Buck Leonard
Buck Leonard, born Walter Fenner Leonard on September 8, 1907, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, was a prominent first baseman in the Negro Leagues, celebrated for his extraordinary talent and contributions to baseball. Growing up in a segregated society, Buck faced numerous challenges, including limited educational opportunities, but he honed his baseball skills while playing for local teams. He began his professional career in the early 1930s, joining the Homestead Grays in 1934, where he became part of a legendary duo with fellow player Josh Gibson, known as the "Thunder Twins."
Throughout his 15 seasons with the Grays, Leonard helped lead the team to significant victories, including ten Negro National League pennants and three World Series Championships. He was selected to the East-West Negro League All-Star teams ten times and is remembered for his impressive lifetime batting average of .324. Despite his success, Buck's career unfolded during a time when African American players were barred from Major League Baseball due to segregation.
Following the integration of the sport in 1947, Leonard opted not to pursue a major league career, choosing instead to support younger talents. After retiring from baseball at the age of forty-eight, he continued to make impactful contributions to his community as an educator and community leader. Buck Leonard remains a revered figure in baseball history, known for his skill, integrity, and dedication to the sport.
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Subject Terms
Buck Leonard
Baseball Player
- Born: September 8, 1907
- Birthplace: Rocky Mount, North Carolina
- Died: November 27, 1997
- Place of death: Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Sport: Baseball
Early Life
Walter Fenner Leonard was born September 8, 1907, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He was one of six children of John and Emma Leonard. Mr. Leonard, a laborer for the railroad, died when Walter was only twelve years old. Walter was first called “Buck” by a younger brother who could not correctly pronounce “Buddy,” the nickname given to him by his family. Thus, Walter would be forever known as Buck Leonard.
Buck, of African American heritage, attended elementary and high school in the segregated school system of Rocky Mount. As a youth, Buck loved to play baseball with other neighborhood boys, but playing professional baseball was the furthest thing from his mind.
The Road to Excellence
Buck attended Lincoln High School, Rocky Mount’s only high school for African Americans. However, it was only a one-year program. Buck and other black students who wanted to continue their secondary education had to leave Rocky Mount and attend another high school in the state. Buck decided not to continue his education away from home. At the age of fourteen, he obtained a job shining shoes in the town’s railroad station. In his spare time, he continued to play pickup baseball games with neighborhood boys.
From 1924 until 1933, Buck worked as an airbrake mechanic’s helper at the railroad yard in Rocky Mount. On weekends, he played first base for the Rocky Mount Elks, an all-black amateur team. During this time, he worked hard to develop his defensive skills at first base and his offensive skills at the plate.
Buck’s hard work and determination to become a complete ballplayer paid off. In 1933, he was offered a contract of $15 a week to play semiprofessional baseball for the Portsmouth, Virginia, Firefighters. His stay in Portsmouth was brief. Buck’s play for the Firefighters caught the attention of Negro League star and manager Ben Taylor, who at that time was coaching the Baltimore Stars. Taylor offered Buck his first professional contract at a salary of $125 a month to play for the Stars. Shortly thereafter, financial problems forced the Stars to fold. Buck finished the 1933 season in New York, playing for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, unsure about his future in baseball.
The Emerging Champion
In 1934, Buck was invited to try out with the Negro League Homestead Grays, a professional team located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His play at first base and his power at the plate helped him to gain a spot on the roster. He filled this spot for the Grays the next fifteen seasons.
Buck quickly established himself as one of the premier players in the Negro Leagues. In 1937, National Baseball Hall of Fame member Josh Gibson rejoined the Homestead Grays and teamed up with Buck. By this time, the Grays were playing their home games at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.
Except for Josh Gibson’s brief stay in the Mexican League, for the next ten years, Buck and Josh teamed up to become the most feared tandem in the history of the Negro Leagues. Known to their fans as the “Thunder Twins,” they were often compared to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
Buck and Josh were once called into the office of Clark Griffith, the owner of the Washington Senators, to explore the possibility of playing in the major leagues. Nothing happened as a result of the meeting, and the two superstars remained obscure to most Major League Baseball fans.
During his career with the Grays, Buck’s inspirational play led the team to ten Negro National League pennants and three Negro League World Series Championships. He was a fan favorite and selected to the East-West Negro League all-star teams ten times, an all-star record. During this competition, Buck batted .317 against the Negro Leagues’ best pitchers and held the all-star record of 3 home runs.
During his fifteen-year career with the Grays, Buck compiled a lifetime batting average of .324 and was consistently among the Negro League leaders in batting average and home runs. He also was one of the highest paid players in the Negro Leagues. In the early 1940’s, he made nearly $1,100 a month.
Continuing the Story
In 1947, the color barrier of Major League Baseball was finally broken when Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Integration was the beginning of the end of the Negro Leagues. With the integration of Major League Baseball came the quick demise of the Grays and other Negro League teams.
In 1952, Buck was offered a chance to play for the major-league St. Louis Browns. He declined the invitation, knowing that, because of his age, his skills were not what they once were. He did not want to hurt the chances of other young African Americans who had the dream of playing in the major leagues.
From 1950 until 1955, Buck played in the winter leagues of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, and during the summers, he played in the Mexican Leagues. In 1953, Buck briefly returned to the United States to play ten games at first base for Portsmouth of the Class B Piedmont League.
At the age of forty-eight, Buck retired from baseball and returned to Rocky Mount. As he had made his mark on baseball, he continued to make a mark on his community. He served as a truant officer, physical education instructor, and director of Rocky Mount’s baseball entry into the Class A Carolina League, and was the owner of a realty agency.
Summary
Buck Leonard was one of the greatest ballplayers of the Negro Leagues. His offensive and defensive skills earned him a reputation as a multitalented player. Unfortunately for fans and players, like other stars of the Negro Leagues, he played in an era of segregated baseball; black players with professional skills could not play in the major leagues. He is remembered warmly by his teammates, opponents, and fans for his consistency and dependability as a player. He was a champion in the truest sense of the word.
Bibliography
Freedman, Lew. African American Pioneers of Baseball: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007.
Koppett, Leonard, and David Koppett. Koppett’s Concise History of Major League Baseball. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004.
Leonard, Buck, and James A. Riley. Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1995.