John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr.
Born: November 13, 1911, Carrabelle, FL
Died: October 6, 2006, Kansas City, MO

John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. played with a number of teams in the 1930s, including the New York Tigers and Miami Giants. In 1938, O'Neil joined the Kansas City Monarchs as a first baseman. From 1939 to 1942,the Monarchs won four consecutive Negro American League pennants. O'Neil joined the United States Navy during World War II. After the war ended, he returned to the Monarchs. In 1962, O'Neil became the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball history. O'Neil was one of the founders of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and served as chairman of the board for the organization. In 2006, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2008, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum honored O'Neil's legacy with the creation of the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is presented not more than once every three years to honor an individual whose exemplary efforts have "enhanced baseball's positive impact on society, broadened the game's appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O'Neil." Buck O'Neil was the first recipient of the award, posthumously receiving the honor in 2008.

Sources: The Society for American Baseball Research, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Public Radio, and the Library of Congress were the primary research sources for the biographical information contained in this exhibition label.