Lest We Forget: Pumpsie Green

September 13, 2019

Is there a version of belated birthday greetings for someone whose death has gone unmarked?

And the last shall be first.

Image result for pumpsie green new york metsElijah “Pumpsie” Green, who died on July 17, was last African-American on a major league roster when he became the first such player to break the color line on the Boston Red Sox on July 1, 1959. The middle infielder appeared 327 games over four seasons before being traded to the New York Mets after the ’62 season.

One of the best off-beat stories in baseball came thanks to Green, who decided on a whim that he wanted to emigrate to Israel after a tough loss to the New York Yankees in 1962.

Here’s the obit by Richard Goldstein of The New York Times from back in July.

 

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