Buck O'Neill hospitalized

[Mattingly]

I haven't a link, but just heard it on the newsradio. WCBS 880 AM in the NYC area.

[bbdata]

Buck was released after a few days, and the Negro League Museum executives said that his activity would be limited. Since then he has not been seen publicly, and Brian McRae commented on last Sunday's Royals' telecast that Buck did not attend last week's Buck O'Neil golf tournament for the first time. The other announcers seemed to not know anything about his condition.

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Buck was hospitalized again on Sept. 16. The reason, according to Negro Hall of Fame officials, is exhaustion. A column last week by Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski indicated that Buck is having difficulty speaking loudly enough to be understood, although he is aware of his surroundings and recent local sports events.

[Solair Wright]

Buck O'Neill's health took a turn for the worse. From MLB.com:

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060929&content_id=1689253&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

KANSAS CITY -- Negro leagues great Buck O'Neil took a turn for the worse late Thursday but was resting comfortably in a Kansas City hospital Friday, friends said.

The 94-year-old O'Neil was admitted to the hospital Sept. 17 with extreme fatigue. O'Neil, one of the driving forces in the creation of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, has lost his voice and can only whisper.

Bob Kendrick, marketing director for the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, said Friday that since O'Neil took a turn for the worse Thursday night there had been no change in his condition.

"The last report I got was that he was still very much aware of what's going on around him," Kendrick said. "We hope that remains the same and the outlook will be good."

A former Negro leagues batting champion and player-manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, O'Neil holds many distinctions in his long career. In February, he fell one vote short of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[hudsonharden]

It's a shame they couldn't have inducted him last year. No doubt he will be put in this year, but it will most likely be posthumously. It's a shame.

[Mattingly]

I don't have any updates on his physical health, but I'll wish him well and hope that he can grace the good Earth for several more years to come.

I found this article on espn:

Museum planned for Buck O'Neil gets donations (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2611971)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Donations are coming in for a building honoring Buck O'Neil, the ailing 94-year-old Negro Leagues great.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City started a campaign in August to raise at least $1 million toward construction of the Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center. Organizers hope the target is met by Nov. 11, when a party is planned to mark O'Neil's 95th birthday.

Museum spokesman Bob Kendrick said about $100,000 has arrived, with at least $65,000 coming in since Sept. 17, the day O'Neil was hospitalized for extreme fatigue. He remained hospitalized Tuesday.

"There's been a sense of urgency," Kendrick said. "Hopefully, there's a way that Buck can still be there for that celebration. Heaven forbid, but if something were to happen between now and then we would still celebrate his life."

O'Neil, a former player-manager of the Kansas City Monarchs and the first black to serve as a major-league coach, fell one vote short of admission into the Hall of Fame in February.

The Education and Research Center, a $15 million museum expansion project, would include classrooms, a research library, a technology center and exhibit space. What isn't raised through private donations would be covered by state and federal help, organizers say. The research center is to be completed late next year.

[OOSL]

Buck died tonight.

God bless him, he was a wonderful man.

[rsuriyop]

I am so angry with the committee that words cannot express how I truly feel right now.

RIP, Buck... your significance certainly goes far beyond what they saw in you anyway.