Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 first baseman

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

 in Negro league baseball

Negro league baseball

The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...

. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in along with his long-time teammate Josh Gibson

Josh Gibson

Joshua Gibson was an American catcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931, moved to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936, and returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and 1942 to 1946...

.

Biography

Born in Rocky Mount

Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, Leonard left school at the age of 14 because no high school education was available for blacks in his hometown. He worked in a textile

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 mill and as a shoeshine boy at a railroad station, the latter being typical of the economic situation for many African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

s at that time.

He began his Negro league career in 1933 with the Brooklyn Royal Giants

Brooklyn Royal Giants

The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York which played in the Negro Leagues. They were one of the premier professional teams before World War I, winning multiple championships in the East.- League play :...

, then moved to the legendary Homestead Grays

Homestead Grays

The Homestead Grays were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and would remain in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.-Franchise...

 in 1934, the team he played for until his retirement in 1950. The Grays of the late 1930s through the mid-1940s are considered one of the greatest teams of any race ever assembled. Leonard batted fourth in their lineup behind Josh Gibson. Since Gibson was known as the "Black Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

" and Leonard was a first baseman, Buck Leonard was inevitably called the "Black Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig

Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...

." Together, the pair was colloquially known as the "Thunder Twins" or "Dynamite Twins". From 1937 to 1945 the Grays won 9 consecutive Negro National League

Negro National League (the second)

The second Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. It established in 1933, two years after the first Negro National League had disbanded...

 championships. Leonard led the Negro leagues in batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 in 1948 with a mark of .395, and usually either led the league in home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s or finished second in homers to teammate Gibson.

In 1952, Leonard was offered a major league contract, but he believed that at age 45 he was too old and might embarrass himself and hurt the cause of integration. He may well have underestimated his own longevity, however, since he batted .333 in 10 games in the Class B Piedmont League

Piedmont League

The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States.- Former :...

 the following year, and played in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 through 1955, where the level of play was very high.

After retiring permanently as a player in 1955, Leonard worked as a truant officer, a physical education instructor, and the vice-president of a minor league team in his birthplace of Rocky Mount, a team of which he was also a board member. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in along with Josh Gibson.

In , the Major League All-Star Game

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 was held in Pittsburgh, hometown of the Grays, and the 88-year-old Leonard was named an Honorary Captain. He appeared wearing a model of a Grays uniform.

He was one of Negro league baseball's foremost ambassadors until his death at age 90 in Rocky Mount.

In , he ranked Number 47 on The Sporting News

The Sporting News

Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...

 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, one of five players so honored who played all or most of their careers in the Negro leagues, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

According to Negro league statistics compiled in a project sponsored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Leonard's career batting average was .320 and his slugging percentage was .527. In 1,472 recorded at bats, he had 471 hits, 60 home runs, 73 doubles, and 26 triples, drew 257 walks, and scored 352 runs while driving in 275.

Negro leagues

The first official statistics for the Negro leagues were compiled as part of a statistical study sponsored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...

 and supervised by Larry Lester and Dick Clark, in which a research team collected statistics from thousands of boxscores of league-sanctioned games. The first results from this study were the statistics for Negro league Hall of Famers elected prior to 2006, which were published in Shades of Glory by Lawrence D. Hogan. These statistics include the official Negro league statistics for Buck Leonard:

Year	Team	G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...	AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...	R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...	RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...	SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	BA Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...	SLG
1934	Homestead Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and would remain in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.-Franchise...	20	79	16	28	4	0	5	14	0	3	.354	.595
1935	Homestead	36	147	26	50	10	1	3	10	3	15	.340	.483
1936	Homestead	17	62	15	15	1	1	2	3	1	12	.242	.387
1937	Homestead p	28	105	39	39	8	1	7	17	1	20	.371	.667
1938	Homestead p	27	99	21	33	0	0	3	8	0	11	.333	.424
1939	Homestead	22	72	23	30	5	0	5	23	2	17	.417	.694
1940	Homestead p	44	152	40	60	12	3	8	44	4	32	.395	.671
1941	Homestead p	36	123	40	36	4	5	8	29	6	30	.293	.602
1942	Homestead p	26	87	10	18	3	0	0	10	1	14	.207	.241
1943	Homestead c	55	200	55	59	11	7	4	41	2	38	.295	.480
1944	Homestead c	34	121	30	34	8	5	5	27	1	18	.281	.554
1945	Homestead p	16	59	7	17	1	2	0	7	0	7	.288	.373
1946	Homestead	30	102	18	27	3	1	3	26	3	24	.265	.402
1947	Homestead	11	30	7	16	0	0	4	8	1	8	.533	.933
1948	Homestead c	10	34	5	9	3	0	3	8	0	8	.265	.618
Total	15 seasons	412	1472	352	471	73	26	60	275	25	257	.320	.527
p = pennant; c = pennant and Negro League World Series Negro League World Series The Negro League World Series was a post-season baseball tournament which was held from 1924-1927 and from 1942-1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east coast counterparts....  championship.

Sources:

Mexican League

Year	Team	G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...	AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...	R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...	RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...	SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	BA Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...	SLG
1951	Torreón	83	273	64	88	19	1	14	64	5	87	.322	.553
1952	Torreón	86	295	50	96	15	1	8	71	12	90	.325	.464
1953	Torreón	58	190	39	63	20	2	5	38	4	58	.332	.537
Total	3 seasons	227	758	153	247	54	4	27	173	21	235	.326	.515

Source:

External links

• BaseballLibrary - biography