Buck O’Neil exhibition opens at The Oasis in Marion

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

MARION, Ill., (KBSI) — An exhibition honoring Negro Leagues baseball legend Buck O’Neil is now on display at The Oasis in Marion.

Presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, “Buck: Right On Time” highlights the life and legacy of O’Neil, who was known as a player, manager, scout, coach and ambassador for Negro Leagues baseball history.

The exhibition includes photographs from O’Neil’s personal collection and the museum archives, along with text adapted primarily from his autobiography, “I Was Right on Time.” The exhibit debuted in 2001 during O’Neil’s 90th birthday celebration and was later updated following his death in 2006.

O’Neil played first base and managed in the Negro American League, primarily with the Kansas City Monarchs. He later became Major League Baseball’s first Black coach and helped establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. In 2022, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as an executive.

“Buck O’Neil’s story is about baseball, but it is also about perseverance, dignity, joy and the power of preserving history,” Jody Johnson, county extension director with the University of Illinois Extension, said in a statement. “We are honored to help bring this important exhibit to Southern Illinois and make it accessible to our community.”

The Southern Illinois exhibition is funded by Illinois Humanities, Foreground Rural Southernmost Hub, Legacy Training Inc., Anchor Cairo Historical Preservation Project and The Oasis.

The exhibit is free and open to the public through June 13 at The Oasis, located inside the reimagined Marion Mall.