KU Athletics
LAWRENCE – The second year of the Buck O’Neil Classic at Legends Field in Kansas City will return this year on Tuesday, April 11, vs. Texas Southern at 6 p.m. CT. Kansas will wear its uniforms designed after the Kansas City Monarchs, while Texas Southern will wear replica uniforms of the Homestead Grays.
“We’re excited to participate this year in the Buck O’Neil Classic,” Kansas Head Baseball Coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “Our student-athletes and coaching staff had the opportunity this fall to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and learn about Buck O’Neil and the Negro Leagues from Bob Kendrick. There is a deep baseball history integrated in the Kansas City area and we’re grateful that we have the opportunity to play this game in honor of Buck and everyone from the Negro Leagues who helped set the foundation for baseball to become what it is today.”
Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and played a majority of his career for the Kansas City Monarchs. He later would be a player-manager for the Monarchs. Upon the conclusion of his time in the Negro Leagues in 1955, O’Neil was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a scout. In 1962, the Cubs promoted O’Neil to their major league coaching staff, making him the first African American coach in Major League Baseball history. O’Neil, who died in 2006, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2022 for his contributions to the game as a player, scout and manager.
Last year, Kansas won a 7-6 thriller against Texas Southern in the inaugural Buck O’Neil Classic at Legends Field. The Jayhawks led 5-0 in the game before falling behind 6-5 and ultimately coming from behind to win with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
“In the second year of the Buck O’Neil Classic, we are excited to expand the community engagement component of this year’s event to include the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy, the Kansas City Kansas Unified School District 500 and the University of Kansas Student Union Association,” Paul Pierce II, Kansas Associate Athletics Director for Inclusive Excellence said. “The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has been an awesome partner in elevating our athletics department’s desire to create community-wide opportunities to discuss topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and we felt that the addition of our new community partners into this year’s initiative will further amplify a wonderful event.”
All seats for the game will be general admission. Adult admission will cost $10, while youth and senior citizens will be $8. Season ticket holders will receive a ticket to the game as part of their season ticket package. Fans wishing to purchase tickets can contact the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141, or visit the ticketing page here. Legends Field is a cashless facility and will only accept card transactions.
For those unable to attend, the game will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and fans can also listen to the game on KLWN and the Jayhawk Sports Network on KUAthletics.com and the Kansas Jayhawks app.