The last game of the 1998 baseball season in Yankee Stadium was ‘Joe DiMaggio Day’. Paul Simon was brought in to sing ‘Mrs Robinson’ during the pre-game and the whole stadium of 55,000 sang “where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”
DiMaggio was on hand and received replacement World Series rings for his eight that had been stolen thirty years before. The Yankees went on to win the World Series that fall.
Joe DiMaggio passed away the next spring.
It is undeniable that magic happens in some iconic venues, particularly those whose rich history transcends their sport. There is no team even close to the New York Yankees in World Series titles. Generational teams are part of the charm of baseball.
Paul O’Neill’s Grandpa Art played pro baseball in Billings, Montana in 1909. His dad Chick played pro baseball signing a minor league deal in the 1940s.
What happens when a generational player becomes part of a generational team?
Goosebumps.
Paul O’Neill was born Feb 25, 1963, in Columbus, Ohio. He was the youngest of six kids – five boys and a girl.
His family lived at 304 E Schreyer Place in Clintonville. When Paul was five, the family went shopping for a dog. That’s when Paul met his future wife – Nevalee. As it turned out, Nevalee and Paul were carpooled to kindergarten together. Paul remembers her – even at five – being sweet, pretty and smart.
The family moved to 1323 E Cooke Rd to a house that had six bedrooms and 3.5 acres. Chick – despite working all day – would come home energized and ready to play with the kids in their big back yard.
Paul’s older sister Molly kept a journal starting at the age of seven. “Every one of my five brothers was bred to play ball,” she writes. “For a long time, it wasn’t clear which of the boys would make it to the major leagues, but we had no doubt that The One was among us.”
Chick told Paul at age six that his batting stance reminded him of Ted Williams AND that he would some day make it to the majors.
At ten, Paul remembers hitting a double off fire balling 12-year-old Dallas Sharp who played for the Hilliard Colts. He was the Roger Clemons of Little League in Columbus in 1973. He threw really hard. Paul eventually scored and his team won the game 2-1.
Paul O’Neill began to feel that baseball could be his future.
Paul & Nevalee’s paths crossed multiple times growing up. Nevalee was a basketball cheerleader. Paul loved both baseball and basketball. In high school they started dating. One of their first dates was to the drive-in to see ‘Grease’.
Two days after graduating from Brookhaven High School in 1981, Paul decided to forgo college and sign with the Cincinnati Reds. He was assigned to their ‘A’ club in Billings, Montana. Shades of his grandpa.
At 21, Paul proposed to Nevalee. In telling their story he says that they grew up together, then they grew together.
That magical call up to the major leagues soon came the next year from the Reds. Paul played his first game on September 3, 1985. Just eight days later, Paul had a dugout seat at Riverfront Stadium to witness Pete Rose break Ty Cobb’s record with his 4192nd hit.
And his storybook career was just getting started.
The Reds in 1990 led their division wire-to-wire and made the World Series. Paul’s brothers and family came down to Cincinnati to root him on. The Reds unbelievably swept Oakland in four games to win it all.
Then, in November 1992, the Reds traded Paul O’Neill to the Yankees for Roberto Kelly. Paul and his wife Nevalee were devastated. They cried upon hearing the news. Paul’s dad, however, was elated. “This is gonna be the greatest thing that ever happened to you.”
Paul O’Neill’s first year in New York he hit .311 and never looked back.
Paul’s dad – his wise and passionate baseball coach – was slowing down after his open heart surgery but he still made it out to a lot of games.
Six years after winning a World Series in Cincinnati, Paul was a big part of the Yankees winning the 1996 World Series title.
In 1998, the Yankees won 114 games. Paul O’Neill set the tone for the Yankee clubhouse. He was intense. After a game that O’Neill did not hit well, he famously told teammate Chuck Knoblauch “I can’t give you a ride home today because I went 0 for 4.”
The Yankees swept San Diego to win the 1998 World Series. They ended up winning 125 games and are considered one of the greatest teams of all time.
Paul visited his dad in the hospital in Columbus in February 1999 before heading down to spring training in Florida, not knowing if he would ever see him again.
The Yankees made the World Series again in 1999. The night after winning game three, Paul got a call at 2:30AM from the hospital. He knew exactly what it was. His father had died. He stayed up all night with his wife and mother and the kids hugging and crying. Then he finally got some sleep.
When he woke up, he went downstairs and sat next to his mom who simply said, “he would want you to play well tonight.” The decision was made. He was playing. Joe Torre called. Everyone knew.
The Yankees swept Atlanta in four games to go back-to-back.
The next year – 2000 – the Yankees beat the Mets in five games to win the famed ‘Subway Series’ and claim their third straight World Series championship.
A generational feat. It’s happened only three times (New York Yankees 1949-1953 and Oakland A’s 1972-1974).
Then September of 2001 arrived in New York. Paul’s foot was in a boot at the time. He was on the DL. He and Nevalee were at the gym (he was doing weights) in New York the morning of Sept 11, 2001.
After retiring from baseball, Paul joined Michael Kay to broadcast Yankee games on the YES cable network.
Paul wrote a couple of books including his memoir ‘Me & my dad’ (2003) and
‘Swing and a Hit: Nine innings of what baseball taught me’ written with Jack Curry (2022).
My one degree of separation from Paul O’Neill was Dallas Sharp. He made it into Paul’s book and made it into my blog because – for a short time – growing up he and his family were literally next door neighbors. And he was a really good baseball player.
The Yankees retired Paul O’Neill’s number 21 in 2022, twenty one years after he retired.
Sources: Paul O’Neill, a Yankee legend on the field and in the booth by Justin Raffone, Dec 3, 2020, www.bronxpinstripes.com; Joe DiMaggio Day at Yankee Stadium 9 27 98 by David Dziena, YouTube; Paul O’Neill, July 2025, https://en.namu.wiki; Paul O’Neill, the 1996 Dream Team, All of It with Alison Stewart, June 15, 2022, wnyc.org; Oneil, meet O’Neill: Pirates star, namesake Yankee meet at last by Alex Stumpf, Sep 28, 2024, www.mlb.com; Me and my Dad: a baseball memoir by Paul O’Neill; Last Day for Brookhaven Students before School closes for good by Ashley Yore, ABC6-TV, May, 2014; Mostly True – a memoir of family, food and baseball by Molly O’Neill, 2006; The 1998 Yankees – the inside story of the greatest baseball team ever by Jack Curry, 2023; Players, Teams & Stadium Ghosts by Bob Hunter, 2019; Featured pictures courtesy of Columbus Monthly, June, 1998 and my brother-in-law Dick’s baseball card collection.