Monte Irvin was born on this date in Columbus,
Alabama; 1919. Irvin was a four time
All-Star with the Newark Eagles and considered by many the best player in Negro
League baseball before he went into the Army in 1943. Returning from military service in 1946,
Irvin helped the Eagles win the 1946 Negro League World Series Championship
defeating the Kansas City Monarchs. He
had a successful eight year Major League career starting in 1949 with the New
York Giants when he was 30 years old. For the first time in World Series history,
the Giants’ starting outfield in 1951 was all African-American players: Willie
Mays, Hank Thompson, and Monte Irvin.
He was an important part of the Giants 1954 World Series Championship
team and worked in the Major League Baseball Commissioner’s office after he
retired. Monte Irvin was elected to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
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