The bespectacled slugger passed away yesterday at the age of 87.
Known for his gargantuan home runs as well as his size, the “Capital Punisher” lost 382 balls over a 17 year career that included the LA Dodgers, with whom he won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1960; the Washington Senator/Texas Rangers, where he enjoyed his best years (four-time All-Star); and Detroit Tigers. He later served as manager for the San Diego Padres and NY Mets.
Naturally, you can put Howard’s baseball cards on a bookshelf. I remember, in particular, Topps coming out with a “Super Set” set in the late 1960s/early 70s. These measured 3 1/8” by 5 ¼” with rounded edges for some reason, as opposed to the standard size of 2 1/2″ by 3 1/2″.
Here is Howard’s obit from The New York Times by Richard Goldstein and from the Washington Post by Matt Schudel.
Al Hirshberg published Frank Howard: The Gentle Giant in 1973. Kind of odd to see that the cover doesn’t portray him with the glasses.
is available on Amazon.com,
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