Buck Leonard Original Autographed Photograph

You are purchasing an 11" x 14" Color photograph signed by "Buck Leonard"

Double Matted Ready to Frame 14" x 18"

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

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. The Grays of the late 1930s through the mid-1940s are considered one of the greatest teams of any race ever assembled. The team won nine league pennants in a row during that time.

Leonard batted fourth in their lineup behind Josh Gibson. He led the Negro leagues in batting average in 1948 with a mark of .395, and usually either led the league in home runs or finished second in homers to teammate Gibson. Since Gibson was known as the "Black Babe Ruth" and Leonard was a first baseman, Buck Leonard was inevitably called the "Black Lou Gehrig." Together, the pair was colloquially known as the "Thunder Twins" or "Dynamite Twins". In fact, Negro league star Monte Irvin said that if Leonard had been allowed in the major leagues, baseball fans "might have called Lou Gehrig the white Buck Leonard. He was that good." The Monarchs disbanded after 1950.

First baseman

Born: September 8, 1907

Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Died: November 27, 1997 (aged 90)

Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Batted: Left        Threw: Left

Negro league baseball debut

1934, Homestead Grays

Last appearance

1950, Homestead Grays

Career statistics

Batting average .320

Slugging percentage       .527

Teams

Negro leagues

Homestead Grays (1934–50)

Other

Indios de Mayagüez (1940–41)

Algodoneros de Torreón (1951–53)

Minor leagues (1953)

Durango (1955)

Career highlights and awards

13× All-Star selection (1935, 1937, 1938, 1939-Comiskey, 1939-Yankee Stadium, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946-Griffith, 1946-Comiskey, 1948)

3× Negro World Series champion (1943, 1944, 1948)

Member of the National

Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Baseball Hall of Fame Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg

Inducted              1972

Election Method              Negro Leagues Committee