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Buck O'Neil inducted into Hall of Famous Missourians

(l-r) Mo. House Speaker Steven Tilley (R, Perryville), former KC Royals player Frank White, and Negro Leagues Museum President Bob Kendrick, unveil a bust of KC Monarchs legend Buck O'Neil.
(Tim Bommel/Mo. House Communications)
(l-r) Mo. House Speaker Steven Tilley (R, Perryville), former KC Royals player Frank White, and Negro Leagues Museum President Bob Kendrick, unveil a bust of KC Monarchs legend Buck O'Neil.

Major League Baseball's first black coach has been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians.

The late Buck O'Neil, who played first base for the Kansas City Monarchs and went on to become a leading ambassador for Negro Leagues Baseball, was praised by former Kansas City Royals player Frank White and others during a ceremony Monday.

A bronze bust of O'Neil will now be included in a display at the Capitol.

O'Neil died in 2006 at the age of 94. He played 11 seasons with the Monarchs and was later hired as a scout by the Chicago Cubs, who made him the first black major league coach in 1962.

He became a scout for the Royals in the late 1980s and raised money for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum