Buck Leonard
| Buck Leonard | |||
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| First baseman | |||
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Born: September 8, 1907 Rocky Mount, North Carolina |
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Died: November 27, 1997 (aged 90) Rocky Mount, North Carolina |
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| Negro league baseball debut | |||
| 1934, Homestead Grays | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1950, Homestead Grays | |||
| Career statistics | |||
| Batting average | .320 | ||
| Slugging percentage | .527 | ||
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Negro leagues
Other
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Member of the National | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1972 | ||
| Election Method | Negro Leagues Committee | ||
Negro leagues
Other
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball and in the Mexican League. After growing up in North Carolina, he played for the Homestead Grays between 1934 and 1950, batting fourth behind Josh Gibson for many years. The Grays teams of the 1930s and 1940s were considered some of the best teams in Negro league history.
Leonard never played in Major League Baseball (MLB); he declined a 1952 offer of an MLB contract because he felt he was too old. Late in life, Leonard worked as a physical education instructor and was the vice-president of a minor league baseball team. He and Gibson were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. In 1999, he was ranked number 47 on the 100 Greatest Baseball Players list by The Sporting News.
Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Leonard's father worked as a railroad fireman while his mother was a homemaker who cared for the six Leonard children. Leonard's parents called him "Buddy", but his younger brother began mispronouncing it "Bucky". Family members began calling him "Buck", a name which stuck with him throughout his life. When Leonard was about seven years old, he would sneak over to the baseball field of the local white team and watch games through the fence. Local police even once arrested Leonard and his friends when they were caught peeking through the fence at the segregated field.
Leonard's father died when he was eleven and Leonard picked up jobs after school to help his family. There was no black high school in Rocky Mount, so Leonard finished the eighth grade and went to work shining shoes for a rail station. He also worked in a hosiery mill and for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. He later earned a GED by correspondence. He began playing semiprofessional baseball while working for the railroad, then decided to pursue his living with the sport.
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