You already know who Buck Neal was...but many of us don't, or didn't until you posted about his death. There are a hell of a lot of things to keep up with in this world, so I salute you for letting the shallow baseball fans like me know (I mean the shallow thing sincerely, cause I only follow my kids team and the MLB playoffs each year) about his death.
A link that provides a short synopsis of his life is here, for those of us who didn't know about him until your post. Classic example of how "America's game" left a whole shitload of great players behind in the cultural setting at the time.
Reggie Jackson wrote:"What a fabulous human being," Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said Friday night. "He was a blessing for all of us. I believe that people like Buck and Rachel Robinson and Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa are angels that walk on earth to give us all a greater understanding of what it means to be human. I'm not sad for him. He had a long, full life and I hope I'm as lucky, but I'm sad for us."
#44 just said it all.
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
Well, excuuuuuuuse me. They didn't have "the cream" and "the clear" back when ole Buck was playing. Maybe if they had, he'd have "the numbers" and he'd "deserve" to be in the Hall.
Jihad is hump of Islam...and Islam wants to hump us very much.
LTS TRN 2 wrote:Mother Theresa doesn't get in either.
If she did for baseball what Buck O'Niel did, she'd deserve it too.
Baseball may be the most statisticly driven game around, but it's not ALL about the numbers. The HoF recognizes contributions to the game both on and off the field.
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
He should've gotten in because he's an ambassador of the game and a bridge between the dark days (bad pun) of segregation in baseball to today's game where players from all over the globe are playing together. It's a shame he won't be able to witness his eventual enshrinement into the Hall...the stupid voters are going to let him in now out of pity. That's not what he deserved...much respect for Buck and those other great men from the Negro League.
I was out of town yesterday and just got back this afternoon. I hadn't heard any news of this, and only found out after opening todays KC Star and saw this news plastered all over the front page. Even though everyone kind of expected this to happen sooner rather than later, it's still extremely sad and disappointing news.
Buck was a truly beloved figure here, and will be greatly missed. He gave and gave, and then gave some more of himself to enrich the lives of all those around him. He was a joyful person who lived a fulfilling life.
Even though he got hosed by the MLB HOF, he was in life's and now is in God's Hall of Fame.
That's TWO of Five I've gotten in the Death Pool this year! FIrst Lillian Asplund, Titanic survivor, now Buck!
Too bad you got a net 7 points out of those two.
How many points you got?
Feel free to shut the fuck up the next opportunity you get to do so
WacoFan wrote:Flying any airplane that you can hear the radio over the roaring radial engine is just ghey anyway.... Of course, Cirri are the Miata of airplanes..
First, what exactly does an "ambassador to the game" mean? Sure, he was a charming fellow, but regardless of what league he played in--or wasn't allowed to play in--his numbers simply don't add up to Hall Of Fame credentials. Not even close.
Mark Maguire has 580+ bombs, that's it. Forget the 'roids--after all, they weren't illegal when he (obviously) appeared to have taken them (and rejuvenated a properly clanking and sputtering farm-boy power career). Palmeiro is a much tougher decision.
Mother Theresa?...Are you kidding? Please, ANYONE, name one thing she ever did that was in any way productive or helpful to the world--the TEAM (of which you're a member). An ignorant Italian woman, her simple fanatical obeisance to the Church was utterly repugnant. As for the terminally starving Indians she rounded up for her hospices, they had the unexpected experience of what the Church doctrine deems "the beatitude of suffering," wherein any anodines or relief from pain are expressly forbidden, so the penitant victim can so utterly receive the full blessing of a painful death. Conceived in the Dark Ages, this insane paradigm lives on ONLY in the Church's outreach third-world stench-trenches like New Delhi. She had a knack for fundraising, and the Church really appreciated that--even going so far as declaring her a "saint"--complete with a verified Miracle. I'm sure the ex-Nazi "Rotweillor of the Vatican" Pope thinks she was just swell.
LTS TRN 2 wrote:First, what exactly does an "ambassador to the game" mean?
It means he's done a lot for the game. If it has to be explained to you, then you're not smart enough to be debating this subject to begin with. Learn something and get back to us.
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.