Buck O'Neil

In 1948, O'Neil was named manager of the Monarchs, experiencing mixed success at first. With divisional play in 1949, he led the Monarchs to the first-half title in the Western Division. Finally in 1950, the Monarchs won both halves of the Western Division. Between 1948 and 1955, O'Neil managed to propel the Monarchs to five pennants, two Black World Series, and four straight All-Star wins.

The Chicago Cubs noticed O'Neil and signed him as a scout in 1956. During his stint with the Monarchs, O'Neil brought more than three dozen baseball players to the Major Leagues. As a scout, he recognized talent and recommended the signing of greats Ernie Banks, a Monarchs slugger, and Lou Brock to their first professional contracts. Also on his roster were Joe Carter, Oscar Gamble, Elston Howard, Lee Smith, and Hank Thompson.

O'Neil made history in 1962 when the first major league team, the Cubs, hired an Africa-American as its coach. Eventually O'Neil realized the Cubs did not want to make him a big-league manager, so he returned to scouting. He stayed with the Cubs for thirty-three years, leaving in 1988 to return to Missouri to scout for the Kansas City Royals.