Buck Leonard
Professional debut Negro league baseball: 1934, Homestead Grays Last professional 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 Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted 1972 Election Method Negro Leagues Committee 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.