|
#1
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard
(I'm back again with yet another attempt to showcase one of the significant players in the evolution of integrated major league baseball. Our star of this thread is:
Elston Howard. Catcher for the New York Yankees in 1955-1967. First black player to play for the New York Yankees. 1,471 hits and 167 home runs over 14 seasons. 12-time All-Star. 6-time World Series Champion. 1963 AL MVP. 2-time Gold Glove. New York Yankees #32 Retired. First black player to be AL MVP. Also played for the Kansas City Monarchs and the Boston Red Sox. My plan is to make a daily post including an item from my collection with a portion of Elston's excellent SABR biography written by Cecilia Tan. I hope that you find Tan's treatment of Howard's long career interesting and would love to see any pieces involving him that may be part of your collection. My Elston Howard collection, like his career, is spread out over many years. As a result, it will take us a while to complete the entire biography. As such, I apologize in advance to those readers who may chafe at the slow pace. At any rate, here we go.) Elston Howard was born February 23, 1929, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Emmaline Webb and Travis Howard. A schoolteacher in Sikeston, Missouri, Emmaline fled to St. Louis when Howard, her principal, refused to marry her. She worked to become a dietician, and when Elston was 5 years old, she married Wayman “Big Poppy” Hill. Elston attended the Toussaint L’Ouverture school as well as the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The church’s pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah M. Baker, became Elston’s godfather, and the boy was raised to work hard and eat right (thanks to his mother’s dietician’s know-how). |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
This is nice to see and I'm looking forward to more posts. I'm an Elston Howard collector as well. He was the first ballplayer I was able to meet in person. He had opened Elston Howard Travel in my hometown of Nutley, New Jersey. When it opened my best friend and I would walk by daily hoping for a glimpse of a major leaguer. One day a woman waved us into the offices and told us to come by that weekend. Sure enough, Elston was there and he signed pictures for us. The signature has faded quite a bit but I still treasure the photo.
btw...I hope you are okay with me posting in this thread. I'll remove this if you want. IMG_0003 (2).jpg
__________________
People are crazy and times are strange, I used to care but things have changed -Dylan Last edited by commishbob; 04-30-2024 at 07:38 AM. |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Bob: Thanks very much for the images and the story. I am not only OK with you posting in this thread, but I am trying to encourage it. The more images and remembrances of Elston we can get posted the better. I look forward to your contributions as we work our way through his career.
|
#4
|
||||
|
||||
Under different circumstances where Yogi Berra wasn't his teammate, he might have had an even more impressive career from a statistical standpoint. He was stuck in the minors so long fans picketed Yankee Stadium, and never played 100 games as a catcher until he turned 32. While the Hall of Fame's stubborn gatekeepers might cringe, he wouldn't be the worst catcher in Cooperstown.
Of all his cards, I like the 1958 Topps the best. |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard
(Chris: Thanks for the post and the nice 58T of Elston!)
In the summer of 1945, Howard, then 16, was playing baseball in a sandlot when Frank Tetnus “Teannie” Edwards approached him. “The biggest kid on the field was hitting the ball so hard and far that it made Teannie mad,” wrote Arlene Howard in her book Elston and Me. “When he got to the field he found out that the big kid was, in fact, one of the youngest on the lot.” Edwards, a former Negro Leagues player himself, helped run the St. Louis Braves and he wanted Elston. Convincing Emmaline was the hardest part. Edwards had to promise that young Elston would eat properly. On Easter Sunday 1946 (April 21), Howard debuted in the Tandy League, catching in a game against Kinloch. He had two hits and threw out two runners trying to steal second in a 5-4 loss. |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Also, I have surprisingly never seen that 58 Howard and it is one of my new favorites. Has to be the best looking card in the set and probably one of the better looking one of the 50s as a whole. |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
I for one love these threads. Outstanding!
__________________
James Ingram Successful net54 purchases from/trades with: Tere1071, Bocabirdman, 8thEastVB, GoldenAge50s, IronHorse2130, Kris19, G1911, dacubfan, sflayank, Smanzari, bocca001, eliminator, ejstel, lampertb, rjackson44, Jason19th, Cmvorce, CobbSpikedMe, Harliduck, donmuth, HercDriver, Huck, theshleps Completed 1962 Topps Completed 1969 Topps deckle edge Completed 1953 Bowman color & b/w *** Raw cards only, daddyo! *** |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Later playing days
Traded to the Red Sox for half the 1967 season and 1968 season. Was on the "Impossible Dream" team and contributed greatly..... only to be on the losing end to the Cards giving him a dubious honor...... tied with Pee Wee Reese for most times on a World Series runner up! PS Thanks to our own Gray Ghost (Scott) for selling me these cool type 1 photos....
Last edited by NiceDocter; 05-01-2024 at 02:15 PM. Reason: . |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Although he may have been overlooked elsewhere, for those of us growing up in New York, good old #32 remained a continual presence each night you put on Channel 11 to watch the Yanks.
He stood as a visible pillar of the Bronx Bombers' legacy, and seemed to really be a calming influence in what Sparky Lyle eventually deemed 'The Bronx Zoo.' A class act.
__________________
All the cool kids love my YouTube Channel:
Elm's Adventures in Cardboard Land https://www.youtube.com/@TheJollyElm Looking to trade? Here's my bucket: https://www.flickr.com/photos/152396...57685904801706 “I was such a dangerous hitter I even got intentional walks during batting practice.” Casey Stengel Spelling "Yastrzemski" correctly without needing to look it up since the 1980s. Overpaying yesterday is simply underpaying tomorrow. |
#10
|
||||
|
||||
A couple more Ellie Howard things.
elstondorman.jpg DBU-VOzXUAAkaqh.jpg DSC09521.jpg 62ellie.jpg dow.png
__________________
People are crazy and times are strange, I used to care but things have changed -Dylan |
#11
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard
The following year, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Major Leagues. Now 18, Howard was working at Bauer’s grocery store and finishing at all-black Vashon High School. After Robinson’s debut, Vashon hastily formed a baseball team. Elston was already a star athlete at Vashon, playing football, running track, and making all-state in basketball. He was easily the best player in baseball, as well, and after graduating from Vashon, he played another summer with the (St. Louis) Braves.
|
#12
|
||||
|
||||
Here's a photo from the 1958 World Series, Gil McDougald and Elston Howard being interviewed after one of the games at the Stadium. I like the old-school camera gear, and both of them just seated on a table.
__________________
James Ingram Successful net54 purchases from/trades with: Tere1071, Bocabirdman, 8thEastVB, GoldenAge50s, IronHorse2130, Kris19, G1911, dacubfan, sflayank, Smanzari, bocca001, eliminator, ejstel, lampertb, rjackson44, Jason19th, Cmvorce, CobbSpikedMe, Harliduck, donmuth, HercDriver, Huck, theshleps Completed 1962 Topps Completed 1969 Topps deckle edge Completed 1953 Bowman color & b/w *** Raw cards only, daddyo! *** |
#13
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard
(Great photo, Jim.)
He was urged by Teannie Edwards to attend an open tryout for the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park, but the Cardinals turned a blind eye. (Alas, the Cardinals would not field a black player until 1954 — Tom Alston.) Meanwhile, college beckoned, with three Big Ten schools (Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State) asking for his services in football and several others interested in him for track, basketball, and baseball. Emmaline was hoping her son might grow up to be a doctor. But Edwards called in scouts from the Kansas City Monarchs, the elite Negro Leagues team Jackie Robinson had played for. The Monarchs were so impressed that they went to his mother to negotiate a professional contract. Elston would get $500 a month, mailed directly to her. |
#14
|
||||
|
||||
That’s a sweet’56! And I agree with the others his ‘58 is an outstanding looking card. Glad to see Ellie getting some love!
|
#15
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard
In Kansas City, Howard, like the rest of the Monarchs, was treated like a king. Player-manager Buck O’Neil and Earl “Mickey” Taborn, the Monarchs catcher and Ellie’s roommate, showed him the ropes. They enjoyed tailored clothes, terrific food, and the best jazz music in the nation in Kansas City. Because Taborn was the regular catcher, Howard played left field, filling in at first base when O’Neil was out of the lineup. Then in 1949, Taborn left to play for the Triple-A Newark Bears. By the time he returned in 1950, Howard’s new roommate was a young fellow named Ernie Banks.
|
#16
|
||||
|
||||
Great thread.
I wish I had a better contribution, but it still reflects well on the man. Some pioneers together! Original AP caption: The Baltimore Orioles' Larry Doby and Puggy Bell (white T-shirt) scramble for the ball as referee Jackie Robinson, formerly of the Brooklyn Dodgers, looks on during a benefit game in New York, January 16th 1958. The hand at right belongs to Elston Howard of the New York Yankees. The game at the Renaissance Casino was a fundraiser for the Harlem branch of the YMCA
__________________
42 Collection: Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey and the People Who Shaped the Story https://www.flickr.com/photos/158992...57668696860149 Last edited by Dewey; 05-04-2024 at 08:11 PM. |
#17
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Going to the Yankees!
(Thanks Dewey: great photograph. Obviously, Elston's arm.)
The players could see what was coming. Monarchs owner Tom Baird had found that there was money to be made selling players to the majors. Ernie and Ellie made a bet: Whoever got to the majors first would call the other and tell him what it was like. Tom Greenwade, the legendary Yankees scout, soon came calling to look at a different player, but Buck O’Neil steered him to Howard. Within days, Elston Howard and Frank Barnes had been sold for $25,000 to the New York Yankees. (I apologize for the blurry scan. I can't fix it at my present location.) |
#18
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Minor League Debut!
Now 21, Howard debuted on July 26, 1950, in left field for the Class A Muskegon, Michigan, Clippers. He would earn $400 a month. The Clippers had a 39-46 record when he arrived, and went 36-18 in the 54 games he played, making the playoffs. Howard batted cleanup and hit well, but the Clippers fell short of the league championship.
|
#19
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Playing for Uncle Sam!
Returning to St. Louis for the off-season, Elston announced his decision to marry his high school sweetheart, Delores Williams. Just before the wedding, he was drafted into the Army, at the height of the Korean War. While he was in basic training, the marriage with Delores was dissolved — there are conflicting stories as to why. Howard was sent overseas, but he never fought in Korea. Once the Army realized it had a great baseball player on its hands, he was assigned to Special Services and sent to Japan. That was all Howard ever did in the army: play baseball.
|
#20
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Kansas City Blue!
By 1953 Howard was playing for the Yankees’ top farm team, the Kansas City Blues. Another black player, Vic Power from Puerto Rico, was a teammate. Power batted .349 but because of the amount of trouble he stirred up was considered too much of a loose cannon to ever make it in pinstripes. Power was eventually traded to the Philadelphia A’s. In August, Jet magazine featured an article with the headline “Howard May be First Negro with Yankees.”
|
#21
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
"A good chance of become the first Negro ever to play on the American league team" Amazing history. And to keep it on track with Elston. A snapshot taken of him alongside Mick, Game 3 of the 1960 World series.
__________________
My Red Schoendienst collection- https://imageevent.com/lucas00/redsc...enstcollection My Baseball Snapshot Photo collection- https://imageevent.com/lucas00/snapshotcollection Original Type 1/Press photos etc for sale- https://imageevent.com/lucas00/photosforsale |
#22
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Catching in Canada!
(Great photographs, Lucas! Thanks for sharing.)
Shortly before Christmas, Elston proposed to Arlene Henley, whose sister he had gone to high school with. He spent February 1954 at “Yankee Prospects School” with 28 other ballplayers in Lake Wales, Florida, and March at spring training with the big club, sharing a locker room with Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, and Billy Martin. Bill Dickey, former Yankee great, worked with him to make him a major league catcher. Some newspapers, like the Baltimore Afro-American, criticized the Yankees, claiming the move to catcher was a manufactured setback to keep Howard in the minors. When the Yankees broke camp, they took three catchers north with them: Yogi Berra, Charlie Silvera, and Ralph Houk. They didn’t want to send Howard back to the Blues, so they arranged for him to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League. Canada was a bit more welcoming to black players. Howard won the league MVP Award, hit .330, with 22 homers and 109 RBIs. At the end of the season, he gave Arlene an engagement ring, and they planned to marry in the spring of 1955. |
#23
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Yanks under Pressure to Integrate!
Media reports that Howard would be a Yankee by spring increased, as did protests pressuring the Yankees to integrate. The Yankees won 103 games in 1954, but not the league pennant. Cleveland, featuring black outfielder Larry Doby, won the flag with 111 wins, a sign that the Yankees might need to integrate themselves. The Yankees decided to send Howard to winter ball in Puerto Rico.
|
#24
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Having a Baby!
The wedding to Arlene was rushed to December 4, 1954. Howard’s godfather, Reverend Baker, married them in Arlene’s mother’s living room. They honeymooned in San Juan, where they lived in the same building as Willie Mays and Sam Jones. Then Howard was off to St. Petersburg for Yankee camp, Arlene back to St. Louis, pregnant with the couple’s first child.
|
#25
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Making the Bigs!
Casey Stengel batted Howard in the cleanup spot much of the spring, prompting Arthur Daley to write in the New York Times, “He seems certain to be the first Negro to make the Yankees. … They’ve waited for one to come along who [is] ‘the Yankee type.’ Elston is a nice, quiet lad whose reserved, gentlemanly demeanor has won him complete acceptance from every Yankee.” Daley was right. Ralph Houk went to the minors, Howard was given his uniform number (32), and on March 21 general manager George Weiss announced that Elston Howard would be coming to New York.
|
#26
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Ed Sullivan to World Series!
His New York City debut came the Sunday night before the season, when he appeared with Stengel and two other rookies on the Ed Sullivan Show. His on-field debut followed on April 14 at Fenway Park, subbing for Irv Noren, who had been ejected for arguing with an umpire. He got a base hit and knocked in a run. Perhaps the most memorable effect of Howard’s presence on the Yankees that year, though, was that the team changed its hotel policy, staying only in hotels that would accept Howard as a guest. Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Hank Bauer were Howard’s best friends on the team. He hit .290 in 97 games his rookie season, with another five hits in the World Series, including a home run in his first World Series at-bat. That performance was offset by eight strikeouts, and the Dodgers won their first World Series. Howard made the final out of the Series, then traveled to Japan with the Yankees for a good will tour.
|
#27
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Manning the Outfield!
On the 25-game tour of the Pacific, Howard hit .468 to lead the team. Meanwhile, Elston Jr. was born. Howard’s pay jumped in 1956 from $6,000 to $10,000, he bought a house in St. Louis, and then heard from Stengel that he would be doing more catching. Howard drove the family to Florida, planning to stay overnight with a friend of his godfather’s, a preacher named Martin Luther King. But that night the King house was firebombed, and they could not stay there. Almost as disastrous, Howard broke a finger in spring training. Then Norm Siebern went down, and Howard had to fill the gap in the outfield. So much for spending significant time behind the plate. He appeared in only 98 games, 26 at catcher, and finished the year with a so-so .262 batting average, 5 homers, and 34 RBIs. While he had started all seven World Series games in 1955, the team’s acquisition of Enos Slaughter kept Howard on the bench for the first six Series games in 1956. Nonetheless, Stengel started him in Game Seven, and Howard homered and doubled in the 9-0 Yankee win.
|
#28
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Only Black Big-Leaguer in New York!
The era of change continued to sweep New York. Jackie Robinson retired, and within a year the Giants and Dodgers went west, leaving New York to the Yankees and Elston Howard the only black major leaguer in town. In 1957, he returned to the Yankees once again hoping for more playing time. After Moose Skowron got hurt, Howard played more, and in midseason Stengel named him to the American League All-Star team. He ended the season hitting .253, with 8 home runs and 44 RBIs, still pining for more playing time.
|
#29
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Platooning for Stengel!
As the 1958 season opened, hope for regular catching duties again flared. Stengel again hinted that Berra could not catch so much. The Howards bought a house in Teaneck, New Jersey. Howard was in left field again on Opening Day in Boston. Daughter Cheryl was born on May 9, and Howard spent his first game behind the plate that season shortly after that, in the first game of a doubleheader on May 11. At one point Howard’s batting average reached .350, but he would not have enough plate appearances to qualify for the title should his average hold up. Stengel was adamant about platooning his players; Howard ended the year hitting .314, with 11 homers, and 66 RBIs in 103 games, 67 behind the plate.
|
#30
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Outstanding Player in 1958 World Series!
Elston’s heroism as a Yankee was cemented in the 1958 World Series. Down three games to one in Game Five, Howard got the start in left, despite having dental work that morning. In the sixth, he made a game-saving dive in the outfield, then doubled off the runner, in a play that turned the Series around. “I knew I had to get the ball,” Howard told reporters after the game. “I skinned my knee and my stomach doing it. I’m no outfielder. I’m a catcher, but the manager put me out there and I had to do the best I could.” The next game the Yankees won again, 4-3, in ten innings in which Howard had two hits and scored a run, and in Game Seven, with the score tied 2-2 in the eighth, Howard drove in the go-ahead run. The New York Baseball Writers chapter gave him the Babe Ruth Award as the outstanding player in the World Series.
|
#31
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Still Platooning!
In 1959, Casey’s annual prediction that Berra would catch less was again wrong. In fact, Yogi caught 116 games, more than the previous year. Though Elston reached his career high in games played, the platoon system made him feel like a part-time player. One thing that did change was that the Yankees picked up another black player, Panamanian Hector Lopez, who came from Kansas City in a trade. But Mickey Mantle was hurt, Whitey Ford’s elbow was balky, and it was all downhill that summer. The Yankees suffered bad losing streaks, including losing five straight at Fenway Park, and finished third in the standings.
|
#32
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Another Good World Series!
Because the club had done poorly, general manager George Weiss tried to cut salaries in 1960. Howard’s offer was $5,000 less than his previous year’s wages, and he held out, missing the reporting date for spring training. Weiss relented, giving him $25,500, a $3,000 raise. Elston, like the rest of the team, had ups and downs that season, but eventually came out on top. Shelved by a few injuries, he nonetheless did get in 107 games, 91 catching, and made the All-Star team. He sprained a finger on the season’s last day. Doctors said he wouldn’t play until Game Three of the World Series, but Casey had him pinch hit in Game One. He hit a two-run home run in the 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. He had a very good Series until he broke a finger batting against Bob Friend. He batted .462 in the Series, but the Yankees lost, on the famous Bill Mazeroski home run. The loss precipitated the ouster of both manager Casey Stengel and general manager George Weiss.
|
#33
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Career Year in 1961!
Ralph Houk, the former second-string catcher pushed back to the minors by Elston’s emergence, became the manager in 1961. Preferring a more stable lineup than Stengel had, Houk plugged Howard in as his catcher 111 times, playing Berra more in left field. New hitting coach Wally Moses encouraged Howard to bat with his feet closer together, allowing him to spray the ball to all fields. Howard responded with a career year, hitting .348 with 21 home runs in 129 games. He again made the All-Star team and would have battled Norm Cash of Detroit for the batting title if he’d had the plate appearances (Cash won it, hitting .361). Between the revitalized Howard, an historic home run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, and terrific pitching (Ford won 25 games), the Yankees won 109 and took only five games to beat Cincinnati in the World Series. Howard caught all five games and was honored in the off-season as St. Louis’ Man of the Year by the city.
|
#34
|
||||
|
||||
Elston Howard -- Earning His Money!
1962 brought another improvement. Pressured to stop segregating their black players in spring training housing, the Yankees moved their camp to Fort Lauderdale. Howard’s pay raise was significant, to $42,500, and he earned it. He hit another 21 home runs with 138 hits and a .279 average in a career-high 136 games. The three catchers, Howard, Berra, and Johnny Blanchard, combined for 44 homers that season. But Howard’s batting average suffered a bit, down to .268 on June 30, though he made the All-Star team again. Most of the homers came in the late-season pennant race with Minnesota, and his and Mantle’s surges insured that the Yankees captured the flag. They faced the San Francisco Giants in a pitching-dominated World Series that was drawn out by rain on both coasts. Elston was behind the plate when Ralph Terry secured the final 1-0 win in Game Seven.
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Elston Howard Autograph Help | rmarks | Autograph Forum- Primarily Sports | 5 | 04-28-2019 05:44 AM |
FS: '64 TG Elston Howard SGC 80 - SOLD | Robextend | 1960-1979 Baseball Cards B/S/T | 1 | 02-19-2016 04:56 PM |
Elston Howard Signed 3*5 For Sale | canjond | Autographs & Game Used B/S/T | 2 | 03-22-2013 07:38 PM |
Elston Howard auto | Northviewcats | Postwar Baseball Cards Forum (Pre-1980) | 0 | 08-20-2012 12:02 PM |
WTB: '55B Elston Howard or a few 1960s | donmuth | 1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T | 1 | 12-09-2010 12:53 PM |