I Was Right on Time

From Babe Ruth to Bo Jackson, from Cool Papa Bell to Lou Brock, Buck O'Neil has seen it all. As a first baseman and manager of the legendary Kansas City Monarchs, O'Neil witnessed the heyday of the Negro leagues and their ultimate demise. In I Was Right on Time, Buck charmingly recalls the important events that helped shape the evolution of the game as black baseball's greatest stars were finally accepted into the white major leagues. Buck first tells of his early barnstorming days as all-black teams made their way across the country, a long way from the familiar comforts of his Sarasota home. He tells of the remarkable rise of Satchel Paige and the tragic fall of Josh Gibson, of the shame he experienced playing first base for the grass-skirt-wearing Zulu Cannibal Giants, and of the pride he felt playing against white major leaguers like Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller in black vs. white all-star games. He recalls the time when jazz great Lionel Hampton served as the first base coach for the Monarchs, linking two unique and distinguished American institutions. And he tells of the difficulties and struggles of getting by in a racially divided country, and of relishing the moment when Jackie Robinson amended history by breaking the color barrier in 1947, as Buck himself did in 1962 by becoming the first African-American to coach in the major leagues.