ok i just started watching this movie and i noticed that in batting practice theres an african american player on the team, im not sure yet, but they said yogi was behind the plate, the first black yankee was ellie howard and he was a starting catcher, so whats that guy doing there? (im not racist at all, im just curious, cause i just finished reading a book about 1964 and it mentions of the first african american on the yanks)
shareElston Howard and Yogi Berra each caught and each played left field. It was Howard in the movie and it must have been one of the days when Yogi caught, though Howard caught the vast majority of the games that year (and was an all-star).
shareBlack Yankees: Elston Howard played a lot of first base and the outfield before becoming the Yanks' regular catcher, (and the best catcher in baseball from 1961-64). The 1961 Yankees also had Hector Lopez, no star, but a good utility player. Marshall Bridges made some appearances in '61 (as did Earl Torgeson and Al Downing), and became their relief ace in '62.
The Yankees were slow to integrate, but were ahead of those Boston guys, who were all-white until 1959.
Now that would make a movie! The baseball career of Elston Howard. THAT man was all class and a true Yankee! When he was traded to Boston it broke his heart, but, ever the professional, he did a darned good job for the Red Sox. I have never read anything negative about Elston Howard, and I am sure he had it pretty rough in those days!
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Since when did that have anything to do with making a movie? Some of the best sports movies made where of players no one has ever heard of. If the story is strong, the movie will do well and Howard's story is strong!
shareElston Howard had some kind of professional job (advertising?) in the off season, i.e., he didn't clerk in a sporting goods store as did many of his contemporaries. He died rather young, I'm not sure of the cause.
Had he come up with another team -- one quicker to integrate, one that didn't have Yogi Berra -- he might have had a reasonably long career and been a Hall of Famer.
Thanks DJ, Elston was a damn good ballplayer and a real gentleman.
shareElston Howard died of heart problems
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