SARASOTA, FL — An exhibit highlighting the baseball career of Buck O’Neil, the first Black Major League Baseball coach, is on display at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex through March 20.
Sponsored by the Baltimore Orioles, the “Buck O’Neil: Right on Time” exhibition is on loan from the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City and will be showcased 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the community complex, which is located at 1846 34th Street in Sarasota. The exhibit was brought to the community by the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.
O’Neil, a Sarasota native who grew up in Sarasota’s Newtown neighborhood, played and coached professionally for decades, and was also a champion of racial equality for more than 50 years, according to a news release. The first baseman spent most of his career playing for the Negro American League’s Kansas City Monarchs. He went on to work as a baseball scout and coach.
He received a lifetime achievement award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. His impact on American baseball is chronicled in books, the Ken Burns 1994 PBS documentary “Baseball” and is showcased at the Negro Leagues Baseball museum, according to the news release.
The grandson of slaves, he was born in 1911 and grew up working Sarasota’s celery fields as a child, WUSF reported. His father ran a pool hall for Newtown’s African American community. Seeking a better life, O’Neil turned to baseball.
“Buck O’Neil’s family roots run deep into our community’s rich soil. I interviewed his family members many years ago,” Vickie Oldham, SAACC president and CEO, said. “He was a kind, genteel and charming soul with a heart of gold. I met him at a long dinner table surrounded by Negro Baseball League teammates who lived in our area. He was the life of the party.”
The exhibit documents his life from the early years to his baseball career and includes rare photographs on a series of panels. This year is also the celebration of O’Neil’s 100th birthday.
“This exhibit illustrates the potential that can be achieved by bringing sports and the arts together to support meaningful efforts in our community,” Jennifer Grondahl, Orioles senior vice president of community development and communications, said. “The Orioles Charitable Foundation is proud to help preserve the life and legacy of baseball legend and civil rights champion Buck O’Neil through this partnership with a local cultural arts group and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.”
Sarasota’s Mayor Hagen Brody said, “We’re proud to host this exhibit which highlights Sarasota’s very own Buck O’Neil and his many remarkable achievements and lasting contributions to America’s pastime and civil rights. Through sports, he was able to make a much broader difference. Buck O’Neil was one of Sarasota’s great history makers and his legacy should continue to be revered and shared with all generations in our community.”
This inaugural exhibition of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition is in partnership with the city of Sarasota, the Baltimore Orioles, Newtown Alive and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
The Community Foundation’s president and CEO, Roxie Jerde, previously a 35-year resident of Kansas City, welcomes the opportunity for area residents who may not be familiar with Buck O’Neil to learn about his upbringing and challenges in Sarasota, and the reverence of O’Neil by so many across the country.
“Having met Buck in Kansas City shortly before he passed in 2006, I was in awe of his charisma and loving spirit. Moving to Sarasota a decade ago, I learned about his connection here – including his close relationship to teacher and mentor Emma E. Booker, the inability to attend high school because they were closed to African Americans at the time. I am even more awed by the kindness he carried with him throughout life,” Jerde said.
The Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition also plans to unveil a mural honoring the baseball legend and will add O’Neil’s name to the field at Newtown Estates Park.
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