Buck O’Neil’s Hall of Fame plaque to travel to Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals have announced in partnership with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Kansas City’s own Negro Leagues Baseball Museum that Buck O’Neil’s Hall of Fame plaque will be brought from Cooperstown to Kansas City for public display on Friday, Aug. 12 at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 13.

The Kansas City visit will begin on Friday, Aug. 12 when the plaque will be on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum located at 1616 E 18th Street, in Kansas City, Mo. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Kansas City Royals will host the plaque’s visit to Kauffman Stadium in conjunction with the ballclub’s annual Salute to the Negro Leagues event on Saturday, Aug. 13 when the Royals host the Los Angeles Dodgers at 6:10 pm CT. The plaque will be on-field for a pregame ceremony then will be moved to the Royals Hall of Fame inside Kauffman Stadium where all fans will be able to view it during the game.

O’Neil is considered one of the greatest ambassadors both the game of baseball and the community of Kansas City have ever had. He was born Nov. 13, 1911, in Carrabelle, Fla. and began his professional baseball career with the 1937 Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League. Buck first came to Kansas City to play for the Monarchs in 1938 and remained a Kansas Citian for the rest of his long and eventful life. He was a member of the 1942 Negro World Series Champion Kansas City Monarchs and later served as the club’s manager. O’Neil made baseball history with the 1962 Chicago Cubs when he became the first African American coach in the National or American League. He was also a renowned baseball scout responsible for the signing of three fellow members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, and Lee Smith. Buck O’Neil passed away at age 94 on Oct. 6, 2006.

O’Neil was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Hall’s Early Baseball Era Committee (pre 1950s) on Dec. 5, 2021, garnering votes on 13 of the 16 of the ballots cast. He was inducted as a member of baseball’s most hallowed shrine on July 24, 2022, in Cooperstown, N.Y.

ABOUT NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM:

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America. The privately funded, 501 c3, not-for-profit organization was established in 1990 and is in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri’s Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District. The NLBM operates two blocks from the Paseo YMCA where Andrew “Rube” Foster established the Negro National League in 1920. To learn more about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit www.nlbm.com.