They Were Stars

Baseball’s opening day is less than one week away. Have you made your plans which ballparks to visit this year? How about the American League Central, Kansas City Royals? What a team! Last year they battled the San Francisco Giants in the World Series through seven exciting games. Casual fans may not realize this but baseball in Kansas City has a lavish tradition. Just ask Johnny.

At 18th and Vine history comes alive at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. Johnny - a docent - was seated in the lobby, a felt fedora atop his head, wearing a fine vest, a large turquoise ring on his right hand, and high gloss shoes, Johnny took the time that day to share the following tale he heard Buck O’Neil spin many times.

“It was the grand opening celebration of the museum, 1990. My personal hero, Buck O’Neil had invited the stars of black baseball; Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Barry Bonds to name a few,” said Johnny as we chatted that Saturday morning. "They all came except for one, who declined. Despite his absence, it was an extraordinary day! John Jordan (Buck) O'Neil, player manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, was the first black coach in major league baseball, Chicago Cubs Scout, and ambassador of the game! He used to sit in these very seats and share memories with fans.”

Purchase your ten dollar ticket, then transport yourself to a world gone by. Enter the museum through an ole’ fashion ballpark turnstile and glance to your left through the back-stop to see the Negro leagues most famous position players frozen in time on the “Field of Legends” practicing their craft. You’ve arrived at the ballpark for first pitch. It’s a warm summer day. Satchel Page of the Kansas City Monarchs is on the mound. It will be a no hitter. Scouting the field is a life-size bronze of Buck O’Neil in the pose made famous in the Ken Burns documentary Baseball.

Here you will see the stars of Negro League baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s. There are many names that come to mind; Andrew “Rube” Foster, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, Josh Gibson, James Thomas “Cool Papa” Bell, Walter “Buck” Leonard, Henry “Hank” Aaron, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, and many more.

Johnny slid his chair back, folded his hands together and continued. "Buck loved to tell the story that during the grand opening, Willie Mays was so moved by the moment he went back to San Francisco and insisted to his Godson – “You get your ass to Kansas City and pay some respect to the players who paved the way for you to play Major League ball. Then one day, about a year later, a big limo pulled up out front with his entourage. You know it was Barry Bonds. He struts into the place all high and mighty but after spending a few hours he left with a tearstained face humbled by the experience.”

Yes, they were all stars.

So, the next time you’re in Kansas City take a ride to 18th and Vine and you, too, will be moved by the experience. You just might get the chance to chat with Johnny. Oh …while you’re there stroll across the lobby to hear the vintage sounds in the Jazz Museum, that’s another story.

Comments

Michele said…

"Cool Papa Bell was so fast he could get out of bed, turn out the lights across the room and be back in bed under the covers before the lights went out." - Josh Gibson

April 20, 2012 at 9:56 AM

We Need Awe More Than Ever

In this episode, Why We Need Awe More Than Ever Yesterday morning, I slipped into the cool stillness of my backyard before dawn. The air was crisp, the silence deep—broken only by the faint rustling of leaves and the familiar calls of birds waking early. Then I looked up. A thin crescent moon hung low in the east, with Venus just above it like a shining jewel. The sky was clear and full of stars, and for a moment, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time: Awe! For thousands of years, the heavens have carried on their steady dance, untouched by human noise. No ruler, no election, no breaking news has ever changed their rhythm. And yet here I was, tempted to reach for my phone—to trade the eternal for the urgent. Instead, I stayed. I watched the moonrise, the sky slowly lighten, and the world around me stir. Ducks passed overhead in a loose V, hummingbirds zipped past to visit their feeder, pausing mid-air as if curious about me sitting so still. Little by little, the static in my mind f...

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...

The Silent Grid–Part Two

In this episode, The Silent Grid – Part Two Sirens split the night as Greenwood went dark. Marvin knew instantly—the blackout wasn’t an accident. It was a warning. In this quiet town, where life once unfolded at a predictable pace, a sleek, intuitive smartphone—a so-called gift from the future —has arrived. But it’s no tool for connection. It’s a silent force, erasing individuality and turning neighbors into something less than human. Marvin Gellborn, a man who values independence, sees the truth. His device isn’t helping; it’s testing him, watching him, and quietly embedding itself into the life of Greenwood. Welcome back to On the Fly . In this week’s episode of The Silent Grid , GridBot tightens its grip. After a hopeful community gathering, Marvin and his robot companion, Norman, notice a troubling absence—the very generation they hoped to reach has vanished into the neon glow of The Signal Box , a youth tech hub pulsing with digital obsession. When Greenwood’s lights vanish, Marvi...

The Pessimism Aversion Trap

In this episode, The Pessimism Aversion Trap Picture this: a room full of bright minds nodding in agreement as a bold new strategy is unveiled. The slides are polished, the vision is grand, and the future, we're told, has never looked brighter. Everyone beams—because who wants to be the one to say, "Um… this might not work"? Heaven forbid someone spoil the mood with a dose of reality. Better to smile, add a buzzword or two, and march confidently toward disaster. That's how the Pessimism Aversion Trap works. Even now, I can still hear the sound—a high-pitched shriek and a digital hum, followed by the slow, rhythmic clatter of data pouring from a 5¼-inch floppy disk. It was the late 1980s, and my makeshift home office (our living room) was dominated by what felt like a marvel of modern engineering: a used Tandy 1000 PC with not one, but two floppy drives. To top it off, we purchased a 'blisteringly fast' 300-baud modem—which, for the uninitiated, could downloa...

On The Fly

Search This Blog