1962 Profile: Elston Howard

1962 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

HAVE THE YANKEES HELD BACK HOWARD?

"His bat was hot, his fielding almost flawless, but still Elston Howard sat out so many games he could not qualify for the batting title. And an old storm thundered anew.

While the sound and fury of Mantle and Maris' home run pursuit raged in early August, another Yankee was making an all but unnoticed pursuit of the American League batting championship. Weighed against the rare assault on Babe Ruth's record, the batting title meant little, except, you would imagine, to the Yankees' Elston Howard who was battling for it. But on August 15, right in the thick of the battle, Howard said the last thing on his mind was winning the title. 'I haven't thought about it all year.' So he said, anyway.

Despite Elston's easy-going attitude, the batting crown- specifically Howard's involvement in it- raised the question that has hovered around him since 1954, before he played his first game with New York: Are the Yankees holding him back? For by mid-August it became apparent that it was next to impossible for Howard to win the batting championship even if he drove his average to .400. He wouldn't made 502 plate appearances, the league minimum to qualify for it. And the fans' indignation, on behalf of Howard, began to grow.

'Can ya beat that!' a man bellowed in a crowded bar near Yankee Stadium on Saturday, August 5, after New York had beaten Minnesota, 2-1. 'Howard gets three for four, he's hitting .355, yet he ain't gonna win the title no matter what he does. They ain't gonna let 'im play enough. It sure looks fishy to me.'

'Yer damn right it does,' his drinking partner said. 'He's been hittin' like that all year long- when they let 'im play. Which ain't too often. They've always had something against that guy. In '58 he had a chance for the title, too, but Stengel didn't play 'im enough. And when he first came up the Yankees did everythin' they could to keep from playin' him AT ALL.'

On June 6 of this season, Howard had the highest average in the league, .389, yet he had only 90 at-bats. Why hadn't he been up more? After all, sportswriters had reported in the spring (the third one in succession) that Howard had finally emerged from Yogi Berra's shadow as the first-string catcher.

Sitting in the Yankee dugout during an August batting practice, manager Ralph Houk supplied an answer. 'I said I had three No. 1 catchers at the beginning of the year and that I also considered them as my bench,' Ralph said, arms crossed, ankles crossed. 'I told them that the fella who was doing best- the man with the hot bat- would be doing most of the catching.' He let loose with a burst of tobacco.

'Well,' Ralph went on, leaning forward to see a ball off Mantle's bat hit in the left-field seats, 'right in the first month of the season (Hector) Lopez slumped a bit, so I sent Yogi to the outfield and he fitted right in. Before that he'd been alternating with Howard behind the plate. After that the catching sorta molded itself. I caught Howard most of the time. I caught (John) Blanchard against certain pitchers and in certain ballparks and didn't have to catch Howard in doubleheaders. He's only caught doubleheaders against left-handed pitchers. This kept Howard strong and kept Blanchard sharp for pinch-hitting. We started winning that way and that's the thing we're interested in. It's unusual for a manager to have this kind of problem- three fine catchers with good bats- which I consider a nice problem.'

Heavy duty, however, did not seem to tire Howard. After catching Friday, Saturday and Sunday,and the first game of a twi-night doubleheader on Monday, June 5. Ellie sat by his locker-room cubicle between games. Houk walked over to him. It was a warm, humid night and Ralph thought of resting the big (6-2, 195-pound) catcher, but he was also thinking of Chuck Stobbs' left-handed pitching which the Yankees were about to face.

'Are you tired, Ellie?' Houk asked.

'No' said Howard, toweling his face. He grinned. 'Who's tired when you're hitting good?'

'Fine,' Houk said, patting him on the shoulder. 'You,'ll catch this one, too.' He did and went three for four.

Howard's bat stayed hot and he stayed in the lineup. Berra alternated in left field with Lopez and Bob Cerv. Blanchard worked from time to time, too, and suddenly exploded with a rash of homers. Between June 5 and August 6, Blanchard's clutch hits won or tied eight games for the Yankees. They went on to win each of the ties. Five of the hits were pinch homers. As a result, Blanchard played more, Howard, though hot as ever, less.

So you might say the Yankees have held back Howard in 1961, Yankees named Berra and Blanchard. If Elly hadn't been alternating with Berra at catcher for the first month of the season, and if Blanchard hadn't proven so potent a hitter (he doesn't compare with Howard as a receiver), then Howard would have gone to bat more.

There was then no reason to criticize Houk. Howard didn't even dream of it. Pulling off his uniform in the visitor's locker room at Minnesota on June 25, Elston- who had just banged a three-run homer and run-scoring single in an 8-5 Yankee win- discussed his manager. 'He's helped plenty,' Howard said, nodding at Houk lighting a cigar across the room. 'He's a quiet man and he talks things over with you. If he's got something to say he tells you nice and quiet-like, and the next thing you know you're talking it over.'

'Like what?'

'Like he's telling me all the time to hit the ball through the middle. Like that: 'Hit the ball through the middle,' he says. 'He can tell when I'm rolling my wrists too much and trying to kill everything to left field. He notices things like that.'

Down through August, Howard remained hot- fighting with Norm Cash for the league batting lead- and Blanchard cooled off. So Houk said that barring injury Elly would play most of the time from then on. 'Naturally, my first concern is winning the pennant,' Ralph said. 'But I'm going to do everything I can to give Howard every possible chance to take that batting championship. I'd be very happy to see him do it.'

By then, though, Howard appeared out of the batting race. He still had a mathematical chance to qualify, but a slim one. By August 5, for example, he had 262 at-bats, 16 walks and two sacrifices for 280 plate appearances. New York had 56 games left and if Howard batted four times in each of them he would have achieved 504 plate appearances, two over the minimum.

Howard himself thought at the time he could qualify. He was seated on a trunk near his Yankee Stadium cubicle, autographing baseballs and considering his batting title chances. 'I may be able to do it,' he said. Then he smiled. 'But I don't know if I can get enough base hits to win it even if I get  up enough.'

But ten days later, before a night game, Howard said, 'No, I don't think I can qualify.' He was sitting by his cubicle again but he wasn't smiling this time. 'If you look back, not many catchers have won the batting title.' (None in the American League and only two in the National League: Ernie Lombardi with 309 at-bats in 1942 and 489 at-bats in 1938, and Gene Hargrave with 326 at-bats in 1926). They have to rest 'em up for doubleheaders.'

Howard, who has played left field, right field, first base and catcher for the Yankees, could have been 'rested' on first base or even in left field. However, as Elly realistically said, 'Ralph's not going to switch me around just to win the batting title. We're interested in winning the pennant. I haven't played any outfield this year. And I've just filled in first to rest Moose (Skowron). He's got a bad back that bothers him every so often.' (Skowron also had a bad bat that bothered him and the Yankees occasionally in July and August, sometimes causing Houk to move Howard to first and Blanchard behind the plate.)

Even if the Yankees clinched the pennant, Howard said, he didn't believe he could play enough to qualify for the title. 'I figured it up- the statisticians figured it up,' he said. He pulled a clean white sock over his knee and rolled it on his thigh. 'Back when we had 50 games left, I needed four times up every game and I didn't think I could get that many.' He rolled up another white sock, then drew on the blue-black Yankee outer socks and rolled the tops of them tightly beneath the white.

It was a hot afternoon and the players were lounging around in shorts, socks and undershirts. Roger Maris was seated, feet propped up on one wall, in his cubicle next to Howard's, reading letters and squeezing a spring-pressured, grip-strengthener with his right hand. Luis Arroyo was blowing cigar smoke over his mail in the lounge, a left turn off Maris' locker.

'Did Ralph talk to you about the title?' Howard was asked.

'He said I didn't think I could qualify because catchers seldom play 120 games a year,' Ellie said. He reached up to a hook and took down a long-john-looking undershirt marked HOWARD in indelible ink. He slipped it over his head. 'But as I said, winning the batting title has been the least thing on my mind. I haven't thought of it all year. I've just been trying to get base hits. I'd like to win it, true enough. It would be a great honor. But if I just have a good year and we win the pennant- that's more important.'

Later that afternoon, Houk said: 'I didn't discuss the batting title with him until I knew he didn't have a chance for it. Then I said, 'Ellie, I want you to know that it's impossible for you to win the battle title. You couldn't catch that many ballgames and stay at top peak.' He said he hadn't given it a thought, but I thought it was best for me to discuss it with him. A man can't catch 50 games in a row and not suffer in the field and at the plate. I'm of the opinion that 502 times at bat is too many anyway. It almost eliminates all catchers from a chance at the title. I'd like to see that rule changed: 450 would be better.'

Quiet, serious and intelligent, Howard accepted his lot stoically. He was particularly careful to weigh every word he spoke on the batting-title subject. Of course, he thought of it, but he kept it in its place, remaining a team man first. Shrugging off the title in his public statements, Ellie was fighting hard to keep a storm from exploding on exactly the same subject as had haunted him in the past. The subject: Howard's skill and the Yankees' reluctance to use it.

Elston Gene Howard, born February 23, 1929, in St. Louis, Missouri, has been involved in that controversy most of his professional baseball life. Before he ever tried on his first Pinstripes, an organization of whites and Negroes had picketed Yankee Stadium carrying signs accusing the club of discrimination for not having a Negro player. Howard became the center of controversy during spring training in 1954. The 'Baltimore Afro-American' ran the front page headline VICIOUS CONSPIRACY BEING CONDUCTED, alleging the Yankees were mistreating Howard. The story, by Sam Lacey, also charged the Yankees with cutting down Howard's chances of making the team by shifting him from the outfield to an unfamiliar position (catcher).

'I ought to punch that guy's (Lacey) head off,' said the usually placid Howard after seeing the story. 'There's always someone like that putting words in my mouth misquoting me. A few weeks ago some wrote that I said Vic Power (his Negro teammate in the minors the preceding year) wasn't a hustler and things like that. I never said anything of the sort ... '

Howard won't discuss the incident today. 'I've forgotten that stuff,' he says. 'That's all in the past.'

In retrospect it is naive to think the Yankees planned to give their rivals exclusive rights to a whole race of ballplayers, but at the same time, they appeared to need outfielders more than they needed catchers. They had a teeming roster of catchers, including Berra, Charlie Silvera, Houk, Hal Smith, Lou Berbert and Gus Traindos.

After Bill Dickey taught Howard the basics of catching in 1954 spring training, Elston was sent to Toronto for seasoning. Although he had battted .353 in 1954 exhibition games and .286 in Triple-A ball the year before, Howard is not sorry he didn't stick in 1954. 'I'm just as happy I went down,' he said. 'I never thought I was a great outfielder. I learned everything about catching at Toronto. I couldn't have done that in the major leagues sitting around on the bench.'

He won the International League's most valuable player award in 1954, hitting .331, with 22 home runs and 108 RBIs. After the Cleveland Indians won the pennant that year- breaking a five-season Yankee monopoly- Yankee pitcher Allie Reynolds told a sportswriter: 'With Howard in '54, we would have won six straight pennants.'

The Yankees purchased Ellie's contract that fall and assigned him to a winter-league team as an outfielder because Casey Stengel still hadn't decided where to play him. Casey wasn't even certain he would keep Ellie with the Yankees. 'Howard's a good boy,' Stengel said at training camp in 1955. 'But I can't make up my mind where he's best at, even though I've had him hittin' cleanup, which I don't do except with a real good hitter, which he is. He looks good but I can't say he's made the team.'

That spring sportswriters of Arthur Daley's stature were writing things like: 'He (Howard) seems certain to be the first Negro to make the Yankees. The men  in the Yankee front office have stubbornly refused to be panicked into hiring a Negro just because he was a Negro.' (Jackie Robinson had only played eight years in the majors then.) 'They've waited for one to come along who answers the description of 'the Yankee type.' ' (Whatever that is though obviously fiery Vic Power wasn't while fiery Billy Martin was.) 'Elston is a nice, quiet lad of 25 whose reserved, gentlemanly demeanor has won him complete acceptance from every Yankee.'

Howard stuck with the Yankees in 1955, played in 97 games as on outfielder-catcher and batted .290, with ten home runs, seven triples, eight doubles and 43 RBIs. He's been with them ever since.

Rightfielder-leftfielder-catcher-first baseman-pinch hitter, Elston didn't surpass his rookie year hitting until 1958. 'The switching around hurt me a little,' Howard said. 'You have a tendency to worry about a position you're not used to. I worry at first base a little this year- the position's strange to me. But if it helps the club out I'll do it. I don't mind.'

In 1958 Howard had his first chance to win an American League batting championship. But he was plagued by the same problems that hurt him in 1961. He wasn't getting to bat often enough to qualify. On August 5, 1958, for example, Howard was hitting .342 and had the best RBI average per time up of anybody on the club. Yet he couldn't pick up 477 appearances, the qualifying minimum then, unless he was moved up to one of the top three spots in the batting order and played all the remaining games. Stengel wouldn't hear of it.

'There's nothin' I'd like to see better, of course, than for him to win it,' Casey said. 'He might get up enough yet.' No, Stengel was told, he couldn't unless he was moved up and played regularly. 'Well, I'm not gonna catch him every day and not have him ready for what I want when I need him. I'm still thinkin' about winnin' ball games and I'm not gonna worry about twistin' everything around everything for one man. I'm not worryin' about that and neither is he.'

Howard didn't feel Stengel lacked confidence in him. 'If he lacked confidence in me I wouldn't have been up here,' Howard said.

Ted Williams won the batting title that season with a .328 average; Ellie finished at .314. Ellie was the fielding star in the World Series against the Braves, contributed several key hits, and received the Babe Ruth Award, given annually by baseball writers to the man they pick as the Series' outstanding player.

'I gotta find a place in the lineup for that fella,' Stengel said after the Series. 'It's only justice. He earned it. He's a good hitter and he has a wonderful spirit. He's gotta lotta talent.' Casey indicated he would continue to shuffle Howard from one position to another, but that Ellie's days as a substitute were over.

Yet on July 28, 1959, Howard had a problem. 'I'm playing even less than I did a year ago, or so it seems, 'he said. 'What disturbs me most is that I feel a hot streak coming on, but Casey sees fit to keep me on the bench. Playing a couple days, then sitting one or two out cools me off.' Howard had hit home runs off Riverboat Smith of the Indians and Don Mossi of the Tigers on Thursday and Friday. 'Yet there I was,' he said, 'sitting on the bench Sunday all because a right-hander (Frank Lary) was pitching for the Tigers. When I'm swinging right I can hit righties as well as lefties.'

Howard conceded that his .263 average was well below the .314 he had hit in 1958. 'But how am I ever going to lift it,' he said, 'if I don't play?'

Howard is philosophical about it today. 'I never knew why he switched me around,' he says. 'I never asked him and he never told me. I've had four or five hits in a game, then sat out the next day. But platooning was Stengel's policy. He platooned a lot of good hitters. Woodling, Bauer, Henrich- they were all good hitters. He was platooning them before I got here. I don't think I could have been the one to change his policy.' He paused. 'Especially since his policy was so successful.'

After finishing 1959 at .273, and reaching his home run peak (18) and RBI peak (73), Ellie slumped in 1960 to .245. 'I tagged Bill Tuttle in a rundown at Kansas City in June (1960) and fell on my wrist,' he said. 'I was hitting about .290 then; I couldn't swing a bat after that. My wrist bothered me all the way to the World Series. Then I was all right until Bob Friend hit me with a pitch that broke a bone in my left hand.' He pointed to the fleshy part of the hand below the pinky.

This year Howard predicted in training he'd have a good season. Until then, he had hit from an open stance. But Yankee coach Wally Moses helped him alter it. 'We decided in the spring that I ought to close my stance,' Ellie says, 'and ease up on my swing. I was swinging my head off the ball. Moses told me to swing with my arms- use my wrists- not my body. I also began using a heavier bat- a 36-inch, 35-ounce one. I used to use a 33-ounce one.'

'Howard's a legitimate .300 hitter now,' Moses says.' He's got a real good swing, real strong.'

When Howard unleashes his strong swing, the bat lashes around in a blurry, wrist-popping arc. There's little body; just eyes fixed, stride, pop, follow-through and most of the time a hard smash toward centerfield. Just how often Howard bangs them back through the middle was shown in the first game of a Yankees-Twins doubleheader at the Stadium August 6. In the second inning he doubled to right-center off Pedro Ramos; in the fourth he singled to left-center; in the fifth he almost amputated a couple of fingers on Ramos' glove with a line-single that swelled the pitcher's hand so badly Pedro left the game after the eighth (it was Howard's sixth hit in his last seven at-bats, eighth in his last 11, and it drove home the game's tying run, 5-5); in the seventh he struck out; in the 10th he grounded out, the shortstop racing several steps left to field the ball; in the 11th he almost ripped off pitcher Ray Moore's glove with a line-single; in the 14th he struck out; in the 15th the Yankees won, 7-6.

When he sets himself up for a pitch- left foot near the plate, right one trailing obliquely, bat carved above his bent back- Howard looks like the hitter his average indicates he is. But apparently some pitchers and managers still minimize his batting ability. In August the Yanks and Indians were tied in the 10th, 2-2. After Billy Gardner doubled, Maris and Mantle were retired and Berra was intentionally passed to get to Howard. Ellie singled to right-center securing Whitey Ford's 21st win. Ellie laughed after the game, saying 'Maybe they don't know I'm hitting the ball this year.'

Howard excels in the field as well as at bat. The saying that runners steal on the pitcher rather than the catcher is generally true. Yet they seldom do even that with Howard back of the plate. On August 15 Luis Aparicio, bidding to become the first player to lead his league in stolen bases six consecutive years, came into Yankee Stadium. He had been thrown out only 11 times, three on pickoffs by pitchers, in 52 stolen-base attempts. Aparicio led off the game with a single and two pitches later dashed toward second. Howard came out of his crouch like a sprung jack-in-the-box and rifled the ball to Bobby Richardson. Luis was out.

The next day Aparicio again singled in the first. On the fourth pitch to the next batter, Luis was almost three-quarters of the way to second when the ball struck Howard's mitt. You didn't see its removal or the snap throw- only the white blur. Then Richardson was tagging and the umpire's thumb was up. Again Aparicio was out.

Not only can Ellie throw the ball and catch it, he can handle pitchers with confidence-inspiring skill. To a man the Yankee pitchers echo Whitey Ford's sentiments on Howard. 'He's probably the best in both leagues,' Ford said.  'He's improved so much in the last year or two by playing regularly. He has more confidence now and has an idea on how to pitch to every batter. You can go through a whole game without shaking him off. And he keeps you on your back out there, doesn't let you get lackadaisical. He makes you bear down when you do- gives you the fist, hollers out, runs out. He keeps you on the ball.'

He helped keep the whole Yankee team churning during the most important series of 1961, when Detroit came into New York September 1 trailing by only one and one-half games. In the first game he raced back to the railing with men on first and third and two out, reached into the seats and caught Norm Cash's foul pop to kill a rally. That was in the eighth of a 0-0 game. There was still no score in the last of the ninth after Maris and Mantle had been eliminated by Don Mossi's great pitching. Then Howard singled sharply to right-center and scored the game's lone run when Berra and Skowron followed with base hits.

Howard was hitless in four times up in the second game, which New York won, 7-2. But his bat made the difference in the series finale. With the scored tied 5-5 in the last of the ninth, two men on and two men out, Ellie took a terrific cut on reliever Ron Kline's first pitch. He missed. He repeated that swing on the next pitch and the ball landed far back in the left-field seats. It was Howard's 15th home run of the year- and his top one.

Elston lives with his pretty wife Arlene and their three children- Elston Jr. (five), Cheryl (three) and Karen (19 months)- in Teaneck, New Jersey. It is an integrated, upper-middle class community just 15 minutes' drive from Yankee Stadium.

Howard, who has been a public relations representative for Ballantine Breweries during the last five off-seasons, has given plenty of thought to his future. He has a partner and they are looking for a business to go into. Of course, this doesn't mean he's thinking of retiring yet. 'I'll be playing as long as I can swing a bat and don't get pushed around,' Howard says. 'Then I wouldn't mind going into coaching.'

According to Ralph Houk, Ellie could be a good coach. 'He's a student of baseball,' Houk says. 'He'll be a valuable man in baseball when he stops playing.' Which Houk hopes isn't too soon.

As the song says, he's come a long way from St. Louis. It hasn't been easy. It never is when you're the first of your race to do anything among white men. As Whitey Ford says, 'It was pretty rough for him for a while. There was a lot of pressure on him, being the first Negro with the Yankees. I think he's lived up to it real well.' He has, and then some. And if the American League rule-makers heed Ralph Houk's suggestion regarding adjustment of the batting title qualifications, perhaps next year Howard will achieve that 'great honor' so many people think he deserves a reasonable chance at."

-Berry Stainback, Sport Magazine, December 1961

"It was a long time in the making, but Elston Howard finally arrived in 1961, proving to be the best of all catchers. His .348 was the No. 2 mark in the AL and his arm was second to none.

The first Yankee Negro player in 1955, he's played the outfield and first base. Howard hit the most homers (21) and collected more RBIs (77) last season than in any of his previous six.

Born in St. Louis, he was the most valuable player in the International League in 1954."

-Don Schiffer, The 1962 Major League Baseball Handbook

"The old saw about hitters being born and not made may seem to apply to some of the gifted, such as Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron. But this is superficial truth. Hitters, natural or otherwise, can improve themselves, as has Elston Howard of the New York Yankees. Last season, Howard hit .348, a gain of 113 points. This year he will probably win the American League's batting championship.

Howard, who never before in the majors had hit as high as .300, has improved himself to the point where he is now one of the few players who can meet most-if not all- of the qualifications demanded of the championship batsman. He knows the strike zone, has enough power to handle the fastball, and yet not so much power that he lunges. He succeeds against both right-handed and left-handed pitchers and can hit through the box to all fields- and with good power. He's outstanding in the clutch.

Moreover, Howard is a superb low-ball hitter, a definite plus since most pitchers are constantly trying to keep everything low, where the danger of the home run is lessened. The knee-to-belt high sinker that is effective against almost everyone else is Howard's delight and pitchers simply don't know what to do with him. If they try him outside, he will go to right and right center; inside, he'll pull to left; a good fast ball, and he'll rifle it right back through the middle.

One of the factors that set the high-average hitter apart is that, unlike the free swingers, he cannot afford the luxury of too many strikeouts. Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew and Jim Gentile, all of whom have more power, disqualify themselves from batting championships and give away as much as 30 points because they are swinging and lunging for the long ball. Mantle struck out 112 times last season, Killebrew 109 and Gentile 106. Howard fanned only 65 times.

Mantle is the league's most exciting hitter, in our opinion, because of his power which borders on the animal. Old timers speak of Babe Ruth and his 500 and 600-foot homers, and even about his prodigious pop flies. They also should observe Mantle's line drives and the ball that he blasts through the infield on one hop. Says first baseman Bob Hale: 'I remember he once hit me one that sizzled. I'm not kidding. I heard it.'

Mantle batted .317 last season and may hike his average this year on the theory that the demands for his power may not be as great with Roger Maris around. There are a dozen other bona fide .300 hitters in the American League. Al Kaline of the Tigers, who struck out only 42 times last season, could run second to Howard for the batting title. Some of the others who should finish high are Norm Cash of Detroit, last year's leader with a .361 average. Jim Landis of the White Sox and Jerry Lumpe of Kansas City are both ready to muscle in among the leaders after good 1961 seasons."

-Baseball 1962, edited by Lee Greene, published by Whitestone Publications, Inc.

"Raising his lifetime batting average by 14 points last year, Yankee catcher Elston Howard celebrated his greatest season in the majors with a sparkling .348 mark. This brought his major league lifetime average up to .287. His 1961 performance also resulted in the following personal Howard highs: most games played (129), most at-bats (446), most home runs (21), most runs batted in (77), most runs scored (64) and most hits (155).

Ellie, now at his peak at the age of 33, formally succeeded to the first-string catcher's job so long held with distinction by Yogi Berra. Like Berra, Howard was born in St. Louis but now resides in suburban Teaneck, New Jersey.

The popular veteran hit only .245 in 1960. This caused him to change his batting style, cutting down on his swing and 'going with the pitch.' The change worked to perfection as Howard lined hit after hit up the middle, and, by mid-June a year ago, the home runs started to come.

Howard, who has helped the Yankees immeasurably over the years as a part-time outfielder and first baseman as well as receiver, won the first-string catching job when Ralph Houk became manager and moved Berra to left field. Now Howard feels more secure and sure of himself and he believes that specializing has improved his work behind the plate and the added concentration on one job has helped his hitting, too.

Elston feels he can improve on his home run and RBI totals in 1962 while concentrating on one position. Houk will settle for the Howard performance of 1961 in '62."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Elston Gene Howard (C)     #32

Born February 23, 1929, in St. Louis, Missouri, resides in Teaneck, N.J. Height: 6-2, weight: 204. Bats right, throws right. 

Married and father of two daughters, Cheryl (3) and Karen (2), and one son, Elston Jr. (6).

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Hit home run in first World Series at-bat, September 28, 1955.

Won Babe Ruth Award (top World Series player), 1958.

Led Yankees in hitting (.348), 1961.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Elston Howard had his greatest season in 1961 and hopes to continue where he left off last season. The 33-year-old veteran became the Yankees' No. 1 receiver last year and almost won the American League batting title. Only Norm Cash and the fact that he barely missed making the prescribed number of appearances at the plate kept the native of St. Louis from walking off with this laurel.

Howard broke into Organized Ball in 1950 with Muskegon of the Central League. After a two-year hitch of military service, he spent a year with Kansas City (American Association) and Toronto (International League). With the AA Blues, Elly batted .330 and drove in 109 runs; and at Toronto, he was named the league's most valuable player.

In 1955 he became the first Negro to wear a Yankee uniform. He served as Yogi Berra's understudy for six seasons before taking over the first-line catching chores last summer. In addition to wearing the tools of ignorance, Elly also played the outfield and first base.

As the Bombers' top backstop, Elston not only hit .348 but also batted out 21 homers, topping his previous high of 18 in 1959, and drove in 77 runs, four more than he had in '59.

While no speed merchant on the base paths, Howard is a good runner and a fine bet to get a piece of the ball when at the dish. His arm is one of the most accurate in baseball and he cut down many would-be base stealers last summer.

A jammed left hand and a broken finger in 1960 saw him fall to .245 as a batsman, but the healthy Howard upped that mark by over 100 points last season.

Elston lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, with his charming wife and three youngsters, just a short drive from Yankee Stadium.

An American League All-Star selection the past two seasons, Howard is one of the many Yankees who are always "up" for the big game as his World Series record shows. The Yankees know that Howard is always available for picket duty and can do the job at first base if called upon.

A righty all the way, Elly hit opposing hurlers thus: against lefties his average was .405 (8 HRs and 29 RBIs) and against righties he went .315 (13-48).

There was some talk last season about moving Howard up to the first or second slot in the batting order late in the campaign to give him a chance to get the needed 502 appearances for the batting crown, but Elston's first thoughts were for the team and not personal glory.

One of the class players in the game and certainly a pride of the Yankees is Elston Howard."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

"Ellie had the persistence to shrug off the discouraging factor of having played behind Yogi Berra for most of his career. And now, finally, he has displaced Yogi as the varsity receiver of the Yankees. He offers better defense than the aging Yogi and there's nothing wrong with stick work that can produce 21 homers and a .348 batting average. He can do a lot more than catch."

-Tom Gallery (Director of Sports for NBC), NBC Complete Baseball 1962

"This was NOT Elston Howard's greatest year ... but the hard-hitting backstop continued to win All-Star selection and perform as an outstanding receiver on an All-Star club should. After his great 1961 hitting accomplishments, Ellie hit .279 but continued to swing an effective home run (21) and RBI (91) bat."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)