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Elston Howard, Baseball Player born

Elston Howard

*Elston Howard was born on this date in 1929. He was a Black baseball player.

From St. Louis, he graduated from Vashon High School, where he starred in baseball, track, football, and basketball. In 1948, at age nineteen, the future New York Yankees' star played three seasons in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs. He was not an outfielder when he joined the Monarchs; Howard was a catcher, but after working behind the plate on the night, he was shifted to the outfield to bolster a wobbly garden defense that immediately became a match.

He posted a batting average of.283, .270, and .319 while hitting with good power. In 1950 he also played in organized baseball with Muskegon in the Central League and hit.283 for the last half of the season. After two years of military service, he joined Kansas City in the American Association, where he hit.286. In 1954, with Toronto in the International League, he hit.330 with 22 homers, 21 doubles, and a league-leading 16 triples. The next season he went up to the Yankees, and for the next 13 years, he was one of their most indispensable players.

His best years were 1961 when he hit.348 with 21 homers, and 1963, when he hit.287 with 28 homers and 85 RBIs. Howard was the first Black man to play for the New York Yankees and the first to win the American League MVP award (1963). Although an all-time Yankees favorite, he ended his major-league career in 1968 with the Boston Red Sox, finishing with a. 274-lifetime major-league batting average. Elston Howard died on December 14th, 1980.

To become a Professional Athlete.