Buck Leonard

What can I say about this classiest of individuals.

Elected to the baseball HOF in 1972, the third Negro Leaguer inducted after Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson.

He was the mirror image of Lou Gehrig, only he was black. He was a left handed hitter, and according to Monte Irvin, Buck was the best fastball hitter he'd ever seen. To show how dangerous he was, he hit clean-up behind Josh Gibson who batted third. Buck played in 11 all star games, the most by anyone. He was a lifetime .346 hitter and RBI machine.

I met Buck in my travels. He lived in Rocky Mount, North Carolina with his wife, Jean. I visited him on numerous occasions. A few years before we met, he was stricken with a stroke and had to relearn how to write with his other hand and he had to walk with a cane.

He had a room decorated with his memorabilia and his memories which he loved to show off. Buck and I would sit on big cushy leather chairs in his hallway, which was set up as a TV room, and would chat away. He couldn't carry on a complete conversation, but he would understand everything and I could understand him just by being patient. We really hit it off. He was a well respected man and had been through so much in his life. He worked on the railway, he was a truant officer, and he was a Physical Ed. teacher. He was an elegant man who was one of my biggest boosters when I needed a boost while putting together the NLBPA with my co-founder.

Buck would tell me that on the Homestead Grays team bus, they would sing four part harmony and would hang their jerseys outside the windows as they traveled to dry the flannel uniforms during the heat of summer. One of his proudest moments was when the manager asked him to divide the per diem money with the players. It was a sign of respect, and there wasn't anyone who deserved it more.

The last time I saw Buck was at his 90th birthday party in Rocky Mount, N.C. It was a very sad party as Buck was very emotional and I felt as if he knew his end was near. I hugged him at the party as tears welled up in his eyes and mine. He loved life, and I loved him. He was such an incredible man who I was lucky enough to know very well.