Two Words, One Answer.
Elston Howard
 Arthur's Quest $2.99 This was a cute take on the King Arthur legend... Eric Christian Oslen did a great job as the young King Arthur living in modern times. A bit silly at times but overall thoroughly enjoyable!  Elston and Me: The Story of the First Black Yankee (Sports and American Culture Series) $29.95 "Whatever they're paying him, it ain't enough." This quote from former Yankees manager Casey Stengel (p. 133) on Elston Howard's 1965 contract neatly sums up how valuable Howard was to the Yankees, and "Elston and Me," a biography by Howard's widow, Arlene, serves to do the same. As the first black Yankee player and coach, Howard left a lasting imprint as a fine gentleman and extremely valuable Yankee for nine AL championship teams. In 1955, the Yankees needed someone with quiet dignity to break the color barrier for them, and Howard filled the role. "Elston and Me" shows he was not as willing as some people think to roll with every punch, either. He did speak out against spring training discrimination against black players, for example. The refreshing thing is that people who know things about Elston can recognize that the praises given to him (not just the prose, but the many quotes about him) in this book are all true; it is not the sort of thing that could be contradicted by a scandal book. Elston is portrayed as a religious and family man and an unselfish person, but also the consummate team player: Arlene and co-author Ralph Wimbish do a good job of telling the story of Elston the man, but also the fierce competitor. Baseball (mostly Yankee) fans will get their satisfaction from the retelling of baseball events, season by season. The negative to this book is the fact checking. The text has Yogi Berra hitting 22 home runs in 1955 (was 27) and the Yanks winning the 1957 pennant with a 96-55 record (98-56). Hank Bauer is cited as winning the 1958 Sport Magazine World Series MVP award, but it was Bob Turley. The subject is not spared the mistakes: His RBI totals are incorrect for two different seasons and up to a certain point in one season. Frank Lary beat the Yanks 7 times in 1958, not 1957. There are many more smaller errors involving what inning, what date, who scored the run etc. that I will not bore you with except to comment that they can be pinpointed because of the existence of modern information (baseball) databases. One would hope these things would lessen rather than become greater with the passage of time, but unfortunately, they are a reality for too many publications nowadays.  ELSTON HOWARD New York Yankees 1963 Majestic Cooperstown THROWBACK Home Baseball Jersey, XL $189.99 Same style jersey "Elston Howard" wore in 1963, the season he won the American League "MVP" award as a member the "New York Yankees" JERSEY FEATURES: - Manufactured by "Majestic Athletic" - Cooperstown Collection Throwback Series - 100% polyester heavyweight "Double Knit" fabric - re-inforced stitching on shoulder and sleeve seams - Full button front style - Majestic "Cooperstown" neck label - Majestic "Cooperstown" jock tag on lower front - Majestic "flock" tag on right sleeve Team Logo(s) Features: - Yankees "NY" logo is sewn on the front left chest in 1-color "Pro Felt" Players Number "Customization" features: - # 32 is professionally sewn on the back of the jersey in Pro Felt fabric - The # 32 is customized (sewn) in the "Yankees" official style font, color, and fabric as worn during this period VERY IMPORTANT: Please do not confuse or compare the above jersey we are selling to other similar Majestic Cooperstown jerseys being sold by other sellers on Amazon or other online sites. The jersey we are selling is made of "100% Heavyweight Polyester Fabric" which is of far superior quality to the much lighter and cheaper "Cotton" jerseys being sold elsewhere. Although the jerseys may look the same, there is no comparison in quality |
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