Joe Posnanski, author of The Soul of Baseball, spoke to a large crowd at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library today, culminating the library’s program encouraging the community to read the book.

Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, accompanied Posnanski to reminisce about Buck O’Neil and the writing of the book. They shared some great stories and a few interesting insights, the most interesting being about the vote that excluded O’Neil from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Both Posnanski and Kendrick said they believe another vote may come, possibly within the next few years, that would this time enshrine O’Neil into Cooperstown. They didn’t elaborate on where they are getting this information, but they weren’t afraid to say they believe this will happen.

They shared about how they heard of O’Neil’s passing, and about their responsibilities immediately following. They were both called upon to perform official tasks, which required that they hold back their personal emotions for a few hours. They said holding it together was difficult, but that each cried later at the loss of their friend.

I was blessed to meet Mr. Posnanski and to ask him a little about his writing. I plan to try to read some of his other books, including his most recent look at the life and legacy of Harry Houdini. The event also brought together many baseball researchers, writers and enthusiasts from the area, making it a great for me for that reason as well.