St. Paul recorder., 1962-06-08
Ringing The
BELL
By Jesse Bell

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John (Buck) O'Neil, who has
been serving as a scout for the
Chicago Cubs, was signed as a
member of the Wrigley coaching
panel. O'Neil will not participate
in the head coaching rotation.
Buck ONeil, so, joined the Cubs
as a scout on December IL, 1855.
He brought a great deal of know
ledge and understanding to the
job. He broke into the game with
Memphis of the Negro American
League in 1887 and concluded his
career as a star first baseman and
also manager for the Kansas City
Monarchs.
Ernie Banks and George Altman
played for O'NeiI at Kansas City.
But since he has turned to scout
Among them are such topfhght
Negro players to the majors.
Among them are such outstanding
players as Elston Howard, Gene
Baker Connie Johnson, Hank
Thompson, Bob Thurman, Willard
Brown and Lou Brook.
Rookie of the Year Billy Will
liams of the Chicago Cubs contin-
ues to throw the sophomore jinx
and lead the National League in
batting. Billy leads the league with
a respectable .359 average.
Speaking of league leaders how
do you like this, in the National
League Billy Williams is the lead
er followed by Tony Gonzales .347
of Philadelphia; Orlando Cepeda,
341, San Francisco; Felipe Alou
of San Francisco, 1888; and Tom
Davis of Los Angeles is number
six with an average of $50. Num-
ber ten is Curt Flood of st. Louis
hitting 1926.
In the American League Nanny
Jimenez leads the league with a
1862 average. AL Smith of the
White Sox is number five with an
average of 1881. Teammate Floyd
Robinson is swinging at 1928 clip.
He is number six in the league,
and our Earl Battey is number
eight with .318 average.
Back to the National League.
Willie Mays tops the home run
hitters with 10, Cepeda is number
two with Is, Ernie Banks number
three with II and Vada Pinson
and Ramon Mejias of Houston tied
with 13. They are the top five in
the league.
Tom Davis of LA. leads the
National League in RIBS with
55, followed by Cepeda with So,
Mays, At, Pinson, 40, and Felipe
Alou, 80.
All of the above are players of
color. The above figures are up to
the fourth of June. The boys are
really hitting that ball.
Tempers have cleared after the
big fiasco at Candlestick Park on
May 27, 1862. Big Orlando Cepeda
and Rodger Craig tangled while
Willie Mays and Eio Chacon
squared off. The only casualty was
Chacon's pocketbook - an auto
matte $1OO fine for starting the
braWl.
Big Don Newcombe visited the
White House last month to get
Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger's
opinion on whether he could help
his country in some manner as a
trip to the far east.
Big Newk has been offered a
salary of $4,000 to play baseball
in Japan.
Don met Salinger last year in
Spokane, Washington while he was
on vacation. They ended up being
golfing partners. Salinger told
Newcombe, "He could foster a lot
of good will for the United States"
and suggested that Don work with
the Voice of America or the Armed
Forces.
Salinger agreed to attend din
ner in Newark, New Jersey, the
last weekend in May, for Roy
Campanella. Newcombe was chair
man.
The Press Secretary said he
would arrange project for New
combe in Japan, once Don de-
cided to go ahead.
Don, who now operates an apart
ment store and a package liquor
business, feels pretty sure he will
take the offer in Japan.
Last week the famous Toots
Shor's played host to the heavy
weight champion of the world.
Those who helped pay tribute to
Floyd's great heart were: DR..
Ralph Bunche of the U.N., Lauren
Bacall of the movies, and Jackie
Robinson. Off in a corner a small
group listened as Jersey Joe Wal
colt volunteered a private testi-