Buck O'Neil

First Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (Final season: 1949)

Buck O'Neil was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Memphis Red Sox and the Kansas City Monarchs. In 396 career games, he hit .257 with 368 hits, 12 home runs, and 184 RBI. Buck O'Neil was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 and was a 2-time All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

⭐ Hall of Fame 2022
AVG .257
HR 12
RBI 184
H 368
OPS .672
PIV -1,204
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 190 lb
Born
11/13/1911 in Carrabelle, FL, USA
Died
10/6/2006 in Kansas City, MO, USA
Last Game
1949-09-18
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2022 (Negro League)
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: John Jordan O'Neil

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Buck O'Neil — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1875.0 1708.0 277.0 504.0 78.0 36.0 24.0 193.0 139.0 19.0 69.0 .295 .348 .425 .773

Pitching

Buck O'Neil — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
0 0 0 0 1 0 3.2 8 5 0 0 0 2 0.00 2.18

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Buck O'Neil — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 81.0 74.0 11.0 30.0 3.0 0 0 13.0 6.0 2.0 4.0 .405 .450 .446 .896
Listed seasons · 1 81 74 11 30 3 0 0 13 6 2 4 .405 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Buck O'Neil — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
396 1,434 227 368 55 24 12 184 57 127 0 .257 .319 .354 .672 -1,204

Career AVG .257 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .319 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .354 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 5.8% below league average.

Career OPS .672 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 5.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Buck O'Neil Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1937 MRS NAL 9 34 5 10 1 4 0 4 0 0 0 .294 — — — — 0.0
1938 KCM NAL 45 152 29 38 9 3 3 23 11 17 0 .250 .272 (-8%) .341 (-5%) .392 (+4%) .734 (avg) -29.1
1939 KCM NAL 48 162 19 30 5 4 1 24 3 16 0 .185 .274 (-32%) .342 (-23%) .393 (-28%) .735 (-26%) -714.1
1940 KCM NAL 40 145 24 40 6 3 1 26 8 8 0 .276 .267 (+3%) .335 (-6%) .387 (-2%) .722 (-4%) -129.3
1941 KCM NAL 40 161 21 37 4 3 0 12 6 8 0 .230 .262 (-12%) .332 (-20%) .373 (-22%) .705 (-21%) -558.3
1942 KCM NAL 48 188 28 51 7 1 1 21 7 12 0 .271 .253 (+7%) .323 (-3%) .349 (-4%) .672 (-3%) -114.0
1943 KCM NAL 42 155 21 44 4 0 1 16 4 10 0 .284 .255 (+11%) .324 (+2%) .346 (-5%) .671 (-2%) -30.1
1946 KCM NAL 39 130 18 37 3 3 0 11 1 25 0 .285 .256 (+11%) .328 (+22%) .358 (-1%) .687 (+10%) 301.6
1947 KCM NAL 60 218 54 62 15 3 5 36 15 24 0 .284 .262 (+8%) .336 (+7%) .376 (+20%) .712 (+14%) 502.4
1948 KCM NAL 25 89 8 19 1 0 0 11 2 7 0 .213 .263 (-19%) .340 (-20%) .379 (-41%) .719 (-31%) -432.9
Career · 10 seasons 396 1,434 227 368 55 24 12 184 57 127 0 .257 — — — — -1,204

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Pitching Statistics

Buck O'Neil — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.7 6 2 0 0 2 4.91 0.0

Career ERA 4.91 vs. league average 4.34 across their career seasons — 13.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Buck O'Neil — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1937 MRS NAL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.7 6 2 0 2 4.91 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.2 6 2 0 2 4.91 — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Buck O'Neil — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
22 79 11 27 2 3 2 9 3 4 .342

Playoff Batting by Year

Buck O'Neil — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 ALC KCM 6 20 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 .200
1946 NWS KCM 7 27 4 9 0 1 2 5 2 4 .333
1942 NWS KCM 4 16 3 6 0 1 0 2 0 0 .375
1939 ALC KCM 5 16 4 8 1 1 0 1 1 0 .500

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (357 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Buck O'Neil — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home240781133220784.282
Away116386571141039.295

Pitching — Home / Away

Buck O'Neil — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away13.280020.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Buck O'Neil — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-09-05 KCMNY6L 300000000
1949-09-04 KCMNY6L 100000000
1949-09-04 KCMNY6W 000000000
1949-08-30 KCMBLGL 101000000
1949-08-28 KCMBLGL 101000000
1949-08-07 KCMHOEL 100000001
1949-08-07 KCMHOEL 000000000
1949-08-05 KCMMEMW 201000300
1949-08-04 KCMMEML 101000100
1949-07-31 KCMMEMW 412000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Buck O'Neil — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1937-07-19 MEMCI1 — 3.2850020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Buck O'Neil — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 378 372 3542 161 50 212
3B 3 3 2 3 0 0
OF 7 5 0 1 0 0
P 1 0 0 1 0 0
SS 2 1 4 3 2 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Buck O'Neil — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1937 MRS 1B 1 0 7 0 1 0
1937 MRS 3B 3 3 2 3 0 0
1937 MRS OF 5 3 0 1 0 0
1937 MRS P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1937 MRS SS 2 1 4 3 2 0
1938 KCM 1B 43 43 400 15 7 15
1938 KCM OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1939 KCM 1B 46 45 426 22 5 33
1940 KCM 1B 40 40 372 11 5 24
1941 KCM 1B 40 40 390 16 4 20
1942 KCM 1B 48 48 458 18 9 20
1943 KCM 1B 41 41 387 21 5 25
1943 KCM OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1946 KCM 1B 39 39 390 22 4 26
1947 KCM 1B 57 55 507 24 9 38
1948 KCM 1B 23 21 205 12 1 11

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Buck O'Neil Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 378
Third Base 3
Shortstop 2
Left Field 5
Right Field 2

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

  1. 98
    Geechie Meredith
    .262 avg, 14 HR
  2. 91
    Bill Yancey
    .259 avg, 14 HR
  3. 91
    Norm McMillan
    .260 avg, 6 HR
  4. 82
    Jimmy Esmond
    .264 avg, 9 HR
  5. 81
    William Brown
    .261 avg, 6 HR
  6. 79
    Bob Miller
    .258 avg, 4 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Buck O'Neil

Was Buck O'Neil a pitcher?
No. Buck O'Neil was a position player (First Baseman), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Buck O'Neil hit?
Buck O'Neil hit 12 career home runs with 368 hits.
Is Buck O'Neil in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Buck O'Neil was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
What was Buck O'Neil's career batting average?
Buck O'Neil batted .257 over his career, with 368 hits in 1,434 at bats.
How many RBI did Buck O'Neil have?
Buck O'Neil drove in 184 runs in his career.
What was Buck O'Neil's career ERA?
Buck O'Neil finished with a 4.91 career ERA, going 0-0 with 2 strikeouts.