Salutation

On April 14, 1955, 65 years ago, Elston Howard entered a major-league game as the first (known) African-American player for the New York Yankees.

This is a little belated, unfortunately, because I only just learned about it.  But (almost) on this day, Howard replaced Irv Noren in left field, in the sixth inning of an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox up in Fenway Park.  In his first major-league at-bat, Howard singled off Willard Nixon to drive in Mickey Mantle.

The Yankees were not, contrary to rumor, the next-to-last team to bring up or sign a black player.  The Phillies, Tigers, and (heh-heh) Red Sox all came even later.  But it was still pretty inexcusable.

Howard got the nod mostly because Yankees general manager George Weiss had run out of excuses, particularly when it came to Howard's impeccable character and good humor.  Nonetheless, their foot-dragging probably cost Ellie a good 4-5 years of major-league ball—and a possible shot at the Hall of Fame.  He got to the Bronx only after a stint on the legendary Kansas City Monarchs, and then a long slog through the Yanks' system that culminated with him hitting .330 in Triple-A.

Playing on the Yankees, and behind Yogi Berra, cost Howard more at-bats but he never complained, filling in wherever he could.  He made a catch in left field that helped save the 1958 World Series for the Yanks, and in 1961—finally the starting catcher—he batted a career-high .348.

Howard became the first black MVP in the American League in 1963 (There had already been 9 in the NL.), won the Gold Glove in 1963-64, and had the highest lifetime fielding percentage of any catcher, ever, from 1967-1973.  Finishing out his career with the Sox and the "Impossible Dream" team of 1967, he became only the sixth—and last—man ever to play in ten or more World Series.

(Fun facts:  Howard also came up with the on-deck "doughnut" that meant players did not have to swing multiple bats.  He also used a sharpened shinguard to cut the baseball for Whitey Ford in his later years.)

The first black coach in the American League as well, Ellie died of a longstanding heart condition in 1980, aged just 51.  Red Smith wrote that "The Yankees' organization lost more class over the weekend than George Steinbrenner could buy in ten years."

Howard danced about with a broom at his after-school job when he heard that Jackie Robinson was signed by the Dodgers, knowing that he would have a shot at the majors.  On the Yankees, he had to endure the casual, old-school racism of Casey Stengel, who called him "Eight-ball," and occasionally groused that "when I finally got one, I got the only one who can't run."

But he endured, as he always would, and triumphed.  His Yankees teammates, at least, reportedly welcomed him with open arms, spreading the traditional carpet of towels to his locker after his first home run.

Howard himself reported that Phil Rizzuto, especially, went out of his way to look out for him, taking him around to restaurants and other hotspots while on the road, and showing him the ropes.

His number, 32, was retired by the Yankees in 1984.