Howard, Elston G.
Baseball
b. Feb. 23, 1929, St. Louis, MO
d. Dec. 14, 1980
The first black to play for the New York Yankees, Howard joined the team in 1955. He was used primarily in the outfield during his first five seasons, while also playing first base on occasion and serving as backup catcher to Yogi Berra.
In 1960, Howard took over as the team's starting catcher, with Berra backing him up and frequently playing the outfield. Howard had his best overall offensive season in 1961, hitting .348 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI. He was named the AL's most valuable player in 1963, when he batted .287, hit 28 home runs and had 85 RBI.
He was traded to the Boston Red Sox during the 1967 season and played on his 10th pennant-winning team in 13 years. Howard retired as a player after the 1968 season and returned to the Yankees as a coach.
In 1,605 games, Howard had 1,471 hits, including 218 doubles, 50 triples, and 167 home runs. He scored 619 runs and drove in 762.