Roland Hemond
,
former longtime White Sox general manager, will receive the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award Saturday at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
“I was very fond of
Buck O’Neil
, with great respect for him,” Hemond said during a conference call. “I’ve managed to meet him about four or five times, and as a matter of fact, I presented him with an award from Baseball America nine years ago bearing my name. So it’s quite coincidental that it’s in reverse now, and I’m sure it’s more meaningful for me to get the award than the one that I gave to Buck.”
Hemond, 3-time winner of the MLB Executive of the Year award, served as Sox GM from 1970-85. He credited several people, including
Bill Veeck
, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chuck Tanner
and all of his scouts for his enduring success.
“Chuck was one of the most positive-thinking people I’ve ever encountered,” Hemond said of the late manager. “I guess he’d be No. 1 as far as positive attitude and never having a bad day. … And he played a major role in my success. Without Chuck, my career might have been much briefer than it is.”
Sights seen: Marian Hossa
, Omer Asik
and
Pierre Thomas
at Studio Paris Rooftop Lounge. … Phillies infielder
Wilson Valdez
and his agent,
Paul Kinzer
,
at Harry Caray’s.
Local attraction:
In an effort to raise funds for the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, the Northwestern chapter of Uplifting Athletes hosts a Lift for Life event at 6 p.m. Friday at Ryan Field.
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