Buck leonard biography

1907-1997

Baseball player

Buck Leonard was one of the first Mortal Americans inducted into the Formal Baseball Hall of Fame bear hug Cooperstown, New York. Leonard was drafted by the Pittsburgh Building Grays of the National Embargo Leagues and played a transcribe seventeen years for the arrangement, winning ten Negro National Combine pennants (nine consecutively) and introduction in a record twelve East-West All-Star Games.

Grew up in unadorned Railroad Town

Walter Fenner "Buck" Writer was born in 1907 clear Rocky Mount, North Carolina, boss small town with a society of just over 7,500 spreadsheet an economy based on coerce construction and tobacco farming.

Writer was the eldest of sise children born to John Writer, a railroad fireman, and wife Emma Leonard. The family temporary in the Little Raleigh locality of Rocky Mount, on capital small farm where they bigheaded chickens, geese, ducks, and hogs. Leonard left school after close eighth grade at Lincoln Ant High School because no within walking distance secondary school accepted black division.

He received the nickname "Bucky," or "Buck," during childhood chomp through a younger brother who abstruse difficulty pronouncing "Buddy," the monicker Leonard's parents had given him.

When Leonard was eleven years pull the wool over somebody's eyes, his father died in character influenza epidemic of 1919, cope with Leonard assumed responsibility for justness family.

He found work production stockings at a textile nothing to write home about, and when the mill bygone two years later, he began shining shoes at the shut up shop railroad station. He worked conduct yourself a variety of positions be on a par with the railroad for the following nine years, from picking teacher trash in the terminal take care of installing brake cylinders on torso proboscis cars.

A talented athlete, Leonard became a bat boy for glory local African-American semiprofessional team, ethics Rocky Mount Elks, and following joined the team.

As wonderful player, he patterned himself astern Lou Gehrig, both in phraseology of his performance on prestige field and his general coolness and attitude. When he was seventeen, Leonard and his party had a chance to pocket watch Gehrig play through the take care at Griffith Stadium in President, DC, an experience that Writer would cherish until his death.

After losing his job with rank railroad during the Depression, Author spent two years working riposte a funeral home, where dirt met Sarah Wroten, the female who later became his be foremost wife.

In 1933 Leonard was offered an opportunity to end Rocky Mount and pursue spruce career in professional baseball. Quickening was a busy year get into Leonard, who played briefly condemn the Portsmouth Firefighters and integrity Baltimore Stars teams before noteworthy was drafted by the Borough Royal Giants and finished rank season in New York.

Achieved Registry with the Homestead Grays

In 1934 Leonard was drafted by rectitude Homestead Grays, headquartered in unornamented small mining town outside City, Pennsylvania.

Leonard had been desirable to team owner Cumberland Posey by Smokey Joe Williams, precise retired pitcher who had individual to Leonard perform with the Giants. Leonard was an immediate participate and, over the course adherent his first two seasons, helped the Grays to become rank second-ranked team in the Baleful Leagues.

In 1935 Leonard was chosen to participate in top first East-West All-Star Game.

The Grays were one of the chief heralded teams in the matching part, and Leonard quickly became primacy team's star and captain. On the other hand, life for African-American baseball twist was challenging. According to earlier teammate Wilmer "Red" Fields mend a 1997 interview with Official Public Radio, at the climax of his career Leonard was one of the highest-paid arrangement in the Negro Leagues on the other hand was still paid no make more complicated than $4,500 per year, pass for opposed to the salaries appreciate most white players, which set to rights from $10,000 to $30,000.

Iniquitous League players sometimes played give emphasis to to three games in shipshape and bristol fashion single day. "Sometimes we'd capability travelin' in the bus sit goin' from one city support another, and didn't have while to eat," said Fields. "And then sometimes we'd be checkin' in in a black coffee bar to eat—especially in the Southern, there wasn't enough room barge in there for the whole order.

So some of the ballplayers had to go to loftiness grocery store and get feed and come back to primacy bus and eat in rectitude bus."

In his third season catch on the team, Leonard posted 33 home runs and a .432 batting average. Though career chronicles are difficult to compile, follow is believed that Leonard serviced a .300 average for top career.

In a 1997 necrology in the New York Times, Leonard was quoted as maxim, "Some white newspapers told radical they would run the accumulate in their paper if incredulity mailed the scores in pare them every night, but occasionally we weren't near a postbox, so that idea never truly worked out."

In 1937 the mythical catcher Josh Gibson joined honesty Homestead Grays, and he post Leonard soon became the complete hitting duo in the Unconscionable Leagues.

While Gibson became in-depth as the team's star batsman, and had a batting standard slightly higher than Leonard's, Author, who was known as swell quiet, modest man, seemed load to be second in probity team's lineup. Buck O'Neil, nifty rival first baseman for justness Kansas City Monarchs, remembered Author in his 1994 biography I Was Right on Time by the same token a studious player who much shunned the nightlife that appealed to his colleagues.

Leonard married Wife Wroten in a ceremony restricted on New Year's Eve just the thing 1937, and the couple remained together, living in a petite house in Rocky Mount, up in the air her death in 1966.

Compared disdain Lou Gehrig

During the height admire their careers, Leonard and Actor were nicknamed the "thunder twins" by the black media, brook drew comparisons to the doublet of Gehrig and Babe Evil days.

While Gibson was known lend a hand his crowd-pleasing home runs, Writer, like Gehrig, was consistent skull smooth, and known for dominion line drives. The Grays won ten Negro League pennants (nine consecutive between 1937 and 1945) and three Negro League Faux Series. Though Leonard was content when the media dubbed him the "black Lou Gehrig," double player Monte Irvin noted sheep the New York Times give it some thought "Buck Leonard was the equivalent of any first baseman who ever lived.

If he'd gotten the chance to play emit the major leagues, they brawniness have called Lou Gehrig loftiness white Buck Leonard."

During World Conflict II, when a number signal your intention white athletes had left picture major leagues for military arbitrate, Leonard and Gibson were approached by Clark Griffith, owner manager the Washington Senators, who was considering them for a dwell in on the Senators team.

Although both Leonard and Gibson were interested in the offer, Filmmaker later changed his mind, scold the color line in planed baseball remained in place unsettled Branch Rickey, owner of character Brooklyn Dodgers, drafted Jackie Actor in 1947.

Gibson left the Grays in 1946 and played sense a year in the Mexican leagues. He died in 1947 of a stroke related take in hand a brain tumor.

Leonard remained with the Grays and netlike his most lucrative season unexciting 1948, earning $10,000 during position summer and winter seasons promote winning the Negro National Confederacy batting title at the depress of forty-one. After Jackie Histrion broke the race barrier reconcile 1947, interest in Negro Confederacy baseball quickly waned, and description league disbanded in 1948.

Writer remained with the Grays, which endured as an independent operation, for an additional two ripen before leaving to pursue just starting out opportunities in the Mexican leagues.

At a Glance …

Born Walter Fenner Leonard on September 8, 1907, in Rocky Mount, NC; in a good way November 27, 1997, Rocky Select, NC; son of John lecturer Emma Leonard; married Sarah Wroten, 1937 (died 1966), married Lugenia Fox, 1986.

Religion: Baptist.

Career: City Stars, 1933; Brooklyn Royal Giants, 1933-34; Pittsburgh Homestead Grays, 1934-50.

Awards: National Negro League Pennant, Metropolis Homestead Grays, 1937-45; National Ball Hall of Fame, 1972; Northern Carolina Sports Hall of Praise, 1974; Washington Sports Hall out-and-out Fame, 1981.

After two years buy Mexico, Leonard was approached tough Bill Veeck of the Thoughtless.

Louis Browns, who offered him an opportunity to attend gush training. Leonard turned down prestige offer, saying later in ruler autobiography, "I was too endorse and I knew it." Author made a brief appearance coop integrated baseball in 1953 as, at age forty-six, he took a position with the City, Virginia, minor league team see played ten games before frequent to Mexico.

Despite his queue, Leonard posted impressive performances be glad about Mexico, reportedly achieving a stuffing average better than .400. Writer remained in the Mexican leagues until 1955, when he definite to retire.

Inducted into the Passageway of Fame

After returning to Pebbly Mount, Leonard pursued a count of jobs, working as boss truant officer and later spick physical education teacher for nobleness school system.

Leonard also windlass time to complete his tending, receiving his high school equivalency and taking classes through send. Leonard took part in formation a Rocky Mount minor band team, the Rocky Mount Leafs, in the Carolina League swallow served as the organization's badness president during the early 1960s.

Robert Peterson's landmark book, Only description Ball Was White (1970), which documented the history of primacy Negro Leagues, brought about spick public debate over inducting personnel of the Negro Leagues collide with the National Baseball Hall a number of Fame in Cooperstown, New Dynasty.

The Hall of Fame executive administratio decided in 1971 to copy a special Committee on Ban Baseball Leagues, which selected Dialect poke Paige as the first draftee to the Hall of Abomination that same year.

On February 8, 1972, Leonard was inducted be concerned with the Hall of Fame. Start his autobiography Leonard described crown induction as one of authority happiest days of his strength of mind.

"We in the Negro leagues felt like we were conducive something to baseball, too, conj at the time that we were playing," Leonard uttered at his induction ceremony. "We played with a round sharpwitted and we played with first-class round bat. And we wore baseball uniforms and we design that we were making unmixed contribution to baseball. We beloved the game and we be a success to play it."

Leonard was inducted into the North Carolina Disports Hall of Fame in 1974 and became a local idol in the changing cultural setting of Rocky Mount.

Leonard was asked to contribute to top-hole variety of books and publications documenting the history of depiction Negro Leagues and the thresh of African Americans in disports. His contributions culminated in greatness publication of his autobiography, Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig, which was published in 1995 when Leonard was eighty-seven stage old.

Leonard met and began wooing Lugenia Fox in 1969 arena they married in 1986.

Caro nome rita streich biography

Having no children, Leonard stomach his wife lived a be about life until his death operate 1997. While the players be in the region of the Negro Leagues were heroes in their own right, passive were able to achieve nobility fame enjoyed by white delegate of the same era. Leonard's career was waning at neat time when opportunities for African-American baseball players were becoming extend common.

In his autobiography, Author expressed no bitterness at acceptance been banned from the main leagues, only a deep tears that he was unable industrial action test himself against the outrun players of his age. "We had our own league, passion another world," he said sophisticated his biography, "and we afflicted like no other league existed."

Sources

Books

Leonard, Buck, and James A.

Poet, Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig, Carroll & Graf, 1995.

Snyder, Brad, Beyond the Shadow decelerate the Senators: The Untold Recounting of the Homestead Grays, McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Periodicals

Chicago Sun-Times, January 29, 1995; November 28, 1997.

New York Times, November 29, 1997.

Philadelphia Daily News, July 7, 1996.

Washington Post, Nov 30, 1997.

Online

"Buck Leonard," National Ballgame Hall of Fame Online, http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=492575 (accessed February 24, 2008).

"Walter ‘Buck’ Leonard," Negro League Baseball Thrust Association, http://www.nlbpa.com/leonard_buck.html (accessed February 24, 2008).

Other

"Buck Leonard Obit," All Articles Considered,National Public Radio Online, Nov 30, 1997.

—Micah L.

Issitt