Buck O'Neil remembers one ball game in particular. It was the time he played against one of baseball's greatest shortstops and lost.
O’Neil is now the chairman of the Negro Leagues Museum.
"I hit the ball over to second base, I knew it was a hit but then Willie was there to gobble it up, and threw me out,” O’Neil said.
That was something Shortstop Willie “El Diablo” Wells would do many times. Wells' career spanned almost three decades in the Negro National Baseball leagues from 1924 until his retirement in 1948. He got the nickname while playing winter baseball in Mexico and Cuba from fans who admired his aggressive playing style. Wells died in 1989.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 and is still the only native Austinite to receive the honor. Wells' body was re-interred in the Texas State Cemetery Wednesday.
Fans and fellow players remembered Wells' contributions at a dedication ceremony Tuesday.
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Wells' tribute
Baseball legend Willie Wells was honored with burial in the Texas State Cemetery.
 
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"He's considered one of the first power-hitting short stops in baseball,” Texas State Cemetery Historian Jason Walker said.
Wells' aggressive playing style also led to another innovation.
"He would constantly get hit in the head or brushed back, so he modified a construction hard-had and he started using it as a batting helmet, and it just sort of caught on,” Walker said.
Wells' admirers say the man who popularized the baseball helmet helped change the game in other ways.
"They served as role models for men like Jackie Robinson who would eventually break that color barrier and play Major League Baseball,” Gov. Rick Perry said.
"I'm so sorry he couldn't be here to see this. He lived it and he breathed it. He just loved baseball,” his daughter Stella Wells said.
The people who shared Wells' passion for the game were on hand to celebrate his life and welcome Wells home to claim his place in Texas history.
"I know what Willie would say, 'It finally happened! It finally happened,' " O’Neil said.
Wells’ remains were moved from Evergreen Cemetery on Saturday. They're now marked by a memorial tombstone in the Texas State Cemetery.
