Buck O’Neil played and managed in the Negro Leagues for decades and became the first Black coach in Major League Baseball when the Cubs made him part of the College of Coaches in 1962. Sadly, though, he would not be permitted to be part of the rotation of “head coaches” in that ill-fated experiment. After that, O’Neil became a tireless ambassador for baseball, and in 2006, the Hall of Fame created a committee whose purpose was to induct worthy Negro League figures.
It seemed almost certain that O’Neil would be inducted — until he wasn’t, per Alec Lewis of The Athletic:
Then the Hall of Fame called current Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick and informed him the news that he relayed to O’Neil: “Buck, we didn’t get the votes.