Buck O’Neil, in The Soul of Baseball, attends a funeral for a fellow Negro Leaguer. The topic of death underlies much of the book, because O’Neil’s contemporaries were passing away in great numbers at the time of the book’s writing. As the former players were dying, O’Neil fought to make sure their careers were remembered.
My study to write the book Legacy led me to meet a lot of interesting people and to some interesting experiences. At the top of the list was helping a group place a headstone on the grave of “Topeka Jack” Johnson.
Johnson was a black baseball stalwart during the beginning of the 20th century. But he was more than that. He was a fine player, but an even better promoter and manager, as well as a boxer, fitness trainer, policeman, fireman, and pillar of the Topeka community.
Jeremy Krock, head of the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project, traveled to Topeka for the ceremonial unveiling of the headstone. I was fortunate enough to record the event for the Topeka Capital-Journal:
You can join in remembering the men of the Negro Leagues by reading The Soul of Baseball. The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is sponsoring a community read of book, and has dozens of copies available. I will participate in a group discussion of the book on Feb. 16. Then author Joe Posnanski will be at the library on Feb. 17 to talk about O’Neil, the book and his experiences.