On this day back in 1955, 8 years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, Elston Howard became the Yankees first African American player.
In 1948, a 19 year old Howard turned down scholarships from Big Ten universities to enter the Negro Leagues. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs for 3 years as an outfielder, and roomed with Ernie Banks. He was purchased by the Yanks, along with Frank Barnes, and signed on July 19, 1950. The two were assigned to the Yankees Central League team the Muskegon Clippers.