John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil was born November 13, 1911, in Carrabelle, Florida.
Working with his father on a Florida celery farm when he was 13, the young O’Neil said to himself “Damn.
There’s got to be something better than this.” After traveling to West Palm Beach to see Rube Foster’s baseball team at the Royal Poinciana Hotel, O’Neil decided baseball was going to be his way out.