Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, a Negro League legend and one of the Giants’ first two African-American players, died Monday night of natural causes at his Houston home. He was 96.
Mr. Irvin was a candidate to become baseball’s first African-American player before Branch Rickey of the Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson, who debuted in 1947. Two years later, on July 8, 1949, Mr. Irvin played his first Giants game, along with Hank Thompson.
“Monte helped me so much when I came up,” Willie Mays said of his mentor in a phone interview.