Morrow's Musings
- By Jeff Morrow
509-582-1507
Posted Feb. 23, 2000
Baseball legend to visit Tri-Cities
It's a very rare opportunity when Mid-Columbians get a chance to see a baseball great visiting the area.
That will happen today and Thursday when Buck O'Neil comes to the Tri-Cities to help celebrate Black History Month.
O'Neil was an All-Star first baseman for many years in the Negro Leagues - mainly in the American League with the Kansas City Monarchs.
He played on the 1939-42 Monarch teams that won four straight Negro American League pennants.
After a three-year break to serve in the military, O'Neil returned to Kansas City in 1946 and won the batting title with a .353 batting average.
O'Neil also managed the Monarchs for eight seasons, leading the team to five pennants.
O'Neil never got a chance to play in the major leagues, but he did become the first black coach in 1962 when he was named an assistant for the Chicago Cubs.
He is credited with signing Ernie Banks and Lou Brock.
Now 84, O'Neil still is very active. He's a member and chairman of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, and serves on the Baseball Hall of Fame's Veterans' Committee, which will meet next week to determine if any old-timers will be inducted into Cooperstown this July.
Greg Mitchell, who works in the Human Resources and Diversity Department for Fluor Daniel Hanford Inc., worked on getting O'Neil to the Tri-Cities for two years.
"Two years ago, I heard he was at Whitman College," Mitchell said. "I was an assistant football coach for the Richland freshmen, and we played our games on Thursday, the same night he was at Whitman."
For Mitchell, personally, he wanted to find a way to get his father, legendary area baseball umpire CJ Mitchell, and O'Neil together before it was too late.
The opportunity came when O'Neil agreed to speak on Negro League Baseball, and its impact on social change in America to Hanford employees and the public.
His itinery on Thursday is full.
In addition to speaking to Hanford employees, O'Neil also will be visiting Park Middle School in Kennewick and McLoughlin Middle School in Pasco to speak to students.
He will be honored at a reception at the WSU-Tri-Cities Library in the afternoon. The event is sponsored by WSU, DOE-RL, the Hanford Contractors and the community.
At that same reception, the 1948 Pasco Panthers, an all-black team, will be honored. Any surviving members of the Panthers and their relatives are invited to attend.
Former player Sanford Barnes also will be honored, as will Vanis and Edmon Daniels, who helped get Little League Baseball started in Pasco.
Finally, at 7 p.m., O'Neil will speak at the Richland High Auditorium. The event is free to the public.
Don't miss this chance to see one of baseball's greats.
* * *
If you get a chance, don't miss the Negro League Baseball memorabilia exhibit at the Community Information Center at WSU-Tri-Cities.
It's only open until the end of the week, - hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. - and contains an incredible array of momentos from the Negro Leagues.
WSU-Tri-Cities is just north of the Hanford High complex.
- Sports editor Jeff Morrow can be reached at 582-1507 or via e-mail at jmorrow@tri-cityherald.com
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