'Oh, man, we played your state': Buck O'Neil played with, coached and scouted some of the best players in the history of baseball, and he is a legend in both the Negro Leagues and major league baseball.

Byline: John Shipley

Jun. 26--Buck O'Neil is a giant of American baseball. He was a two-time Negro Leagues batting champion and played first base on four Negro American League pennant-winning teams with the Kansas City Monarchs. He then managed the Monarchs to five more pennants; among his players were hall of famers Ernie Banks and Jackie Robinson, the man who finally broke major league baseball's color barrier. O'Neil broke a color barrier himself, becoming the first man of color to coach in the major leagues when the Chicago Cubs hired him in 1962. He stayed with the Cubs for 33 years, working primarily as a scout. Among players he signed were Banks, (first with the Monarchs, then with the Cubs) Lou Brock and Joe Carter. Incredibly, O'Neil is not in baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. He was denied in February by a special committee of researchers. John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil didn't gripe, instead offering to help induct the other 17 players who were on a special "Negro Leagues" ballot. O'Neil helped start and is chairman of the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, Mo., and maintains an office there. He plans to be in the Twin Cities on Saturday as part of the museum's "Times of Greatness" traveling exhibition. The Daily Dose caught up with O'Neil last week by phone. DD: Do you have any memories of playing in Minnesota? Did you play up here much? BO: Oh, man, we played your state -- we played your state a lot. We played the big time in Minneapolis-St. Paul; we played in St. Cloud. We played quite a bit against the House of David, which was a …