The Yankees first African-American player would have been 70 today.
One of Casey Stengel’s great — if not politically correct — lines was, “As Peter Golenbock noted in Dynasty, “When I finally get a [black player], I get the only one who can’t run.”
After his death, Howard’s wife, Arlene, published Elston and Me: The Story of the First Black Yankee, with Ralph Wimbish, in which she tells the distaff side: Not only were African-American players isolated, so were their wives and families.
The Amazon Report:
Elston and Me: The Story of the First Black Yankee (Sports and American Culture Series)
is available on Amazon.com,
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Happy Birthday, cousin Elston. My Grandmother Maryland Augusta Howard Barton and your Dad Travis B. Howard were brother and sister back in Memphis. She took care him until his death. Our family loves you and is so proud of your accomplishments. Elston and Me is a great book, I enjoyed reading it.
Your cousin Kimberlyn in Atlanta, Georgia.
I can not tell you how long I have wanted to tell this story. When i was young in my teens, my baseball hero was Johnny Blanchard. I sent him a picture and asked him to sign it. At the same time, I sent Mr. (Elston) Howard a letter saying I wish he would break a leg so Blanchard could play. Well, I never got a response from Blanchard, but Mr. Howard sent me back a 2 page letter that was very moving. I am by the way a Red Sox fan, but whenever I see a story about Mr. Howard on the YES channel, I say – if only people knew how really a nice person he was also. If at all possible, let his family know he was special. I saw the ceremony for the last game at Yankee Stadium, and when his daughter went on the field, it brought tears to my eyes.
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