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AJ McKenzie
  • 6 days ago
First African-American to ever wear the pinstripes
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
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00:02number 32 elston howard elston howard is one of the most important yankees
00:09there ever was he was the first african-american to play for the yankees
00:14and that mattered well elston howard had he been on any other ball club
00:18would have been a hall of famer just immediately he knew what he had to do
00:23he went out and he did it he was good at everything he did he had a good arm he
00:29was a good receiver
00:29and he is a good hitter whenever he could hit for power he could hit for average hey there it
00:35goes on
00:35ernie bain he he's a 12-time all-star six-time world series champion mvp i don't know why he's
00:47not in
00:47the hall of fame he put him in he was always there to make the clutch hit man hell he
00:57really stacked that
00:58player people in the game know who the great ones are he was one of the greats
01:11catcher elston howard was also a pioneer the first african-american to wear the pinstripes
01:17and eventually the first black coach in american league history
01:22hi i'm john sterling for the yes network and this is yankeeography in his own quiet classy way
01:30elston howard was a dynamic instrument of change one who touched the lives of so many along the way
01:43ellie was to my eyes and my experience as good a human being as you'll ever come across
01:53i hate to talk about this and refer to it that way but he's a one person i really miss
02:00today i mean
02:01i i just enjoyed being around and the qualities of this young man were just unbelievable
02:08had i had a idea there were teammates and i had no idea ernie banks was in the uh negro
02:13leagues
02:14i thought he was always a cup boy i would want him to be like elston howard
02:20he'd do anything for you and i would do anything for him too i'm glad i played with him
02:27i always remember what he did and what he had endured
02:31the pinstripe and the pride of being a new york yankee and
02:36there's only good things that you can say about elston howard
02:39some remember him as a coach many as a player
02:44but everyone who knew elston howard remembers him fondly
02:47both for his impact on their lives and the game itself
02:52i think about elston howard
03:01the roster for over the years and they bring in japanese players and latin players and
03:07he was the pioneer he was the first one
03:11there was
03:12the irony is all these black players all these african-american players that
03:18helped open up the game and became all-time greats they got phased out for
03:27non-african-american men of color
03:35a point in time when elston was first breaking in with the yankees and he ran into jackie robinson at
03:42a
03:42function or something and he thanked jackie for
03:58what i had to do wanted me
04:01here's how elston said i was going to be
04:08it's tough playing alone
04:11you know
04:15i just wish that
04:20the kids today will realize what we were doing
04:33i think all of baseball had a special feeling about elston
04:38anybody that knew him and even those who didn't those who were on the periphery
04:41had the impression that this was a thinking ball player
04:45to me he was a great player he could play first base outfield and he was a hell of a
04:50catcher
04:51he had the tools he had the tools and he wanted to win
04:57elston's contributions as a coach
04:59and his accomplishments as a player
05:01is one thing
05:02his interaction with others in such tenuous times
05:06and the road he helped pave is quite another
05:10no idea with what he accomplished
05:13passes really passes physical prime
05:17why he's not in the hall of fame
05:21elston howard is his own record
05:24he's always carrying a little bit more than and than anybody else
05:29like jackie robinson
05:30like larry dovey
05:32like all the early african-american pioneers in baseball
05:35they not only did a job which we know is the hardest in all of professional sports to do
05:40but they carried with them responsibilities and distractions
05:44that make their accomplishments all the more important and remarkable
05:51i never felt like i had it made
05:53i always try to play like i haven't got there yet
05:58it's been one long battle for me
06:00as i look back over the years
06:05everybody why he gave me anything
06:11and
06:13howard had that dignity that they looked for something that went back
06:51i don't know where to begin
06:54i'm very fortunate to be with the yankees
06:56this is the greatest thing in my life
07:05long before he was a yankee elston howard grew up in a section of st louis
07:10called compton hill
07:12it was there he first gained his reputation as a great athlete
07:16a four-letter man
07:17he excelled in all the uh
07:20all the sports
07:22football
07:24basketball
07:25track
07:26and then of course baseball
07:29he was one of the great athletes of missouri history
07:32in fact if you look in the missouri hall of fame i think he's still
07:35listed as the shot put champion
07:37in 1948 after graduating from high school
07:41and one year after jackie robinson broke the game's color barrier
07:45elston tried out for the st louis cardinals
07:49in those days the major league teams used to have regular tryouts for just anybody that wanted
07:57well st louis was in st louis cardinals they were in st louis so they're in st louis
08:07and they didn't want really want black players on their teams any of their major teams
08:15so no matter how progressive a guy like stan usual was he wasn't gonna get elston howard as a teammate
08:22even though he was from st louis
08:29st louis cardinals he was really the best one to try out and they said we'll we'll we'll be in
08:36touch with you but the call never came and elston had no choice but to play for the class
08:42of the negro leagues the kansas city monarchs
08:47i guess you could compare them with the new york yankees they were the premier
08:51team in the negro leagues at that time if he was a member of the monarchs team he was treated
08:57with
08:57raw one of his managers when he went to negro baseball was buckle neil is also one of his uh
09:04mentors he was a catcher but we had another catcher there so put him in that field had a good
09:13arm
09:13to draw the ball down he was a smart kid smart baseball smart too and a good kid
09:22i remember seeing him play and a young kid could hit that ball out of the ballpark and that was
09:26amazing to see a 19 year old kid back in those days hitting that ball a long way elston's time
09:34with
09:34the monarchs yielded some wonderful memories it didn't matter that they were excluded from
09:42uh major league baseball but they enjoyed what they were doing at the time had lots of friends
09:47there ernie banks was one he was his roommate he roomed us together came to kansas city and just had
09:57a wonderful relationship we became real good friends and i i thought a lot of it the monarchs
10:04proved to be a stepping stone to the major leagues for many a great black player and elston was no
10:10exception tom greenway scott for the yankees he came in look at some of our ball players i said uh
10:17tom
10:19i said the kids are left fielders who you should sign and he said yeah you think so i said
10:26look at it
10:26you watching and fuzzy you know yankees was kind of picky you know they're gonna pick their black ball
10:35player you got to be more than that's a player but i said that that's got to be your kid
10:41right there
10:42the yankees purchased ellie's contract and after three years in the minors they made him a catcher
10:48once again 1954 he was coming to the yankees from the kansas city blues he was one of their top
10:55prospects
10:56and then the catcher's mid you know he was an outfielder then they told him you got to learn how
11:00to
11:00catch and you're coming up with the big team this year ellie came up a fielder but ellie was not
11:06terribly fleet foot and casey stengel better suited to be a catcher said ellie bill skiff walked over
11:14in hancher's glove here he said get used to using this we're going to make a catch that spring he
11:20began
11:21to learn how to catch and bill dickey was the one who really taught him how to catch but the
11:25yankees
11:26still weren't ready to bring him to new york let me guess let me guess the national league and he
11:37did
11:37quite well there he hit 331 was mvp of the league again the yankees hesitated to make elston their
11:44first black player but at least he didn't have competition for that anymore they had a pretty
11:50good ball player named vick power and he was in the organization there's a lot of talk at the time
11:55that uh vick power should have been the first but it was felt that vick was like too flashy for
12:01the
12:01yankees and while that was probably true flashy didn't work black or white the yankees in those
12:07days but power who led the american association with a 349 batting average in 53 was traded after that
12:15season and that left elston simply waiting for the call now along comes elston howard what are they
12:22going to think of to get rid of elston howard so they wouldn't have to play an african-american
12:26and they just couldn't find a reason
12:32that's when you know you're great when they can't find when they try everything to get rid of
12:38they still can when jackie robinson breaks the color line jackie was of course the first black
12:49player in the major league larry doby was the first in the american league which was integrating
12:56slower than the national league in 1955 four teams still had no black players and the yankees were one
13:04of them people always tell me say why the yankees it took them so long to get a back ball
13:10clear
13:11i said well then you know the yankees didn't need a black ball player they're filling up the ballpark
13:15anyway of course the spotlight exactly they didn't need one the dodgers needed a black player the giants needed a
13:25black player
13:30the yankees were five time champions in six of the in five of the six years leading up to them
13:40getting
13:40elston howard they didn't need him
13:47it was a thing is because they were the yankees the premier team there was a lot of pressure put
13:52on from
13:53the outside because after all new york city you're supposed to be this liberal northeastern uh state
14:00and why didn't they have uh any black ball players they certainly had the opportunity much of the
14:06blame was placed on general manager george weiss who some considered a racist george weiss was quoted at
14:13a cocktail party and this has been in print that he said quote i don't want on my team because
14:18uh
14:19the people in westchester they don't want to see black players they don't want to sit next to black bands
14:23and that was the mentality the yankees had they were doing so well and winning so much with their
14:30white players that they could say well you know we can afford to get a black player who fits meaning
14:39doesn't rock any boats but the yankees had a player of that caliber in the minor leagues and it was
14:46time
14:47for them to find him i guess the yankees realized they were under pressure uh from the newspapers uh
14:54the tv media so eventually the yankees yielded to that pressure protecting training in saint petersburg
15:01they had the black players slain and they had the black players slain in certain
15:07are you serious
15:09tell with the rest of the players and i really felt sorry for him i just couldn't believe that
15:14how the people treated the afro-american standing you know down south in those days
15:20but if the south and the front office saw elston only as a black man his teammates saw well a
15:28teammate
15:29well elston's reception from the yankees was absolutely tremendous everybody just reached
15:35out and wanted to be any help they could in a in a bad situation we didn't care as long
15:40as he could
15:41play you know he could do that then we took him to the movies and everything down spring training you
15:47know mickey was a great friend with him wiley was a good friend we came up pretty close
15:53just he was a team
15:54oogie bearer he lorence peter bearer he's also he was also from st louis
16:00he made of ours and it's like hank bauer and gene woodley when i joined the yankees the first
16:04thing they said to me is don't monkey around with my money i'm used to winning here and you better
16:09abide by the rules and that's the way it was with ellie i took him out for dinner we had
16:14i said ellie this is
16:15where the yankees are one time ellie howard came into a restaurant and hank was sitting there with
16:21some of the other guys and ellie just wasn't sure whether being a black man in america in 1955 you
16:28know quite what to do and hank bauer called him over and said hey ellie come sit with us you
16:34know to
16:34hank he was a yankee he was a teammate and that was what was important the friendship of the yankees
16:42like mantle and ford and barra who was already ensconced as the catcher very important to just
16:48welcoming ellie in and embracing him as part of the family and that was genuine yankees manager casey
16:56stengel also openly embraced elston despite his reputation at the time of being less than tolerant
17:03through black players a lot of the casey animosity that exists comes from players like jackie robinson
17:12who used to hear cat calls from the yankee dugouts saying you know throw that out and things like
17:17that and of course jackie took these things personally when elston came to the team casey accepted him
17:24is it just wow i wonder i wonder why he would take that personally another player that one quote got
17:33kind of blown out of proportion here's what elston had to say i don't think casey ever cared about your
17:40color if you wore the yankee uniform with pride there were a lot of uh speculation that he didn't
17:48treat elston well but that that's really not true he was sort of paternal to elston i don't think he
17:52was
17:53prejudice at all i think it's just a part of the era but a new era began on april 14th
17:591955
18:00when elston howard achieved his dream and became the first black man in a yankees uniform i was in
18:07the black associated press which was the wire service for a lot of black newspapers that was a bulletin
18:12that came right over the wires you know first yankee plays in a game people in harlem were celebrating
18:17this is it you know black people couldn't root for the yankees because they didn't have a black player now
18:21they did finally the color barrier had been broken on the number one team in baseball and by a young
18:29man named ellie elston howard for the new york yankees represents in the premier team the african
18:37american who then has to like jackie put it all on the line how he behaves becomes much more important
18:43than how any other baseball player behaves because he's the first african american on the premier team
18:49ellie talked to me about black player on the yankees his next hurdle was to become the starting catcher
18:55ellie was a perfect physique for a catcher he was
19:00for yogi berra maybe the greatest catcher of all time it's it's time to switch positions go to the
19:10infield belt streamline great arm and unfortunately yogi was there the problem with that of course was
19:21that yogi berra who was the finest catcher in the american league was in front of yogi's yogi
19:27you don't replace yogi unless you get our plate of yogi but elston never even got the chance to
19:33compete with yogi thanks to his versatility he instead found himself subject to casey stengel's
19:39infamous platoon system unfortunately he was a platoon type manager and elston fell into that platoon
19:47system early on in his career where he played a couple games the first base couple behind the plate
19:53never heard him complain at all sit on the bench where he would have been a star on press 15
19:58of the
19:59other 16 ball clubs and never but i was ready to go with the right to first base outfield
20:11elston's teammates appreciated his money talent but there was
20:14moment got up late in one of the ball games and hit a home run to win the game
20:27it was that game-winning hit that led to a clubhouse surprise
20:33after the game was over he comes he opens the door to the locker room and he finds towels
20:40joe collins mickey mantle they lined the towels up it was like a red carpet laid out for me
20:47i was surprised and when they did that i figured i was accepted just like everyone else
20:54with the pressure off elston did a solid job in 55 wherever he played he helped lead the
21:01yankees to the world series where he became just the sixth man in history to do this
21:10first world series fan at bat power slashes a home at a left
21:19still the yankees lost the series and although elston thought his clutch play might bring an end to
21:25being platoon he would play just about 100 games in 56 and 57 the most frustrating thing for elston was
21:32that he wasn't playing as much as he would have liked to or should have ellie was not a person
21:38to
21:39make a fuss about anything i'm sure he felt what everybody else felt why can't i play every day
21:44he was actually in the batting title race in 58 but did not qualify due to a lack of at
21:50bats
21:51the frustration only mounted i can hit righties as well as lefties
21:57do you think lou garrick would have ever accepted playing 100 games out of 150 plus
22:09but how am i going to lift my average if i don't play
22:15still elston remains silent he helped the yankees reach the world series again in 1958 where he made
22:22a game saving play the yankees were down three games to one in the 58 series and red chandies hit
22:30a line
22:30drive to left field elston howard makes a spectacular diving catch in the fall with the sun and set right
22:39in the top of the roof
22:41all the left fielders were having problems i never lost a ball in the sun in my life
22:47i knew i had to get the ball i skinned my knee in my stomach doing it elston came out
22:53of nowhere made a
22:54great diving catch got up through the ball the first base double play into rally the yankees go on to
23:00win
23:00the game they went on to win the world series and elston made the pivotal play of the world series
23:06in turn he became the first black man ever to win the most outstanding player award in the world
23:12series buoyed by this honor elston decided to release his frustration and boldly stake his claim to the
23:20starting catcher's job one of these days i want baseball fans to mention my name in the same breath as
23:27yogi berra and roy campanella coming up next oh he was on a tear he had 462 in the world
23:38series he
23:39homered in the first game as a pinch hitter deep to left field that ball is gone man ellie really
23:46tagged that
23:47one he was just exceptional unfortunately they didn't win the series that year
23:56not even elston's heroics could save the yankees in that world series and casey stengler was
24:02ultimately dismissed new manager ralph hauck had no intention of continuing casey's platoon system
24:09and that bode well for elston he enjoyed playing for ralph he really did because they were more
24:17compatible by then how came to elston said you are my number one catcher now uh yogi is still here
24:25but you are number one so elston was finally the leading man and he filled that role with class
24:31but in 61 everyone took a back to the home run record race in 61 of course there was marison
24:40mandel
24:41and the home run deal and that's the way it was he was an outstanding performer but not a headline
24:46crap in fact i remember one game elston hit a home run early in the ball game and i think
24:51maris hit a
24:52home run late in the game and the reporters all went right by elston's locker went to maris's and the
24:56question was now oh you go brave babe bruce home run record nothing was said about the key hit that
25:02elston got early in the game but if you look beyond the m m boys find a man who had
25:08a if he had ever hit
25:1025 home runs outside of 1963 he would have been talked about home run hitters get talked about and paid
25:22most remarkable year especially for a catcher you know elliott 348 in 1961
25:30how much better could you be at the catching position with elston now such an important part of the team
25:36the yankees realized their spring training facility in saint petersburg was no longer
25:42acceptable so they sought a new home one that would not force elston's segregation from the team
25:50the yankees were so angry that nobody would change the way things were that in 1962 they left
25:58saint petersburg and they moved to fort lauderdale where they could get integrated housing
26:04now fully unified the yankees you're telling me they went from one one place in florida
26:13to another place in florida because of segregation
26:23it's the dumbest thing i've ever heard
26:34why would that part of the state be any different proved unstoppable and returned to the world series
26:41in 62 where once again elston played a role game one where whitey ford didn't have his curveball
26:48working and elston went out the second or third inning and said look your curveball is not working you
26:54better just go with the fastball they worked the hitters beautifully and they were able to get out
26:59with a 6-2 win after winning that world series the yankees looked to elston to carry the offense in
27:0663
27:07before much of their usual firepower was on the shelf
27:11the m&m boys were hurt they were out they missed a whole bunch of games
27:22the most valuable player in the american league in 1963 he was become al mvp
27:38the most valuable player award but elston happened to be the first
27:43the most valuable player award but elston happened to be the first
27:57i just won the nobel prize of baseball
28:05in august of 64 the yankees held an elston howard night an honor reserve for just a special few
28:13on that day it was wonderful because uh it showed that you know you really arrived
28:20elston as always was eloquent
28:24i don't know where to begin i'm very fortunate to be with the yankees this is the greatest thing
28:30in my life and i want to thank each and every one of you for making this possible if nothing
28:36else
28:36these honors made elston work even harder he helped lead the yankees to another world series in 64
28:43where unfortunately they lost to the cardinals in seven games the cardinals are the new world champion
28:51this also began the yankees decline as injuries to medal maris and event
28:58when the al got stronger and i said to them they couldn't compete more for the next 10 or so
29:05years
29:18that's named bill roar and he had a no-hitter going into the uh ninth inning attention at yankee stadium
29:24now as elston howard stands up there the scoreboard tells the story
29:31the pitch to howard hit into right field it's a big hit and the no-hit try is broken up
29:38and the fans just turned on elston and they wanted to see a no-hitter and elston was dumbfounded he'd
29:44never been booed by yankee fans and now they were booing him for breaking up a no-hitter
29:49one can only imagine then how elston felt later in the 67 season when he was dealt to those hated
29:55red sox everybody knew that it was the tail end of ellie's career his days the yankees were getting
30:02to be numbered at that age ralph howe called him and said you know you're you're traded to boston and
30:10of course he was dumbfounded and he said i'm not going i talked to him i told him why we
30:15were doing it
30:16he understood that the boston was trying to to win a pennant and he could be a good part and
30:22i said you
30:23know boston is is really a nice place so and it wasn't that far it's a nice place if you're
30:31not black
30:33in those days
30:36go ask bill go ask bill russell he didn't have a nice time and he won championships
30:42works performance particularly in september it was elston uh who was behind the plate a lot of
30:48the times imagine how it must have felt the first time ellie played at yankee stadium in a boston
30:53uniform he was in for a surprise elston was kind of nervous but when he returned in a red sox
31:01uniform
31:01he was cheered they gave him a two-minute standing ovation and he felt very good about that still his
31:08allegiance was now to the red sox and he even became part of boston lore thanks to one memorable
31:14play it was a tartable made this throw with kenberry on third there's a drive into right field caught by
31:22tartable runner tags here's the throw home and he is out at the plate he's out at home and that
31:31ended the game
31:32and uh red sox fans have yet to forget that play for elston it was all about the game baseball
31:41is in
31:42my blood if i can help the red sox win the pennant this year it would be the greatest thrill
31:46of my career
31:47one thing that he brought over from his days and with the yankees was a winning attitude and he knew
31:56what
31:56it took to win and boston did in fact win the 67 pennant in the series elston faced an old
32:04friend in
32:04roger matters this would be his 10th world series which is quite an achievement neither of those guys
32:12look right in those uniforms playing 10 world series the cardinals won that series much like they had
32:19when elston was a yankee in 64. he would play one more year in boston but after a dignified 14
32:26-year career
32:27elston on his terms left his beloved game he always said uh i'll know when it's time to go and
32:35i'm not
32:35gonna stay longer than i should and embarrass myself because it's not there anymore it's time to go
32:45coming up next on yankeeography there wouldn't have been anybody anybody on that ball club that
32:51i know of that would have objected to elston well it just seemed like a natural progression phil dickey
32:56was a coach yogi berra became a coach and he was such a good baseball man so well liked just
33:02seemed
33:02natural that elston would be a coach on the team in elston's case uh he was extremely popular with all
33:09the
33:09players and there wasn't a player that didn't like this guy didn't admire you know ellie was kind
33:15he was compassionate ellie didn't say a whole lot you know he was kind of a quiet guy and but
33:21when he
33:21did speak everybody wanted to hear what he had to say elston was so respected that in 1973 he allowed
33:28himself the chance to dream there was a rumor ralph hawk was going to resign and elston heard that rumor
33:36and he thought wow this could be it this could be my chance to be yankee manager there had never
33:42been a black manager in the major leagues and at first elston hesitated you know he was never a guy
33:48who ruffled feathers rocked the boat but someone probably advised him if you want that job tell
33:54people you want the job don't just sit there and wait for it to come to you go out and
33:58get it he went
34:00out and campaigned he uh started talking to newspapers and tv guys you know saying it's time
34:06for a black manager i think baseball should be ready for a black manager now there won't be any problem
34:13with the ball players there are so many blacks in the game now not the way it was when i
34:19came up
34:20just a couple on every team there wouldn't have been anybody anybody on that ball club that i know of
34:27that would have objected to elston howard taking over the leadership of that managerial job nobody
34:33no doubt elston yeah yeah yeah was a leader and they won multiple world series good team man that he
34:41was elston overcame his personal disappointment and continued to coach proving in fact to be an
34:48invaluable presence in a clubhouse that was quickly turning into a zoo
34:54when there would be incidents of team turmoil or clubhouse unrest elston would be the first person
35:02there to do something about it well i mean if anybody can keep peace elston howard could
35:09all he had to do is grab you by the collar and pick you up move you on
35:14ellie was a big strong guy and if he put his arms around you you weren't going anywhere and he
35:21was a
35:21peacemaker i guess the classic example was when billy and reggie got into it in boston
35:26in the dugout and the first person to jump in between them was elston howard
35:32when that fight broke out between reggie and billy elston stuck his nose right in the middle
35:37for it got out of hand he was a law and order guy first in so many ways elston was
35:43a huge part of the
35:44yankee's league yeah yeah he should have known a teammate of his would uh
35:52fly off the handle like that like billy martin tends to do
35:58wouldn't be surprised if he was on the bender back-to-back titles he never did become the manager
36:05but he managed very well as a coach elston was a leader in a silence kind of a way he
36:13wasn't a
36:13rah-rah guy he was business-like he was professional his demeanor uh his will to win uh the imparting
36:22of knowledge to the younger players on how to play the game and boy uh was i impressed by elston
36:28the
36:28yankees had a first-rate individual over there as a player and as a coach for many many years
36:42knew much about it he caught a virus but they called the cocksackie virus which attacked the heart
36:49i didn't know we had that to tell you the truth there's a big man i thought it was healthy
36:55i didn't
36:55know that ellie had a bad heart you know i don't know that we knew that he was that sick
36:59anybody
37:00around the yankees then all believed that um somehow he'd be okay though no longer strong enough
37:08to coach elston remained part of the yankees family he was given a job in the front office
37:14to which he remarked i guess this move makes me the jackie robinson of the yankees front office
37:20i'll be learning all aspects of the baseball business
37:26it was an effort by the yankees to make sure he stayed part of the family and knew that his
37:33presence at the game was important but the virus began to take over and late in 1980 elston
37:40entered the hospital for the final time they treated it he never came out for a while but then of
37:49course it
37:50got progressively uh worse it was a stunning development when the word came that he was
37:56getting worse in the hospital not better he was at columbia presbyterian and i called steinbrenner
38:02because the doctors had told me that we don't think there's there's much time left and he said isn't
38:07there something that we can do but of course there wasn't i went to the hospital actually to see elston
38:13then all of a sudden the next day i read that he passed away like the next day so it
38:17was pretty
38:17shocking to me that that it happened so suddenly like that when the world lost elston howard on
38:23december 14th 1980 it soon became clear how many lives he had touched it's just a real shock when you
38:32lose you know one of your close friends it was just a tremendous loss
38:36he was he was very young 51 years old he got 12 years of retirement
38:49for me dustin howard was a mentor he was a big brother
38:54i just felt like i lost a friend you know a compadre
38:58if you read all the obits and the uh columnists and the new york papers they were very eloquent in
39:04their regards themselves and in his career and what he meant to the yankees back then it was a sad
39:10day
39:12howard's funeral was a tribute to a great yankee and a great man all the different people look at
39:19and uh and try to emulate you know the way he conducted himself and the way he carried himself
39:24on the field the fact that howard came to the yankees when they were lily white and was so good
39:29and was
39:30such an outstanding person too that matters and in a way though it's a shame because it overshadows
39:38what was a very good good ball player we can only wish that a man of elston's stature a man
39:45of such
39:45dignity and grace could be with us for more than just 51 years elston you know he had a full
39:52life but
39:53it's a shame that he died at such a young age because he had a lot more to contribute
39:57not only black any kid could look up to elston howard yeah any kid could look up the elston howard
40:05elston still had a lot to offer and he did we still hold on to all the memories that he
40:14gave us and the
40:15great joys that we followed when he played just a wonderful person that you'll always remember
40:24one of six players with 12 all-star appearances at least three world series titles and an mvp
40:32though though the other five are pete rose reggie jackson uh yogi bear stan usual mickey manuel
40:44oh the other six sorry and joe dimaggio why why why is he's not in the hall of fame
40:59that elston howard played such an inter
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