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Home > Baseball > MLB Hall of Famers > Buck Leonard
Buck Leonard
Baseball is an outdoor sport in which a pitcher pitches a hard, fist sized ball to the hitting area of a batter. The batter hits the hard ball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical bat made up of wood or metal. The batsman scores by running counter-clockwise within the four markers called the bases arranged at the corners of a diamond. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from similar games such as softball.
Buck Leonard was born on September 8th, 1907 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He was an American first baseman in Negro League baseball. He was elected to membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. He played for Brooklyn Royal Giants in 1933, Homestead Grays from 1934 to 1950. He began his Negro League career in 1933 with the Brooklyn Royal Giants, then moved to the legendary Homestead Grays in 1934, the team he played for until his retirement in 1950.
After being picked up by the Portsmouth, VA Firefighters, he was soon signed by the Baltimore Stars. Leonard is the only Negro League first baseman enshrined in Cooperstown. A lefthanded power hitter, he led the Homestead Grays to nine consecutive Negro National League championships from 1937 through 1945. He hit .375 in 1945, finishing behind Gibson in the HR, Home Runs race. He led the Grays to win their 10th pennant that year. He compiled a lifetime .341 average in the Negro National League and a .382 mark in exhibitions against major leaguers. He made a record 12 appearances in the annual East-West all-star game, hitting .317 with an all-star record three HR.
Buck Leonard with all his dedication and devotion in his play has achieved many hallmarks in his overall baseball-playing career. He had the ability of defeating the opponent easily by giving some extra hard work and efforts.
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