Buck Freeman
Baseball Player
Former coal miner who became one of baseball's first power hitters, amassing numerous home run records.
He joined his father at a coal mine near Wilkes-Barre, picking slate and then driving mules, but his real interest was in baseball.
Playing during baseball's deadball era, he finished the 1899 season with a remarkable 25 home runs, more than twice as many as the runner up; he repeated that feat in the American League in 1903.
He was born in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, the son of an Irish immigrant coal miner.
Roger Hornsby, another great slugger, eventually broke his home run record.