Tasty slices of Chicago sports from our editors
The great Buck O'Neil, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 94, was instrumental in helping bringing many African-American baseball stars to the major leagues, particularly with his connection to the Cubs; Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Lou Brock were Hall of Fame players originally signed by O'Neil. He was also the first black coach in the major leagues, with the Cubs in 1962.
The Chicago Baseball Museum is holding a benefit on Feb. 3 at Benchmark, 1510 N. Wells in Chicago, from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be speakers including former Cubs outfielder and now-author Doug Glanville, and former White Sox pitcher Marvin Freeman, a Chicago native.
Tickets are $75 and can be purchased from the Chicago Baseball Museum website. Hopefully, someday the Hall of Fame will correct its oversight from a few years ago and induct O'Neil, who over a decades-long baseball career did much to advance the cause of racial harmony in baseball.
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Edited by Ricky O'Donnell
Ricky O'Donnell is the editor of SB Nation Chicago. Many moons ago, he founded the Chicago sports blog Tremendous Upside Potential, which updated from 2007-2011. He has worked and written for the Chicago Sun-Times. O'Donnell lives in Bucktown and is a journalism graduate of Columbia College... See my profile
