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

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

Patience – the Only First-Class Ticket

In this episode, Why Patience is the Only First-Class Ticket They say travel broadens the mind. After eight days sailing the Rhône with 140 fellow luxury vacationers, I can confirm it also tests patience, calf strength, buffet strategy, and one's tolerance for people furious that France insists on being French. Don't get me wrong—I adored this trip. The river shimmered like liquid optimism. The villages looked hand-painted. The pastries could negotiate world peace. But somewhere between Ship Horn Hello and Bon Voyage, we'd inadvertently boarded a floating behavioral research study disguised as a holiday. Our ship was less a cruise and more a ferry for the Sailors of Status. ⌚ The Wristwatch Wars Some passengers approached relaxation like yogis. Others treated leisure like a final exam with extra credit. I came to believe certain luxury watches emit ultrasonic signals that only their owners can detect. A frequency calibrated to trigger rapid movement toward any line forming...
1 comment
Read more

Up the Rhône

Up the Rhône by Patrick Ball We booked a fine cruise up the Rhône — what a treat! With iPhones, lanyards, and schedules so neat. They promised us peace and a mind that would mend, But each calm beginning had chores at the end! "Now breakfast at seven! At eight, take the view!" At nine, there's a lecture on ' What Tourists Do!' At noon, there's a tasting (you must love the cheese), Then hurry to nap time — as corporate decrees! I followed that plan till my patience ran dry. The Rhône softly chuckled, "Oh my, oh my, my! You've missed half my sparkles, my ripples, my tone— You're busy pretending you've peacefully grown!" So I fired my planner and banished my clock. I tossed my agenda right off the dock! I let the wind tickle my schedule away, and drifted through hours that danced where they may. I chatted with swans, had no notion of when, I'd nibble, or nap, or go roaming again. No Wi-Fi! No meetings! No planning! No fuss! Just me and ...
1 comment
Read more

When "Not Working" Becomes Your Actual Job

✨ In this episode. The Unscheduled Life: When "Not Working " Becomes Your Actual Job L'horloge du café est détraquée, le serveur s'en fiche et moi, j'essaie. Somewhere between the third sip of espresso and the second croissant, it occurs to me: doing nothing is the hardest work of all. The question on the table this morning, as I sip this slightly-too-strong French espresso, is deceptively simple: How does one define "vacation"? The conventional answer—an enduring triumph of corporate minimalism—is: "Not Working." But that tidy phrase immediately opens a philosophical can of worms. When is life working , and when is it not ? If the highest measure of vacation is simply the absence of labor, then most of our existence amounts to a relentless, unpaid internship for a job we never applied for. We've been conditioned to believe that life works when it's maximally efficient, tightly scheduled, and aimed at the shimmering horizon of "...
Post a Comment
Read more