Buck Leonard

Biography

Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball and in the Mexican League. After growing up in North Carolina, he played for the Homestead Grays between 1934 and 1950, batting fourth behind Josh Gibson for many years. The Grays teams of the 1930s and 1940s were considered some of the best teams in Negro league history. Leonard and Gibson are two of only nine players in league history to win multiple batting titles. In 1940-1941, he batted .390 for the Puerto Rican team Indios de Mayagüez, connecting 8 home runs and impulsing 45 runs, leading the league in home runs, doubles and slugging (.754). Leonard never played in Major League Baseball (MLB); he declined a 1952 offer of an MLB contract because he felt he was too old.

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