The Crime Against Buck O'Neil

Any lover of the national pastime who happened to watch Ken Burns' 1994 documentary Baseball knows that the unparalleled star of that series was the then 82-year old Negro Leagues veteran, Buck O'Neil. O'Neil was a player and later player-manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, and in that role coached and molded some of the greatest players in the history of the game: Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, the list goes on. Buck was a pretty good player in his own right: he once batted .350 for a season. After coaching, O'Neil became the first African-American scout in the big leagues. Later, he became the first African-American coach in the major leagues. O'Neil discovered Lou Brock and Joe Carter, among other great ball players.

Oh, and he also served two years of his prime in the armed forces during World War II.

In retirement, Buck O'Neil became one of the finest ambassadors for baseball ever. His grace and warmth won many new fans. He was instrumental in getting the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame opened in Kansas City. Then, he was unstoppable in his enthusiasm for getting more Negro Leagues players inducted into Cooperstown; just last year, the now 94-year old O'Neil visited 18 major league cities rallying support for his cause.

His efforts paid off. Yesterday, Major League Baseball inducted 17 new members to the Hall of Fame that were affiliated in one way or another to the Negro Leagues.

And Buck O'Neil was not one of them. One of the only living members still around, this great ambassador of the game was left in the dust. It was an inexcusable oversight. I could go on and on about this crime that baseball committed yesterday, but, as usual, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann does a far superior job:

He was an overnight celebrity at the age of 84, turned into one of the faces of baseball by the Ken Burns documentary.

Buck O'Neill -- a living link to the great stars who were prevented from reaching the Major Leagues because of the color barrier that would not fall until 1947. Himself Jackie Robinson's teammate with the legendary Kansas City Monarchs, later their manager. Even now, at the age of 94, one of the great ambassadors of any sport. And yesterday, baseball might as well have told Buck O'Neill to get lost.

Yesterday was the day the game elected to its Hall of Fame, 17 heroes of the era of the "Negro Leagues." The last such election scheduled. Ever. And Buck O'Neill was not elected.

A special committee first selected 94 candidates... Then pared it down to 39 finalists... Then yesterday announced the 17 inductees. O'Neill didn't make the cut. Nor did Minnie Minoso -- himself prevented from playing in the majors until he was 27 years old because of the color of his skin. Minoso went on to record the sixth highest batting average in all of baseball during the prime of his career, 1951 through 1963.

Snubbing Minoso and O'Neill -- apparently for all time -- is extraordinary enough. But only baseball could make it worse. In honoring the Negro Leagues -- it managed to exclude O'Neill and Minoso -- but did elect two white people.

James Leslie Wilkinson was the founder of those Kansas City Monarchs -- Jackie Robinson's team before he broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Wilkinson was a white businessman. And today's election also made a Hall of Famer out of Effa Manley... She was the owner of the Newark Eagles of the Negro American League. It sounds almost impossible to believe -- but she too was white -- married to a black man -- and she pretended to be -- as the term was, then, "passed" -- as a light-skinned black.

Most of the 17 electees yesterday were entirely deserving. Such legendary figures as Sol White and Biz Mackey and Jose Mendez will achieve in death and in the Hall of Fame something they were denied in life. Just to twist the knife a little further into Buck O'Neil, the special committee elected Alex Pompez, owner of the New York Cubans team... Also an organized crime figure... Part of the mob of the infamous '30s gangster Dutch Schultz... Indicted in this country and Mexico for racketeering.

He's in the Hall of Fame. For all time. Buck O'Neill is not. It is not merely indefensible. For all the many stupid things the Baseball Hall of Fame has ever done... This is the worst.

Amen, brother Keith. Let's hope that someday before he is gone, MLB corrects this more grevious error.