Elston Howard

Elston Howard
Elston Howard
	Catcher / Left fielder
	Born: February 23, 1929; St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
	Died: December 14, 1980 (aged 51); Manhattan, New York, U.S.
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	April 14, 1955, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
	September 29, 1968, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average	.274
Home runs	168
Runs batted in	775
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	As player Kansas City Monarchs (1948); New York Yankees (1955–1967); Boston Red Sox (1967–1968); As coach New York Yankees (1969–1979);
Career highlights and awards
	12× All-Star (1957, 1958, 1959²–1965); 6× World Series champion (1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978); AL MVP (1963); 2× Gold Glove Award (1963, 1964); New York Yankees No. 32 retired; Monument Park honoree;
Allegiance
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1951–1952
Unit	Special Services
Battles / wars	Korean War

Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball from 1948 through 1968, primarily for the New York Yankees. A 12-time All-Star, he also played for the Kansas City Monarchs and the Boston Red Sox. Howard served on the Yankees' coaching staff from 1969 to 1979.

In 1955, he was the first African American player on the Yankees roster, eight years after Jackie Robinson had broken MLB's color barrier in 1947. Howard was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 1963 pennant winners after finishing third in the league in slugging average and fifth in home runs, becoming the first black player in AL history to win the honor. He won Gold Glove Awards in 1963 and 1964, in the latter season setting AL records for putouts and total chances in a season. His lifetime fielding percentage of .993 as a catcher was a major league record from 1967 to 1973, and he retired among the AL career leaders in putouts (7th, 6,447) and total chances (9th, 6,977).