Buck Lai, Asian American Pacific Islander, infielder

NY 1920s honors Asian American Pacific Islander Month

One hundred years ago today … The news broke that Brooklyn Bushwicks of Dexter Park would move their shortstop, Hawaiian/Chinese American “Buck” Lai, to third base (“Royals and Bushwicks in Double-Header,” Times-Union, 10 May, 1922, p. 10). 

Lai would excel at the position, earning raves later in the summer..

The website of the Museum of Chinese in America offers Lai’s bio:

Born William Tin Lai in 1895 in Hawaii and commonly known as Tin Lai or Buck Lai, he was the son of Chinese immigrants that arrived in the late 1800s. Buck was an exceptional athlete and at age 17, he joined a traveling baseball team known as the Hawaiian Chinese University Nine. From 1912 to 1916, the team barnstormed the mainland U.S., exhibiting and playing in stadiums around the country against other college opponents…. In 1918, he was scouted and signed on to participate in spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies but was subsequently sent to a minor league affiliate team, the Bridgeport Americans, for more training and experience. Following five seasons with the Americans, Buck would move on to play for the Brooklyn Bushwicks where he met and played with baseball legends, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. 

Lai was signed by the New York Giants in 1928, but never appeared in a game.

The Museum of Chinese in America goes on: 

In 1935, Buck would return to Hawaii to create his own traveling team, known as the All Hawaiian Nine, or the Hawaiians for short. The team would consist of Hawaiian American players of Japanese and Chinese ancestry. 

Lai would eventually become a college coach, overseeing baseball and basketball teams for Long Island University, Brooklyn. He wrote books about the two sports: Championship Baseball and Winning Basketball.  

– Jonathan Goldman, May 10, 2022

TAGS: Chinese, Pacific Islander, Asian, sports, baseball, basketball, athletics, Brooklyn, ethnicity, race, immigration