Deaths on November 27

Buck Leonard

Died on November 27, 1997

Buck Leonard, American baseball player and educator (b. 1907)

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.

Leonard never played in Major League Baseball (MLB); he declined a 1952 offer of an MLB contract because he felt he was too old. Late in life, Leonard worked as a physical education instructor and was the vice-president of a minor league baseball team. He and Gibson were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. In 1999, he was ranked number 47 on the 100 Greatest Baseball Players list by The Sporting News.

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Buck Leonard

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Events on 1997

19 Jan

Hebron
Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
21 Jan

Newt Gingrich
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395-28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
5 Feb

The Holocaust
The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
2 Jun

Oklahoma City bombing
In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
1 Jul

Tony Blair
China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Deaths on November 27

Buck Leonard

Died on November 27, 1997

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1997

Hebron

Newt Gingrich

The Holocaust

Oklahoma City bombing

Tony Blair