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Let’s Remember Elston Howard and the Yankees’ Historic Day, April 14, 1955

 “A man of great gentleness and dignity, one of the truly great Yankees.” –Inscription on Elston Howard’s Monument Park plaque

Sixty-five years ago today, April 14, 1955, was a memorable date in Yankee history. On that day, Elson Howard became the first African-American to play for the Bronx Bombers. It occurred eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.

Before I say a little bit about Elston Howard’s fine career, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at that historic day:

The game was played at Fenway Park between the Yankees and Red Sox before 22,245 fans. To no surprise, the Yankee lineup was loaded with stars, including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Enos Slaughter. This was the second game of the season for the Yanks, as they had routed the Senators the day before at home, 19-1. Howard had not played in the Opener, and was not in the starting lineup for this game. Some of our older readers will remember the umpires on the field that day: Bill McKinley, Red Flaherty, Nestor Chylak, and Charlie Berry.

The historic moment came in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Red Sox leading 3-2. Twenty-six-year-old rookie Elston Howard was called off the bench by manager Casey Stengel and trotted out to left field replacing Irv Noren. He was inserted into the sixth spot in the batting order. As soon as Elston stepped foot on the diamond, the historic moment had arrived: the New York Yankees had finally broken the color barrier.

More history was just ahead as the game proceeded to the top of the eighth, with the Yankees now down 6-2. The inning started with Mickey Mantle and Bill Skowron drawing back-to-back walks, followed by Yogi Berra flying out to left. With Willard Nixon on the mound for the Red Sox, Elston Howard stepped up to the plate. As he did so, he now became the first African-American to come to bat for the Yankees.

Elston delivered, ripping a single to center which scored Mantle and sent Skowron to third, recording a hit and an RBI in his first official at-bat. Ellie advanced to third on a hit by Jerry Coleman, but was stranded there as Eddie Robinson lined into a double play. Lost in the significance of the moment was that the Yankees went on to lose the game, 8-4, with Bob Grim taking the loss and Nixon the winner. Howard went on to hit .290 with ten home runs and 43 RBIs in 97 games his rookie year.

Elston Howard had an outstanding 14-yeard career (1955-1967) in the majors, playing for the Yankees (1955-1967), and the Red Sox (1967-1968).  He had started his professional career as an outfielder in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs (1948-1950), playing under manager Buck O’Neil. In 1950, he had roomed with Ernie Banks.

The Yankees signed him on July 19, 1950, and he was assigned to the Muskegon Clippers. The next five years found him on various Yankee minor league farm teams, along with two years (1951-1952) lost to military service. Upon reaching the majors in 1955, the Yankees assigned Bill Dickey to tutor him in his catching skills.

Over his career, the St. Louis native hit .274 with 167 home runs and 762 RBIs. A 12-time All-Star, his best season was 1963 when he hit .287 with 28 home runs and 85 RBIs. That year he won the American League MVP award, becoming the first black player in American League history to receive the honor.

An outstanding defensive catcher, Elston won Gold Glove Awards in 1963 and 1964. In the latter season, he set league records for single-season putouts and total chances. His lifetime fielding percentage of .993 as a catcher was a major league record from 1967 to 1973; and he retired among American League career leaders in putouts (7th, 6,447) and total chances (9th, 6,977).

Elston was a member of six Yankee World Series championships. In 54 postseason games, he hit .246 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. Following his playing career, he coached for the Yankees from 1969-1979. His #32 has been retired by the Yankees and he is a Monument Park honoree.

Elston Howard passed away of heart disease on December 14, 1980 at the age of 51. At the time of his passing, New York Times columnist Red Smith eulogized the ball player whose courage and quiet dignity had meant so much to the Yankee organization:

“The Yankees’ organization lost more class on the weekend than George Steinbrenner could buy in 10 years.”

Let’s take a moment to remember a truly historic day in Yankee history, and a truly historic ballplayer, Elston Howard.   

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Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from Elston Howard Wikipedia page

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