By George Castle – CBM Historian on December 21, 2016
Buck O’Neil (left) as an honored baseball senior citizen (photo credit: kc congdon) and (center) as the first African-African American big-league coach, with the Cubs in 1962. At right is Gene Baker first breaking in with the Cubs in 1953. (Baker photo courtesy of the Leo Bauby Collection).
The Chicago Baseball Museum is presenting classic interviews from the archives of CBM historian George Castle’s “Diamond Gems” syndicated weekly baseball radio show, which aired from 1994 to 2010.
In this edition, two former Kansas City Monarchs who moved on to the Cubs in the mid-1950s were re-united via phone — future Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil and ex-infielder Gene Baker. They talked about the challenges of breaking the color line in the majors, including O’Neil bumping into yet another another barrier — becoming a big-league manager.
“The Diamond Gems Flashback” also features photos of the interviewees from the one-of-a-kind Leo Bauby Photo Collection, emphasizing Chicago baseball. Many photos are available to the general public directly on Ebay via seller name Soxphotos soxphotos | eBay.
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Category Vintage Baseball Radio Interviews Tags