Hello,
On December 5, 2021, I will be hosting a Watch Party for John "Buck" O'Neil in Overland Park, Kansas. I invite you to join us if you are in the area. Please find the Press Release attached. We are hoping that "Buck" will be announced as a Hall of Fame member on that evening along with several other players. It's a big celebration! Please, RSVP per the press release if you plan to attend. The Kansas City Chiefs play later that evening so we will leave promptly after 5:30 p.m. with lots of time remaining before game time.
Thank you,
Phil S. Dixon
Press Release
November 28, 2021
For Immediate Release Phil S. Dixon Pdquickthinking2@gmail.com
816-922-0680
Prominent Baseball Historian Phil S. Dixon Slated To Host John “Buck” O’Neil Hall of Fame Watch Party
November 28, 2021- Leading authority on all things baseball, premier author and Historian Phil S. Dixon will be hosting a Hall of Fame watch celebration for John “Buck” O’Neil on the day of his much anticipated 2021 Hall of Fame announcement.
Dixon will be hosting the event in his home state of Kansas, where he began researching Negro League baseball over 40-years ago. The watch party will take place, Sunday, December 5, 2021, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the KC Daiquiri Shop Bistreaux, 8725 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, Kansas, and will comfortably host 100 guests. You may RSVP with an email to drkcdixon05@gmail.com. The venue is decked out with televisions so attendees can view the Hall of Fame selections in real-time. As you enjoy a scrumptious meal from the special order menu, prizes for the most uniquely signed original “Buck” collectible, along with a raffle every 15 minutes with items from the Kansas City Monarchs American Association baseball team and other organizations will be awarded. We anticipate a big announcement for “Buck” and the other candidates on the ballots.
Dixon will lead the celebration and be available before and after the event for a media Q&A session about any player selected from the Early Baseball Era ballot on that evening. At the same time, the selections will be announced live on national TV. The author is urging all baseball lovers to come out and enjoy the local fare in honor of “Buck,” who was a lover of food as much as baseball. Dixon and O’Neil often frequented Jimmy D’s BBQ in Kansas City, where they dined on finger-licking smoked rib tips. “If Buck were anywhere other than the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, he would be at a restaurant.” quipped Dixon. Buck would always say, “we were eating at the best restaurants in the world. I know we were eating the best food because, at that time, the best cooks in the world were Black.”
When The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors convened a Special Early Baseball Overview Committee of 10 historians to develop the Early Baseball Era Committee’s 10-person ballot, Kansas City-based Phil S. Dixon, a nationally recognized Baseball Historian, was asked to join the ranks. As the only African American male on the Special Early Baseball Overview Committee, Dixon brought to the committee a wealth of experience and expertise that helped him a co-founding member of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He has won the Casey Award for the best baseball book of 1992, and a Society of American Baseball MacMillan award as a baseball researcher. His recent works include “The Dizzy and Daffy Dean Barnstorming Tour, Race, Media, and America’s National Pastime.”
Seven Negro Leagues, pre-Negro Leagues legends, and three American League/National League stars comprise the 10-name Early Baseball Era ballot, featuring candidates with contributions to the game before 1950.
In addition to O’Neil and fellow Kansas City Monarch John Donaldson, the Early Baseball Era ballot includes but is not limited to Bill Dahlen, Vic Harris, John “Bud” Fowler, Lefty O’Doul, Allie Reynolds, George Scales, Dick “Cannonball” Redding, and Grant “Home Run” Johnson.
Hall of Fame selections from the Golden Days Era ballot, which includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Roger Maris, Minnie Miñoso, Danny Murtaugh, Tony Oliva, Billy Pierce. and Maury Wills, will also be announced on the same evening.
Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member committee, or players who are selected for the 2022 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election will be officially inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, July 24, 2022.
“People all over the country have their favorite picks, but here in Kansas City, we have high hopes that O’Neil will be one of the players who will get enshrined. I was more than happy to add my input for “Buck” during the ballot development process. Now let’s hope for the best!” posited Dixon.
