Skip to main content

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

In this episode, The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum . . .


Baseball fans, Major League Spring Training started on March 17, 2022. (My Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox) Opening day is less than one month away. My question to you is this, "Have you made plans which ballparks to visit this year?"

How about the American League Central, Kansas City Royals? Casual fans may not realize this, but baseball in Kansas City has a grand tradition. Just ask Johnny.

At 18th and Vine, history comes alive at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. A few years ago, while in Kansas City, I met Johnny. A dapper museum docent, seated in the lobby, sporting a fedora, wearing a fine vest, a large turquoise ring on his right hand, and high gloss polished shoes, Johnny took the time that day to share the following tale he heard baseball legend Buck O'Neil spin many times.

"It was the grand opening celebration of the museum, 1990. My 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 a memorable day! John Jordan (Buck) O'Neil, Hall-of-Fame (2022) player-manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, was the first black coach in major league baseball, Chicago Cubs Scout, and ambassador! "He used to sit in these very seats and share memories with fans.". . .

Imagine this; purchase your ten-dollar ticket, then transport yourself into a world gone by. Enter the museum through an ole' fashion ballpark wooden turnstile and glance to your left through the backstop 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 the 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. Many names 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.

"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 (Barry Bonds) – "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 tear-stained face humbled by the experience."

Yes, they were all-stars.

So, this year plan a trip to Kansas City, catch a game at Kauffman Stadium, then take a ride to 18th and Vine; 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.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

The Compass of Cuba: Mom

🎄  Preview of this week's  On the Fly  blog: A Holiday Tribute to Mom. As the holidays hustle with pixels and beeps, the world scrolls along in a smartphone-y sleep. I log off for a moment—just one little minute— To breathe in the past and to sit myself in it. My mind doesn’t wander to faraway places, Or trips full of tickets and new airport faces. Instead, it drifts backward, as memories do, to Cuba, Illinois, where the best moments grew. To a home full of warmth, in the wintry Midwest, Where my mother—dear “Marcie”—put love to the test. With a smile that could melt the most frigid of dawns, and hugs that hung on you like shivering fawns. She came from La Rochelle in France, brave and bright, Across oceans and war shadows, into new light. A town full of strangers soon felt like her own, And her courage built up the foundation of home. “Oh yes, we know Marcie!” the locals would say— “It's Doc Ball’s French lady! She brightens the day!” She cleaned, and she cooked, and sh...
2 comments
Read more

Feeling Human Again

In this episode, The Unexpected Thankfulness of Feeling Human Again I’ll be honest with you: My triumphant return from France was not the glamorous homecoming I had imagined. No graceful glide back into routine. No cinematic jet-setter moment where I lift my suitcase off the carousel and wink at life like we’re old pals. Instead? I came home and immediately launched into a two-week performance piece titled The Great American Couch Collapse. My days blurred together in a haze of soup, hot tea, tissues, and desperate negotiations with the universe for just one nostril—one!—to function properly. The living room sofa became my emotional support furniture. And any creative idea that dared tiptoe into my congested brain was gently shown the exit with a firm but courteous, “Not today, friend. Try again later.” When life hits the pause button like that—when you’re exhausted, sick, and mentally unplugged—how do you find your spark again? Somehow, today, I felt it. A tiny shift. A clearing of th...
1 comment
Read more

A Holiday Reflection–Mother's Love

In this episode,  How a Mother’s Love Built My Memories– A Holiday Reflection As this holiday season approaches and the world buzzes with shopping, planning, and busy schedules, I find myself embracing something wonderfully simple: taking a moment to pause. Not to check off a list or recharge devices, but to breathe deeply, remember fondly, and honor the person and place that have shaped my sense of home long before I had the words for it. This year, after regaining my strength from a lingering post-travel fog, my mind didn’t wander to exotic destinations or future adventures. It drifted backward—across oceans and time—to Cuba, Illinois, in the early 1960s, and to the woman whose love built the foundation of my world: Mauricette Elaine (Bontemps) Ball. My Mom . We came to Cuba after leaving La Rochelle, France, in 1959—a transition so dramatic I only appreciate its enormity now. My mother, barely in her mid-twenties, stepped off that plane and into the Midwest with a courage that s...
1 comment
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more