Wells invented the batting helmet after getting hit in the head by Bill Byrd.
Buck got drafted during WW2 and was assigned to the Navy Stevedore Battalion. His job was to load/unload ships. His assignments were in the Marina Islands and then Subic Bay in the Philippines.
During this time, Ora, his future wife agreed to marry him.
Hilton Smith is the player from the Monarch’s to recommend Jackie Robinson to the Monarchs.
The old commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis publicly acknowledged that there was no discrimination in baseball, but behind the scenes did everything he could to stop it. It wasn’t until he died in 1944, did Branch Rickey, who was ready to integrate baseball, bring in Jackie Robinson. Or he was “allowed” too.
In 1943, Bill Veeck wanted to buy the Philadelphia Phillies, but it was known he was going to field a team of Negro-players. Landis instead reward the team to a gambler.
Bunch left the Navy is 1946.
When Jackie Robinson left for the MLB and was playing well, that was the beginning of the end for the Negro Leagues. 1946 was highest grossing season for the Negro League, making $2 Million in profit.
In 1948, Buck became the manager for the Monarchs. As a player-manager.
Elston Howard was the first black ball player to play for the Yankees. Buck is the reason for the introduction.
Cool Papa found Earnie Banks. Future Chicago Cub. Buck signed him to the Monarchs on Cool Papa’s opinion.
In 1953, the then General Manager of the Cubs, offered Buck a job. Buck not only signed Earnie Banks to the Monarchs but to the Cubs too.
17 Monarchs got sent to the MLB in total. Buck credits Banks as the best of them all.
The Red Sox almost signed Willie Mays. Except the scout who came to see him play went home instead of staying an extra day over a rain delay. The Giants signed him instead. Side note: the Red Sox owned the stadium the Birmingham Black Barons played in.
Buck signed four future Hall-of-Famers during his time with the Monarchs: Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Lee Smith, and Joe Carter. He almost signed Bob Gibson. Except he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 1954, the highest paid ball player for the Monarchs was a woman by the name of Toni Stone. Who used to play for the Indianapolis Clowns. She was a second baseman. Kansas City brought her in for attendance purposes.
When Buck was a scout for the Cubs, one of the few black scouts in the league, he found Oscar Gamble. Played 17 years and in two World Series with the Yankees.
Lou Brock named the middle name of one of his sons, “O’Neil,” after Buck.
In 1962, at the age of 50, the Cubs named Buck a coach. Making him the first black coach in the MLB.
In 1963, Gene Baker, was the first black manager with the Pirates minor league team, Batavia.
In 1975, the Cleveland Indians made Frank Robinson their players manager. The first skipper in the history of the majors.
Between 1949-1962, 11 of the 14 NFC MVP’s went to black men.
1964, Buck returned to scouting.
Bunch signed Joe Carter. Cubs traded him away too soon. He ended up hitting a HR to win the World Series for the Blue Jays in ‘93.
In 1965, Kansas City Athletics owner, Charles O., signed Satchel, more for the publicity stunt than anything. Until, Sept. 25th of that year when he instructed then, manager, Haywood Sullivan, to start Paige against the Boston Red Sox. Satchel went three innings giving up only one hit. That one hit was by, Carl Yastrzemski. That made him the oldest player to every appear in an MLB game. Paige was 59.
Buck retired after 32 years with the Cubs in 1988 to spend more time with his wife Ora who had just retired from teaching.
Shortly after, he got a call from the Kansas City Royals. To serve as special assignment scout.
Buck received his high school diploma at 83 years old. His proudest moment.
Buck now serves on the Veterans Committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Him and Monte Irvin are the only former Negro league players on the committee now that Roy Campanella passed. His job is to forward names of the players he thinks belong on the Hall. - He also runs the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City
Good read. Not quite what I expected as I was hoping to get a more in depth look at the man, Buck O’Neil. Instead Buck in a humiliating way, used his platform to shed light on players of the Negro League that haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve. I think I read more about Satchel Paige than I did about Buck. Nonetheless, I found out a lot of stuff that I didn’t know. Glad I found this book and glad I now know who John Jordan O’Neil is, or should I say, “Nancy,” since that’s what Satchel called him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2020
Buck O'Neil, the former negro league player and major league coach and scout, has written a wonderful biography focused on baseball, as was his life. Many know him from his appearances in Ken Burns' Baseball documentary. He keeps his entertaining stories short and to the point. Some are merely humorous, while others more profound. His friendship with the legendary Satchel Paige is featured throughout, along with his clear love of the game and his fellow players. The tone is highly personal - you feel as if you are listening to him talk about his life while sipping a beer and watching a game on a beautiful summer evening. I've been reading it during this isolation period at the start of the coronavirus outbreak and it's acted as a wonderfully calming escape at the end of the day. Strongly recommended, should the subject matter interest you. I'm glad I got to know Buck better, learn about the history of the negro leagues a bit, and be influenced by his optimistic outlook on life.
January 6, 2016
Most people first met John J. "Buck" O'Neil through Ken Burns' 1994 documentary Baseball. The then 83-year old retired coach, manager and Negro League ballplayer was Burns' window on the history of his league and its stars for people who may have only vaguely known that baseball once was segregated but nothing about the men who played on the other side of that color line.
O'Neil played most of his baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs and retired as an active player when the team was sold in 1955. He became major league baseball's first African-American scout, working for the Chicago Cubs and helping them sign Hall of Famer Lou Brock (Because they were the Cubs, they traded Brock to the St. Louis Cardnals. Not everyone who worked for Chicago was as smart as their scout). He became a coach for the Cubs as well, again the first African-American to do so in the majors.
The 1996 collaboration with Steve Wulf and David Conrads, I Was Right on Time, records O'Neil's own reminiscing about these times, as well as his days scouting for the Kansas City Royals beginning in 1988. It covers his efforts to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and to win recognition for the top talents among his fellow players. The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame sports the plaques of several Negro League stars present only because O'Neil worked to make the sport aware of them.
The title comes from O'Neil's view of his own life. He notes that people often seem to think he was cheated by playing during baseball's segregated era, unable to match his talent against the best in the game and just a shade too old to make the jump to the majors after Jackie Robinson started for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. No, said the ever-positive O'Neil. Who's to say he didn't match up against the best he might have seen, and far from being "too early," he considered himself a blessed and lucky man who was "right on time."
That gracious and optimistic attitude as much as anything else gave O'Neil renown in the sunset of his life that he never had during his playing days. It makes reading Right on Time a pleasure, even if the history comes from the viewpoint of just one man and the tone is more remembering than reporting. A baseball library without it is much poorer.
Original available here.
O'Neil played most of his baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs and retired as an active player when the team was sold in 1955. He became major league baseball's first African-American scout, working for the Chicago Cubs and helping them sign Hall of Famer Lou Brock (Because they were the Cubs, they traded Brock to the St. Louis Cardnals. Not everyone who worked for Chicago was as smart as their scout). He became a coach for the Cubs as well, again the first African-American to do so in the majors.
The 1996 collaboration with Steve Wulf and David Conrads, I Was Right on Time, records O'Neil's own reminiscing about these times, as well as his days scouting for the Kansas City Royals beginning in 1988. It covers his efforts to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and to win recognition for the top talents among his fellow players. The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame sports the plaques of several Negro League stars present only because O'Neil worked to make the sport aware of them.
The title comes from O'Neil's view of his own life. He notes that people often seem to think he was cheated by playing during baseball's segregated era, unable to match his talent against the best in the game and just a shade too old to make the jump to the majors after Jackie Robinson started for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. No, said the ever-positive O'Neil. Who's to say he didn't match up against the best he might have seen, and far from being "too early," he considered himself a blessed and lucky man who was "right on time."
That gracious and optimistic attitude as much as anything else gave O'Neil renown in the sunset of his life that he never had during his playing days. It makes reading Right on Time a pleasure, even if the history comes from the viewpoint of just one man and the tone is more remembering than reporting. A baseball library without it is much poorer.
Original available here.
June 8, 2011
Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a Baseball fanatic. And every year, I always watch Ken Burns' Baseball documentary, usually at the start of Spring Training or at the beginning of the regular Baseball season. That's the case yet again this year. The only thing that's different this time is that instead of watching it once, I decided to watch the entire 9 innings again along with the the sequel The Tenth Inning as well.
The reason why I love this series comes down to not just the sport itself, but the heart and soul of the documentary in the form of Buck O'Neil. This guy was pretty much an unknown to the general public outside of hardcore Baseball fans when the series premiered on PBS. Since then he has become the face of the documentary as well as an ambassador for the sport. He became a celebrity and rightly so. I can never get enough just listening to him talk about his time in the Negro Baseball Leagues. His stories about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and countless others are simply amazing to hear and relive.
But rather than watching this again for a 3rd straight time, I thought now would be a good time to read his book, in his own words. The results would be I Was Right On Time. If you know Buck, or have watched the documentary Baseball, you will know that he has been telling his baseball stories to anyone that will listen for the past 60 plus years. I've heard all of them and I never get tired of hearing them and I want more.
The book basically picks up where the documentary left off. By this, I mean that when you shoot filmed testimonies, a lot of the stuff is going to end up on the cutting room floor due to editing purposes. This book fills in and rounds out a lot of the stories that are told in the documentary. There's more to the man then what you see, This is a pretty good read and very insightful of how he was brought up and what he had to endure. The best stories of course still center around his relationship with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, whether your a fan of the sport or not. You will come away enlighten and a better person after you read this one. Pick it up and pass it along to a friend.
The reason why I love this series comes down to not just the sport itself, but the heart and soul of the documentary in the form of Buck O'Neil. This guy was pretty much an unknown to the general public outside of hardcore Baseball fans when the series premiered on PBS. Since then he has become the face of the documentary as well as an ambassador for the sport. He became a celebrity and rightly so. I can never get enough just listening to him talk about his time in the Negro Baseball Leagues. His stories about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and countless others are simply amazing to hear and relive.
But rather than watching this again for a 3rd straight time, I thought now would be a good time to read his book, in his own words. The results would be I Was Right On Time. If you know Buck, or have watched the documentary Baseball, you will know that he has been telling his baseball stories to anyone that will listen for the past 60 plus years. I've heard all of them and I never get tired of hearing them and I want more.
The book basically picks up where the documentary left off. By this, I mean that when you shoot filmed testimonies, a lot of the stuff is going to end up on the cutting room floor due to editing purposes. This book fills in and rounds out a lot of the stories that are told in the documentary. There's more to the man then what you see, This is a pretty good read and very insightful of how he was brought up and what he had to endure. The best stories of course still center around his relationship with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, whether your a fan of the sport or not. You will come away enlighten and a better person after you read this one. Pick it up and pass it along to a friend.
February 14, 2017
One of the best books ever written on the Negro League from it's ambassador himself, Buck O'Neil! His astonishing account and recollections of the era, the players, the hardships, the victories but most importantly is his love for baseball. If MLB does not commenorate Buck into the Hall of Fame as well as others, then baseball loses an integral part of it's culture and history. This is a very rich book and one that will leave it's impression on every reader. Being a die hard baseball fan, I learned about the Negro League through my father, Charles P. Hill, who had the unbelievable experience in practicing with the Indianapolis Clowns, Indianapolis ABC, Kansas City Monarchs and Homestead Graves in his early days of his baseball career as a shortstop. Cool Papa Bell, Satchel, Buck Leonard, Josh Gibson and others are names that my Dad always said were the greatest that he ever seen and he had crossed paths with Babe Ruth, Pee Wee Reese and countless other MLB players. When my oldest son asked Grandpa Chuck if he ever got a hit off of Satchel, Grandpa said, YES! right in the mitt! that was a testimony itself for Dad was one of the leading hitters in Indiana Semi-Pro Baseball. This is a book that is to be read and devoured and respected. On his introduction into the Halll of Fame in 1966, Ted Williams, who people say was the best hitter of all-time, said so eloquently "I hope that some day Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson will be voted into the Hall of Fame as symbols of the great Negro-league players who are not here only because they weren't given the chance." Now is the time to bring in countless outstanding ballplayers that Buck elaborates in this classic sports masterpiece. Give it Up!
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May 30, 2017
As many before me did, I learned about Buck O'Neil from Ken Burns's Baseball documentary series. My husband and I watched the whole thing through, and we came away feeling like Buck O'Neil was the best storyteller among all the interviewed players, coaches, managers, scholars, and fans.
So naturally, I thought an autobiography about Buck O'Neill would be a great read. Well, it was, and it wasn't.
Pros: Buck O'Neil writes like he speaks - he's careful to explain everything, his writing is very similar to his descriptive, encyclopedic oral storytelling, and it comes across with so much character, so much voice. In that way, this book was a pure joy to read.
Cons: Buck O'Neil writes like he speaks - he wanders backward and forward in time, interrupting himself often to tell tangential stories, and he names people (who he explains in great detail, sometimes) so often that I wondered whether I was reading O'Neil's biography or the biography of Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson or someone else.
Buck is incredibly humble, regularly stating in his biography that he was no great ball player, but I was frustrated by how much he wrote about other people and how little he wrote about himself. He does state that he believes his reason for being in Cooperstown, if he ever makes it (from the time of the printing), should be for how much he has worked to preserve the history and pride of the Negro Leagues, not because of his talents playing baseball. This book is like a preliminary acceptance speech for that honor - it's full of wonderful stories about the great Negro League players, coaches, managers, and owners, including Buck O'Neill, but O'Neill is only a minor character in his own biography, it feels, and I imagine that was quite intentional.
So naturally, I thought an autobiography about Buck O'Neill would be a great read. Well, it was, and it wasn't.
Pros: Buck O'Neil writes like he speaks - he's careful to explain everything, his writing is very similar to his descriptive, encyclopedic oral storytelling, and it comes across with so much character, so much voice. In that way, this book was a pure joy to read.
Cons: Buck O'Neil writes like he speaks - he wanders backward and forward in time, interrupting himself often to tell tangential stories, and he names people (who he explains in great detail, sometimes) so often that I wondered whether I was reading O'Neil's biography or the biography of Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson or someone else.
Buck is incredibly humble, regularly stating in his biography that he was no great ball player, but I was frustrated by how much he wrote about other people and how little he wrote about himself. He does state that he believes his reason for being in Cooperstown, if he ever makes it (from the time of the printing), should be for how much he has worked to preserve the history and pride of the Negro Leagues, not because of his talents playing baseball. This book is like a preliminary acceptance speech for that honor - it's full of wonderful stories about the great Negro League players, coaches, managers, and owners, including Buck O'Neill, but O'Neill is only a minor character in his own biography, it feels, and I imagine that was quite intentional.
August 30, 2018
I loved this book from a great American that I wish I could have met. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, this is one of the most enjoyable biographies you could hope to read. Buck O'Neil used baseball as his platform to make a meaningful impact upon everyone he met throughout his life. What a strong role model and what a positive outlook on life he had!
And although his circumstances were not exactly the same as Jackie Robinson's, Buck O'Neil had a much more pleasant disposition, and that difference is reflected in each of their autobiographies. O'Neil is about 8 years older than Robinson, but had he been just a bit younger, he also might have had an opportunity to play Major League Baseball. Nevertheless, there is no bitterness whatsoever in his recollections of his career. He expresses gratitude for the opportunities he had throughout his life. To this point, O'Neil once said, "I have known people who have never gotten past their bitterness and disappointment, and I wish I could have helped them.... Count your blessings--they're trouncing your curses."
O'Neil's accounts of his life off the baseball field and the relationships he had with his friends were very endearing. If you are a baseball fan, you'll really enjoy his Satchel Paige stories, accounts of old barnstorming adventures, and his scouting stories through the end of his career. This guy was all about relationships and so it's no wonder why Buck O'Neil is one of the most beloved baseball personalities of all-time.
And although his circumstances were not exactly the same as Jackie Robinson's, Buck O'Neil had a much more pleasant disposition, and that difference is reflected in each of their autobiographies. O'Neil is about 8 years older than Robinson, but had he been just a bit younger, he also might have had an opportunity to play Major League Baseball. Nevertheless, there is no bitterness whatsoever in his recollections of his career. He expresses gratitude for the opportunities he had throughout his life. To this point, O'Neil once said, "I have known people who have never gotten past their bitterness and disappointment, and I wish I could have helped them.... Count your blessings--they're trouncing your curses."
O'Neil's accounts of his life off the baseball field and the relationships he had with his friends were very endearing. If you are a baseball fan, you'll really enjoy his Satchel Paige stories, accounts of old barnstorming adventures, and his scouting stories through the end of his career. This guy was all about relationships and so it's no wonder why Buck O'Neil is one of the most beloved baseball personalities of all-time.
July 20, 2017
Part autobiography, sure, but also part ode to baseball as well as Satchel Paige biography. Great read!
Buck O'Neil (RIP) is a former negro leagues baseball player that became the first ever black major league coach. Many, myself included, came to know about him from the Ken Burns Baseball series. He was the best interview subject, speaking so eloquently and with such fondness for the game and his time playing it. He gave us insight into leagues that pushed MLB to become a better league, on and off the field.
The negro leagues had the likes of Paige and Josh Gibson, two players that would have dominated the majors if allowed, as well as many other phenomenal ball players. Part of what makes O'Neil such a great figure to listen to/read is that he has no hate for anyone regarding the situations he faced growing up in a segregated US. He feels things should have been better for black players/people in general, but also understands that was the time he lived in, and he focuses on the good that he saw in so many people, especially those involved in the game of baseball.
I love baseball very much, and this was such a great read into a bit of the history of one really cool man, but also the negro leagues. Worth a read for even non ball-lovers.
Buck O'Neil (RIP) is a former negro leagues baseball player that became the first ever black major league coach. Many, myself included, came to know about him from the Ken Burns Baseball series. He was the best interview subject, speaking so eloquently and with such fondness for the game and his time playing it. He gave us insight into leagues that pushed MLB to become a better league, on and off the field.
The negro leagues had the likes of Paige and Josh Gibson, two players that would have dominated the majors if allowed, as well as many other phenomenal ball players. Part of what makes O'Neil such a great figure to listen to/read is that he has no hate for anyone regarding the situations he faced growing up in a segregated US. He feels things should have been better for black players/people in general, but also understands that was the time he lived in, and he focuses on the good that he saw in so many people, especially those involved in the game of baseball.
I love baseball very much, and this was such a great read into a bit of the history of one really cool man, but also the negro leagues. Worth a read for even non ball-lovers.
June 10, 2021
An oral history Studs Terkel would no doubt have loved to read (and probably did), Buck O'Neil's account of growing up black and baseball-loving in America is fantastic. I wouldn't have known about this book if not for Ken Burns's Baseball documentary, where Buck O'Neil is significantly featured as one who bridged the worlds of the Negro Leagues and the majors. It is easy to hear his voice in these pages, and wonderful to get an expansion beyond the documentary of stories from the road, in the dugouts, and off the field shared with so many stellar names that many have never heard. He also highlights how the Negro Leagues developed into a profitable and highly popular (to black and white Americans) business model with features very different from the business of white baseball, and the bittersweet demise of the league as integration increased.
Some of the most powerful chapters are at the end, when Buck gives insight into his scouting days, and the process and advantage he enjoyed in recruiting young hopefuls by connecting with them not only where they lived, but also how they (and their parents) lived.
Buck was a highly intelligent, insightful, sensitive, optimistic man, and his recounting of this facet of history is well worth the read.
Some of the most powerful chapters are at the end, when Buck gives insight into his scouting days, and the process and advantage he enjoyed in recruiting young hopefuls by connecting with them not only where they lived, but also how they (and their parents) lived.
Buck was a highly intelligent, insightful, sensitive, optimistic man, and his recounting of this facet of history is well worth the read.
March 22, 2023
If you love baseball, or if you know anything about Buck O'Neil, hell even if you don't, this book is well worth the time to check out. I felt like I was sitting and listening to my grandfather tell stories about the good old days. O'Neil did a great job conveying how he felt about growing up during segregation and his part in helping break down the barriers between cultures. For me the best part was during the whole book, Mr. O'Neil never seemed to be bitter or resentful of the people from the past. Every story always seemed so positive and upbeat that you couldn't help but feel happy for him when he talked about his wins in life. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a biographical book with a positive message.
February 13, 2012
The book, I was Right On Time, was a good book. I thought that it was be more along the lines of Buck O'Neil's life, but it was mostly about his teammates in the negro leagues and where he traveled to. The book was around a 3.5/5 mostly because it was better than what i had expected, and kind of interesting. Buck O'Neil had a very interesting life with moving from team to team in the leagues. I amazed how he was the first African-American manager for a MLB team. Overall, I would recommend this book if you like learning about the history of the Negro Leagues, but otherwise,I would not recommend it.
May 14, 2019
O'Neil's narrative style made me feel like we were sitting around a table chatting. It's folksy and engaging. This could have been HIS story, but he is so generous in spreading it around, including so many players, some I was familiar with, and others I wasn't. He takes us back to the 1930s, but brings us into the 2000s. I met him for about 2 minutes years ago at an autograph signing, but he made a huge impression on me, with his kindness and smile and happiness at being among baseball fans. I've also been to the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City and reading this book completed the circle.
January 31, 2008
you don't have to be a baseball historian to thoroughly enjoy this book. what impressed me most about "I Was Right On Time" was the way that Mr. O'Neil shared his memories; his conversational style totally reminded me of sitting with my grandparents as they talked about their lives...just telling it like it was. in person or over the airwaves, to hear Mr. O'Neil tell a story was a true delight. Kansas City is *still* heartbroken over his passing, but as you'll learn when you read this book, what a blessing he was while here on earth!
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