Ted Williams : Hall of Fame induction speech - 1966

Thank you. Thank you all. From the bottom of my heart.

Today, I'm thinking of a lot of things. I'm thinking of my old playground director in San Diego, California. Rodney Luscombe. My old high school coach Woz Caldwell. My managers who had such patience with me and helped me so much. Those like Frank Shellenback, my first manager in San Diego, 1936, Donny Bush, who was my manager after Red Sox, bought me and farmed me out to Minneapolis. Joe Kronman, who I can't say enough wonderful things about, and he knows, and I know how important he was to me. I'm thinking of Tom Yarky and I've always said it and I'd like to repeat it again today. That to me, Tom Yarky is the greatest owner in baseball. And I was lucky to have played on the club he owned. And I'm grateful here for his being here today. But I'm not, not belittling if I'd have left it at that, because ball players are not born great.

They're not born hitters or pitchers or managers. And luck isn't the key factor. No one has come up for a substitute for hard work. I've never met a great baseball player who didn't have to work harder at learning to play baseball than anything else he ever did.

To me, it was the greatest fun I ever had, which probably explains why today I feel both humility and pride because God let me play the game and to learn to be good at it. Proud because I've spent most of my life in the company of so many wonderful people. There are plaques dedicated to baseball men of all generations, and I'm privileged to join them.

Baseball gives every American boy a chance to excel, not just to be as good as someone else, but to be better than someone else. This is the nature of man and the name of the game, and I've always been a very lucky guy to have worn a baseball uniform, to have struck out or hit a tape major home run. And I hope that someday the names of Satchell Page and Josh Gibson in some way can be added as a symbol, the great Negro players that are not here, only because they were not given a chance. And I know Casey Stengel feels the same way, and I'm awfully glad to be with him on this big day. I also know I'll lose a dear friend if I don't stop.

And that is unforgettable. So in closing, I'm grateful and I know how lucky I was to have been born in America and had a chance to play the game I loved. The greatest game of them all. Baseball.

Frank Thomas: 'You can't win any game without teammates, and I had the best of them', Baseball Hall of Fame induction - 2014

27 July 2014, Cooperstown, New York, United States

Give me a second. Thank you, Mr. Commissioner, Ms. Jane Forbes Clark.

Today I would like to thank the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the baseball writers for selecting me as a first ballot selection in this 2014 Hall of Fame class. I'm so humbled and honored to be a part of this historic class of first ballot Hall of Famers. To share the stage in front of all the legendary men who made the game better for us all, I'm speechless.

I want to personally thank you all for being great role models and making this great game what it is today. Hard work, dedication and commitment. No short cuts to success, thanks for having me in your Club.

I would like to thank my parents, Charlie Mae Thomas, who’s here today, and the late Frank Thomas, Sr., for giving me the love and support that keep me involved in team sports in a lovely town Columbus, Georgia.

I would also like to thank my parents for working so hard to instill core values to make the best of life. We didn't have much but my parents worked tireless for me and my four siblings. Frank Sr., I know you're watching and smiling from heaven. Without you, I know 100 percent I wouldn't be here in Cooperstown today.

Thanks for pushing me and always preaching to me: You can be someone special if you really work at. I took that to heart, Pops. Look at us today. We're a long way from Columbus, Georgia. Mom, thanks for hanging in there and believing in the same vision. I know it wasn't easy, but I thank you for the motherly love and support.

Raising all of us was tough, but you and Dad made sure we made it. You guys made it look easy for us. I thank you and I love you, Mom.

I would now like to thank my beautiful wife, Megan, and my five wonderful children: Sterling, Sloan, Sydney, Frankie and Ashleigh Kate for making life so unforgettable for me. I know all five of you are different, and all five of you complete me day by day.

That's what makes me feel so blessed. You guys are my everything. There are no words to describe how much I love you guys.

I especially want to say thanks, Megan, for coming into my life 15 years ago. When we met, life was throwing me a curveball, one I could not hit. But meeting you really put pep in my step and made me believe in love again.

I thank you for teaching me the value of family first. You took my three older kids immediately as your own and changed my world forever. I know this wasn't easy but you proved your love for me from day one. I'm so blessed to be married to such a wonderful person. You complete me; I love you baby.

I would like to thank my siblings for all the love and support. My older sister, Gloria, Mary, Sharon and Michael. I can't name all my extended family and friends, I know you’re here, and I love you guys, but thank you for coming.

My older brother, Michael, thanks for being my best friend and for always having my back. Mike World, I can tell you everything and you always have advice for me, some good some and some bad, but thanks for being honest. I love you, Bro.

In life, you have infrastructure. I would like to thank my team who has kept me grounded and in touch with reality from day one. First, the late Robert Fraley. I know you're not here, my friend, but thanks for watching my career and giving me professional guidance you gave me. It's priceless.

Robert, you once said to me, "Life is not fair. You have to work hard and earn your respect." You were so right. I thank you for being honest with me. I know you're somewhere in heaven directing traffic because that's what true leaders do.

I would like to thank Frank Bumstead. I thank you for becoming my father figure in my life after I lost my father. Robert Fraley introduced us, and without you, I have no clue where I would be today. I love you, man. Taryn Anderson, thank you for dealing with me on a daily basis, keeping me straight. I appreciate everything you do, because I know it's not easy. Thank you.

And Lisa Rybicki, I thank you for managing my life for 16 long years. Without you, my career could have fell off a long time ago. I thank you for keeping everyone in check. You did a wonderful job. Thank you, Lisa.

Also like to thank Arn Tellum and Joel Wolf for picking up the pieces later in my career and guiding me to new beginnings in Oakland and Toronto. I thank you guys.

Now, I would like to thank the Chicago White Sox organization for drafting me into professional baseball. Special thanks to Jerry Reinsdorf, Eddie Einhorn, Larry Himes, Al Goldis, Howard Pizer and Mike Rizzo for taking a chance on a kid from a small town with many big dreams.

Jerry, thanks for a long and wonderful ride in that Chicago White Sox uniform. You did a lot for me and you still mean a lot to me. Thank you, my friend.

Also I would like to thank all my general managers and managers along the way in Chicago: Ron Schuler, Danny Evans, Jeff Torborg, Gene Lamont, Terry Bevington and Kenny Williams, Jerry Manuel and a special thanks to Ozzie Guillen, 11 years as a teammate, three years as a manager, and I can thank you for getting me my only ring because we had that special bond for many years. I thank you, Ozzie, thank you very much.

A special thanks goes out to Ken Hawk Harrelson. Hawk thanks for penning me the Big Hurt. Your nickname for me really changed my life forever.

Hawk, I’d also like to thank you for being a friend and a source of guidance all those years on the plane, through the ups and downs, through the good and bad times, it was priceless picking your brain. Thank you, Hawk.

I would like to thank the Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays for believing in me as a free agent and signing me into their organizations. Lou Wolf, Billy Beane, Dave Forrest, thanks for taking a chance on me, twice. That 2000 season was magical. Without it, I doubt I would be speaking here today.

JP Richardi, Alex Anthopoulos, I thank you and the wonderful Toronto organization for bringing me to Toronto. Hitting No.500 in that Blue Jay uniform was a dream. Thanks for taking a chance on a 39 year old, I really appreciate that.

In my career, I had so many magical moments in all three uniforms. It was a career filled with great memories and great people in all three great organizations. I will always be thankful for all of you. I would like to thank all the coaches who really made me tick and put in many hours of hard work with me.

You know I couldn't forget you guys. Bobby Howard, I know you're here somewhere, it started with you. You made me grow up in a hurry. Your no nonsense approach to the game was needed at an early age. Winning was the only option. You preached that and you made me work for it. Playing for you set my foundation for life. Love you and I thank you.

I would like to thank Pat Dye, Jay Jacobs, Hal Baird, under your guidance at Auburn University I became a man and you guys pushed me to new heights and instilled toughness and a will to win that I really never knew existed.

Coach Barrett, thanks for treating me like a pro before my time. I thank you, my friend. I know I couldn't make it here today, but I thank you.

Coach Dye, it's the same. I know you couldn't make it either, but I really thank you for letting me play both sports. The decision changed my life. I thank you for letting me follow my dreams. Your passion for what's right led me to my current package in baseball. I thank you Coach Dye and War Damn Eagle.

And this is a tough one. I have a special love for this man, Walt Hriniak, my favorite hitting coach of all time. I thank you for being honest from day one. You taught me to only want to be the best. You would always say to me, "Anyone could be good, Frank. But the special ones want to be great." Our work sessions were very consistent every day. It didn't matter if we were 10 for 10 or 0 for 10. It was the same process every day, no free lesson. Consistency and dedication was what made you tick, and I'm so grateful for your tutelage.

Having you first in the big leagues made it difficult for me when you left. Preparation for games wasn't the same any more, but I can always remember you saying, "Keep your f'ing head down and finish, Frank."

Thanks, Walter. Without you, I know I wouldn't be here in Cooperstown here today. Thanks to my other coaches who put in time with me. Sorry I can't ramble all day. I've been told by the rookie has to hurry you have.

Doug Mansolino, Mike Gellinger, Ron Jackson, Greg Walker, Gary Ward, Tom Pachoriek, Gerald Perry, Ron Washington, Ken Macha, John Gibbons, Mickey Bradley, Wallace Johnson,Dave Laroche, Joe Nossek, Cave Man Art Kushner, Mark Salas, Tommy Thompson, the late Kevin Hickey, Chet Demedio, Steve Odgers, Walt Pasternak, Allen Thomas, Clarence Cockrell and Donovan Santas and a special thanks to my friend and coach, Jim Fannin, I know you're here somewhere, Jim. You told me to live in the zone, on and off the field, and even today, I thank you, Buddy.

A heartfelt thanks to all my trainers. Thanks for all the hard work getting me to the post every day. Herm Schneider, I thank you for all the overtime you put in with me, 16 years of TLC. Hermie, thanks my man, you gave me the best professional care year in and year out. I'm so appreciative of you.

Mark Anderson, Brian Ball, Larry Davis, Steve Soupy Sales, Walt Horn, George Poulis - my main man George Poulis, Dave Abraham, Scott Takoe, Amy George and Tim Soder, I thank all of you for your help along the way. Just like to say special thanks to my clubhouse managers, I know they never get any love. Clubhouse managers, pr managers, traveling secretaries; the late Chicken Willie Thompson, Vinnie Fresso, Gabe Morrell, Steve Vuchinich, Jeff Ross, Scott Refeirt, Jay Steinhouse, Glen Rosenbaum, Mickey Morabtio, Mike Shaw, I thank you all for taking care of me. You're all great at what you do. Thanks for all the love.

I want to have a special thanks to all my doctors, I couldn't include all of you today, but a few of you, I'd like to say, thanks again, James Boscardin, Dr. Price, Lowell Wyle, Sr. Dr. Elliot Schwartz, I know Elliot is here. Thank you for what you did for me in Oakland, you're a friend and buddy.

But I have to say one special thank you to Dr. Richard Ferkel. Yes, Dr. Ferkel is here. You repaired my navicular fracture when everyone said I was done. I was sitting at 452 home runs and you looked at me and said, "I'm going to get you back on the field." You never doubted putting me back there and you helped me finish my career. And getting to Cooperstown, I never thought it would happen. I thank you, you mean so much to me and you mean more to me now as a friend. Thank you, Dr. Ferkel.

Getting here was a reflection of my teammates. You can't win any game without teammates, and I had the best of them. Over 850 of them in my time. Getting here as a series of reflections of their talents. I don't have all day here, I only have ten minutes and I might be over – I’m sorry, I'm an emotional guy because I wear my heart on my sleeve. So I'm going to give my guys a verbal montage, please bear with me.

Please bear with me: One Dog, Rock, Grabek, R.V., Ozzie, Joey, Pudge, Karko, Psycho Lyons, Bo, Ellis, Black Jack, the Deacon, Sugar Ray, Alex, Wilson, Bere, Roberto, Thiggy, James Baldwin, Billy Bob, Buehrle, Hot Rod – thanks for the program Hot Rod. D. Bo., Magglio, Carlos, Rowand, Jermaine Dye. He’s here today along with Aaron Rowand. Ivan, Phil, Paulie, Crede, Uribe, Charles Johnson, Sandy, T. Phillips, Harold, Melido, Howry, Foulke, Mike Jackson, Flash, Kenny, Sandy, A.J., Robbie, McElroy, Marullo, Spanky, Julio, Willie Chill, Singleton, Mouton, Davey, El Duque, Fordyce, Leifer, G. Bell, C. Everett, Danny Pasqua, D.J., McCaskill, Paul, Huff, Valentin, Abbott, Devereaux, Kammy Kam (mentioned him twice by accident), John Kruk, Sirotka, Magrane, Freeman, Krueter, Norton, Tartabull, D. Lew, Scott Eyre, Navarro, Bradford, Castillo, Mark Johnson, Garland, Lowe, Eldred, Graffanino, Marte, Bartolo, Cotts, Glover, Loaiza, Contreras, Freddy, Politte. I know it’s long. Sorry. Jenks, Lee, B.A., Podsednik, Blanton, Kiko, Duke, Gaudin, Harden, Haren, Kotsay, The late Joe Kennedy. He left us too soon and was a special friend of mine. Saarloos, Huston, Zito, Kendall, Melhuse, Swisher, Chavy, Crosby, Ellis, D.J., Scutaro, Milton, Kielty, J. Payton, Doc Halladay, Accardo, A.J., Downsie, Frasor, Rios, Casey, League, McGowan, Marcum, B.J., Towers, A. Hill, Vernon, Johnny Mac, Orlando, Reed, Raja and Big Red.

Yeah, it was real. You guys are my family away from home. I miss all of you, I’m glad to have known all of you, I’m sorry I couldn’t name the rest of you guys. I’d probably be getting hit on the head right now from the guys in the back, but I thank you man.

In closing I would like to say thank you to the city of Chicago. You guys make the Big Hurt who he was in the greatest sport town in America. I know I'm biased, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment playing for you all. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Oakland and Toronto, I thank you for great fan bases, also making me feel at home. It was short lived but I appreciate the love from both of you great cities.

To all you kids out there, just remember one thing from today. There are no shortcuts to success. Hard work, dedication, commitment, stay true to who you are. God bless you all, and I thank you.

Bob Uecker: 'My mother and father were on an oleo margarine run to Chicago back in 1934', Fricke Award, Baseball Hall of Fame - 2003

27 July 2003, Cooperstown, New York, USA

Thank you, Joe, thank you very much. And thank you ladies and gentlemen. And my congratulations to Hal (McCoy / winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in 2003), Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, and to all of the members of the staff of the Hall of Fame, thank you very much. This has been a wonderful, wonderful time.

I, in deference to Hal McCoy, was asked to quit many times.

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Actually, I was born in Illinois. My mother and father were on an oleo margarine run to Chicago back in 1934, because we couldn't get colored margarine in Wisconsin. On the way home, my mother was with child. Me. And the pains started, and my dad pulled off into an exit area, and that's where the event took place. I remember it was a nativity type setting. An exit light shining down. There were three truck drivers there. One guy was carrying butter, one guy had frankfurters, and the other guy was a retired baseball scout who told my folks that I probably had a chance to play somewhere down the line.

I remember it being very cold. It was January. I didn't weigh very much. I think the birth certificate said something like ten ounces. I was very small. And I remember the coldness on my back from the asphalt. And I was immediately wrapped in swaddling clothes and put in the back of a '37 Chevy without a heater. And that was the start of this Cinderella story that you are hearing today.

I did not have a lot of ability as a kid, and my dad wanted me to have everything that everybody else had. I think the first thing that he ever bought me was a football. And I was very young. He didn't know a lot about it, he came from the old country. I mean, we tried to pass it and throw it and kick it, and we couldn't do it. And it was very discouraging for him and for me. Almost, we almost quit. And finally we had a nice enough neighbor, came over and put some air in it, and what a difference.

I got a lot of my ability from my father. As a lot of these other guys did. My father actually came to this country as a soccer player. He didn't play, be blew up the balls is what he did. And they didn't have pumps in those days. And to see a man put that valve in his mouth and insert it into a soccer ball, and blow thirty pounds of air. And then have the ability to pull that thing out without it fracturing the back of his mouth was unbelievable. You had to see his neck and his veins popping. It was unbelievable. How proud I was as I watched him do it time after time.

My first sport was eighth grade basketball. And my dad didn't want to buy me the supporter johnny, you know, to do the job. So my mother made me one out of a flour sack. And the tough thing about that is, you put that thing on, you whip it out of your bag in the gym. You know all the guys are looking at it. And you start the game. The guy guarding you knows exactly where you're going since little specks of flour keep dropping out. And then right down the front it says 'Pillsbury's Best.'

I signed a very modest $3,000 bonus with the Braves in Milwaukee, which I'm sure a lot of you know. And my old man didn't have that kind of money to put out. But the Braves took it. I remember sitting around our kitchen table counting all this money, coins out of jars, and I'm telling my dad, 'Forget this, I don't want to play.' He said, 'No, you are going to play baseball. We are going to have you make some money, and we're going to live real good.' My dad had an accent, I want to be real authentic when I'm doing this thing. So I signed. The signing took place at a very popular restaurant in Milwaukee. And I remember driving, and my dad's all fired up and nervous, and I said, 'Look, it will be over in a couple of minutes. Don't be uptight.' We pull in the parking lot, pull next to the Braves automobile, and my dad screwed up right away. He doesn't have the window rolled up far enough and our tray falls off and all the food is on the floor. And from there on it was baseball.

Starting with the Braves in Milwaukee, St. Louis, where I won the World's Championship for them in 1964, to the Philadelphia Phillies and back to the Braves in Atlanta, where I became Phil Niekro's personal chaser. But during every player's career there comes a time when you know that your services are no longer required, that you might be moving on. Traded, sold, released ,whatever it may be. And having been with four clubs, I picked up a few of these tips. I remember Gene Mauch doing things to me at Philadelphia. I'd be sitting there and he'd say, 'Grab a bat and stop this rally.' Send me up there without a bat and tell me to try for a walk. Look down at the first base coach for a sign and have him turn his back on you.

But you know what? Things like that never bothered me. I'd set records that will never be equaled, 90% I hope are never printed: .200 lifetime batting average in the major leagues which tied me with another sports great averaging 200 or better for a ten-year period, Don Carter, one of our top bowlers.

In 1967 I set a major league record for passed balls, and I did that without playing every game. There was a game, as a matter of fact, during that year when Phil Niekro's brother (Joe) and he were pitching against each other in Atlanta. Their parents were sitting right behind home plate. I saw their folks that day more than they did the whole weekend.

But with people like Niekro, and this was another thing, I found the easy way out to catch a knuckleball. It was to wait until it stopped rolling and then pick it up. There were a lot of things that aggravated me, too. My family is here today. My boys, my girls. My kids used to do things that aggravate me, too. I'd take them to the game and they'd want to come home with a different player. I remember one of my friends came to Atlanta to see me once. He came to the door, he says, 'Does Bob Uecker live here?' He says, 'Yeah, bring him in.' But my two boys are just like me. In their championship little league game, one of them struck out three times and the other one had an error that allowed the winning run to score. They lost the championship, and I couldn't have been more proud. I remember the people as we walked through the parking lot throwing eggs and rotten stuff at our car. What a beautiful day.

You know, everybody remembers their first game in the major leagues. For me it was in Milwaukee. My hometown, born and raised there, and I can remember walking out on the field and Birdie Tebbetts was our manager at that time. And my family was there: my mother and dad, and all my relatives. And as I'm standing on the field, everybody's pointing at me and waving and laughing, and I'm pointing back. And Birdie Tebbetts came up and asked me if I was nervous or uptight about the game. And I said, 'I'm not. I've been waiting five years to get here. I'm ready to go.'

He said, 'Well, we're gonna start you today. I didn't want to tell you earlier. I didn't want you to get too fired up.'

I said, 'Look, I'm ready to go.'

He said, 'Well, great, you're in there. And oh, by the by, the rest of us up here wear that supporter on the inside.' That was the first game my folks walked out on, too.

But you know, of all of the things that I've done, this has always been number one, baseball. The commercials, the films, the television series, I could never wait for everything to get over to get back to baseball. I still, and this is not sour grapes by any means, still think I should have gone in as a player. Thank you very much.

The proof is in the pudding. No, this conglomeration of greats that are here today, a lot of them were teammates, but they won't admit it. But they were. And a lot of them were players that worked in games that I called. They are wonderful friends, and always will be. And the 1964 World's Championship team. The great Lou Brock. And I remember as we got down near World Series time, Bing Devine, who was the Cardinals' general manager at that time, asked me if I would do him and the Cardinals, in general, a favor. And I said I would. And he said, 'We'd like to inject you with hepatitis. We need to bring an infielder up.' I said, 'Would I be able to sit on the bench.' He said, 'Yes, we'll build a plastic cubicle for you because it is an infectious disease.' And I've got to tell you this. I have a photo at home, I turned a beautiful color yellow and with that Cardinal white uniform. I was knocked out. It was beautiful, wasn't it, Lou? It was great.

Of course, any championship involves a World Series. The ring, the ceremony, the following season in St. Louis at old Busch Stadium. We were standing along the sideline. I was in the bullpen warming up the pitcher. And when they called my name for the ring, it's something that you never ever forget. And when they threw it out into left field. I found it in the fifth inning, I think it was, Lou, wasn't it? And once I spotted it in the grass man, I was on it. It was unbelievable.

But as these players have bats, gloves…I had a great shoe contract and glove contract with a company who paid me a lot of money never to be seen using their stuff. Bat orders…I would order a dozen bats and there were times they'd come back with handles at each end. You know, people have asked me a lot of times, because I didn't hit a lot, we all know that, how long a dozen bats would last me? Depending on the weight and the model that I was using at that particular time I would say eight to ten cookouts.

I once ordered a dozen flame-treated bats, and they sent me a box of ashes, so I knew at that time things were moving on. But there are tips that you pick up when the Braves were going to release me. It is a tough time for a manager, for your family, for the player to be told that you're never going to play the game again. And I can remember walking in the clubhouse that day, and Luman Harris, who was the Braves' manager, came up to me and said there were no visitors allowed. So again, I knew I might be moving on.

Paul Richards was the general manager and told me the Braves wanted to make me a coach for the following season. And that I would be coaching second base. So again, gone.

But that's when the baseball career started as a broadcaster. I remember working first with Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson. And I was all fired up about that, too, until I found out that my portion of the broadcast was being used to jam Radio Free Europe. And I picked up a microphone one day and my mic had no cord on it, so I was talking to nobody. But it's such a wonderful, wonderful thing today to be here. And one of my first partners was mentioned earlier, Merle Harmon, and Tom Collins, he's here today. All of those who I have worked with from Merle to Lorn Brown to Dwayne Mosley, Pat Hughes, who now works for the Chicago Cubs, and my current partner today, Jim Powell and Kent Summerfeld. My thanks to all of you.

To my good pal Bob Costas out there. Thank you, Bobby. All of the network people, that has been as much a part of broadcasting for me as anything. The days with ABC and 'Monday Night Baseball' with the late Bob Prince and Keith Jackson and Al Michaels and my great pal, Don Drysdale. All of those people have played such a big part in me being here today. Dick Ebersol, the head of NBC Sports. All of them are a big part of what I am. My family is seated over here. I love them very much.

Ulice Payne is here, the president of the Brewers. The commissioner of baseball is a guy that gave me my start. He said, 'I want to bring you back to Milwaukee.' And I said, 'I'll come.' And here I am, 33 years later. Thank you, Al. I call him Al, Bud Selig. Wife Sue is here. To all of my Brewer family, Wendy, Laurel Selig… Wendy Selig-Prieb, Laurel Prieb. Tony Migliaccio, one of my great friends. Mike LaBoe, all my people. Jon Greenberg, I didn't even know you were here. You took care of Hal McCoy, what the hell's going on. But all of these people play such a big part in all of our lives.

And to all of you baseball fans around America and any place else, for your letters, your thoughts, your kindness, for all of these years, it's been a great run, but number one has always been baseball for me. No matter what else I ever did, baseball was the only way I wanted to go. I thank you very much for your attention today, thank you for having me, and congratulations to everybody here. Thank you very much everybody, thank you.

Phil Rizzuto: 'Any time you want to leave, just leave', Baseball Hall of Fame - 1994

31 July 1994, Cooperstown, New York, USA

Holy cow!

I have had problems with my voice, never had this before.

You can read transcript of speech here. 'Top of the Heap - A Yankees Collection'

Buck O'Neil: 'I see some black brothers and sisters out there. I know they can sing. Can you white folks sing?', Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech - 2006

30 June, 2006. Cooperstown, New York, USA

John Jordan 'Buck' O'Neil, despite a stellar playing and managing career for Kansas City Monarchs, missed out on the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. But when 17 other Negro Leaguers were inducted in 2006, he gave this magical speech honouring them, just before his death five months later. The Hall of Fame struck a lifetime achievement award in his name.

Alright, sit down. This is outstanding! I've been a lot of places. I've done a lot of things that I really liked doing. I hit the homerun. I hit the grand slam homerun. I hit for the cycle. I've had a hole-in-one in golf. I've done a lot of things I liked doing. I shook hands with President Truman. Yeah. Oh, man, I took -- Oh, [shook hands] with the other President and I...hugged his wife, Hillary. So I've done a lot of things I liked doing. But I'd rather be right here, right now, representing these people that helped build a bridge across the chasm of prejudice -- not just the ones like Charlie Pride and me that later crossed it. Yeah. This is quite an honor for me.

See, I played in the Negro Leagues. Tell you what: The Negro Leagues was nothing like Hollywood try to make it. The Negro Leagues was the third largest black business in this country. Yeah. First, black insurances to white insurances -- ten cent policy, just enough to bury us. But the black insurances insured our crops, our homes, yeah, our stock. They made millions.

Next, Madame C.J. Walker -- cosmetology. You see that pretty hair over there? Don't you see it on Mrs. Robinson? Tell you what. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Madame C. J. Walker was doing that a hundred years ago, and she made millions, to tell you the truth. Madame C. J. Walker was the first black woman millionaire in this country. And to tell you Madam C.J. Walker might have been the first woman millionaire in the country that earned it. They had other women millionaires but they inherited the money. Madam C.J. Walker earned it.

Next, Negro League baseball. All you needed was a bus, and we rode in some of the best buses money could buy, yeah, a couple of sets of uniforms. You could have 20 of the best athletes that ever lived. And that’s who we are representing here today. It was outstanding.

And playing in the Negro leagues -- what a lot of you don’t know. See, when I played in the Negro leagues -- I first came to the Negro leagues -- five percent of Major League ball players were college men because the major leaguers wanted them right out of high school, put them in the minor league, bring them on in. But Negro leagues, 40 percent of Negro leagues, leaguers, were college men. The reason that was, we always spring trained in a black college town and that’s who we played in spring training, the black colleges. So when school was out, they came and played baseball. When baseball season was over, they’d go back to teaching, to coaching, or to classes. That was Negro League baseball. And I'm proud to have been a Negro league ball player. Yeah, yeah.

And I tell you what, they always said to me Buck, "I know you hate people for what they did to you or what they did to your folks." I said, "No, man, I -- I never learned to hate." I hate cancer. Cancer killed my mother. My wife died 10 years ago of cancer. (I'm single, ladies.) A good friend of mine -- I hate AIDS. A good friend of mine died of AIDS three months ago. I hate AIDS. But I can’t hate a human being because my God never made anything ugly. Now, you can be ugly if you wanna, boy, but God didn’t make you that way. Uh, uh.

So, I want you to light this valley up this afternoon. Martin [Luther King] said "Agape" is understanding, creative -- a redemptive good will toward all men. Agape is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. And when you reach love on this level, you love all men, not because you like 'em, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loved them. And I love Jehovah my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and I love every one of you -- as I love myself.

Now, I want you to do something for me. I’m fixin' to get off this stage now. I think I done my six minutes. But I want you to do something for me. I want you to hold hands. Whoever’s next to you, hold a hand. Come on, you Hall of Famers, hold hands. All you people out there, hold hands. Everybody hooked up? Everybody hooked up? Well then I tell you what. See, I know my brothers up here, my brothers over there -- I see some black brothers of mine and sisters out there -- I know they can sing. Can you white folks sing? I want you to sing after me:

The greatest thing -- come on everybody --

The greatest thing in all of my life is loving you.

The greatest thing in all of my life is loving you.

The greatest thing in all of my life is loving you.

The greatest thing in all my life is loving you.¹

Thank you, folks. Thank you, folks. Thank you, folks. Thank you, folks. Thank you.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now, sit down. Now, sit down. I could talk to you 10 minutes longer, but I got to go to the bathroom

nb. Buck O'Neil is comfortably the best 'athlete interviewee' of all time. Ken Burns' Baseball is a must.