Nearly the first to integrate the majors, Monte Irvin was dealt a blow by WWII
“The Giants did talk about signing me in 1945. It was right around the same time as Jackie. But I wasn’t ready […]
Here’s why Buck O’Neil isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Who is in?
A dominant theme at the end of Buck O’Neil’s life, and since his death, is his exclusion from the Baseball Hall of […]
The Soul of Baseball: Remembering Negro Leaguers like “Topeka Jack” Johnson
Buck O’Neil, in The Soul of Baseball, attends a funeral for a fellow Negro Leaguer. The topic of death underlies much of […]
Know Why Buck O’Neil Was Called ‘Nancy?’
If you know anything at all about Buck O’Neil, you probably know the following, perhaps in this order: 1) he has a […]
Family First: O’Neil book recognized the Hairston family
One common theme throughout Joe Posnanski’s The Soul of Baseball is the value Buck O’Neil placed on the relationship between fathers and […]
Fear of Forgetting: Like all of us, Buck O’Neil feared the loss of his precious memories
Sadly, I don’t have a lot of memories from my childhood, nor from high school. I have vague general impressions of what […]
African-American scouts and coaches were inspired by Buck O’Neil
In The Soul of Baseball, Joe Posnanski retells the romantic tale of how Buck O’Neil discovered and scouted Oscar Gamble in the […]
The sadness of aging and the Soul of Baseball
As I read The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski, I realize it’s not really a book about baseball. It’s a book […]
The Soul of Baseball conjures images of the Kansas City Jazz District
One of the interesting unexpected benefits of my study of Negro League baseball the past several years has been my introduction to […]
Topeka library sponsors community read – join me in the discussion of The Soul of Baseball
The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library plans for a group read/discussion of The Soul of Baseball, by Joe Posnanski. The library […]