Filling Buck's Seat

On what ordinarily would have been just another Thursday in January, a Kansas City legend was instead remembered for the impact he left on a community.

Just in case you didn’t hear about our press conference Thursday afternoon, we announced the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat program with a presentation at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. It’s a program where we will fill “Buck’s seat” at Kauffman Stadium for every 2007 home game with a member of the community who, on a large or small scale, embodies an aspect of Buck’s spirit. Check out mlb.com writer **** Kaegel’s coverage of the press conference and, if you have someone in mind, feel free to nominate someone via our online application found on royals.com.

Even though we’re sure we’ll get flooded with nominations immediately, we won’t be booking all 81 games right away. Instead, we’d rather keep dates open and collect nominations all season long, reacting to current events important to our area. Don’t worry though, we’ll have the seat filled for Opening Day! We actually plan on honoring a special recipient who had a close connection with Buck.

We all know Buck was no stranger to Kauffman Stadium, planted in the seat he held for years behind home plate. And, obviously, it’s going to be hard to imagine anyone who would even come close to matching the legacy he has left. However, we are hoping all you out there in Royals Nation can help us find people who still deserve to be honored and who will join us in remembering Buck all season long.