Once Touched

It would be the trip of a lifetime, a couple of lifelong Chicago Cubs fans driving to Cooperstown to witness the induction of their favorite player, Ryne Sandberg. I vividly remember the drive, often times along side other Cubs fans making this same hike. I also remember the tire on my car blowing and we needed to buy a new one. I remember so many things about this trip, but one thing continues to stick out. Buck O'Neil.



I honestly knew very little about Buck before this trip. I knew he was a player from the Negro Leagues, and I had an inkling that he was pretty good. I didn't know however, who he really was.

You see, induction week at the Baseball Hall of Fame is unlike anything else. The sport that immortalizes it's greats more than any other sport, one walk down the short 3 or 4 block town that is Cooperstown one can easily become overwhelmed. You see Cooperstown, NY isn't unlike any other small town in America, there is the town Post Office, a General Store, a couple of nice Bed and Breakfast's, and oh yeah, the Baseball Hall of Fame. Induction week however, this town is also littered with baseball fans, media, and Hall of Famers.

The first time I walked up the street I looked at a nice table with groups of people standing around and Yogi Berra just happened to be sitting down with... Willie Mays. It really doesn't take much for one to understand that this is Baseball's heaven, and I was instantly in awe.

I visited Cooperstown for the induction of my favorite baseball player, Ryne Sandberg, the last great player I can remember that displayed class day in day out, as well as never put himself above the base of baseball. He would later that week give one of the best Hall of Fame induction speeches ever given, but there is another event I remember as more rewarding.

As my friend and I were walking the Cooperstown streets one day, an elderly gentleman pointed at my hat and mentioned that we must be here to see Ryno. We replied we were, at which point he went on to talk about baseball, his role in the Cubs organization, and why we were all here. I have heard people talk about baseball before, and they may have been more eloquent when doing so. I have never heard someone talk about baseball with the passion in which Buck O'Neil talked about baseball. Every word spoken, every glance away, this man truly loved this game. Everything that was buck O'Neil, was baseball.

Our conversation and meeting was extremely brief, but it has lasted within me for six and a half years. I walk away from that week with a lot of memories, some of the best times I have ever had. Most importantly I walk away knowing that I spoke to a true legend of the sport. One that has impacted so many others players and others alike. Reggie Jackson once said, "He was a blessing for all of us. I believe that people like Buck and Rachel Robinson and Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa are angels that walk on earth to give us all a greater understanding of what it means to be human." 

I leave you with one last quote, from Buck himself, "I can't remember a time when I did not want to make my living in baseball or a time when that wasn't what I get to do."

Buck and I met but once, for a brief moment, but my take away from him is if you have a dream go after it with as much passion as humanly possible. When you think you've run out, reach back for more and continue to attack.