OT - RIP Monte Irvin

[knightfan7]

Hall of Fame baseball player in the Negro Leagues and later the New York Giants from Orange, NJ passed at the age of 96. He also was the first person of his race to hold an executive position in MLB.

Whenever my Dad and uncles would get around to taking about the greatest athletes in the Essex County area they saw play, Monte's and one of his brother's names were always near the top. My Dad who was on the Orange HS JV when Monte was a senior used to tell the story that when Orange baseball and track were home at the same time, they'd agree to stop the game long enough so that Monte could run 100 yard dash because the crowd was there to watch him run as well as play baseball. Checking his Wiki page it says he held the NJ HS record at one time in the javelin.

I believe his nephew is/was a poster here. My condolences to his family.

 

[retired711]

I had the pleasure of hearing Monte Irvin speak at a small-group presentation in the Smithsonian Institute. We urged him to tell stories, and he talked about how rookie Willie Mays was the on-deck hitter when Ralph Branca was pitching to Bobby Thomson, and how happy Mays was that he didn't have to bat! (I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about -- the third game of the 1951 play-off between the Dodgers and the Giants at the Polo Grounds in NYC)

 

[rudad02]

Hall of Fame baseball player in the Negro Leagues and later the New York Giants from Orange, NJ passed at the age of 96. He also was the first person of his race to hold an executive position in MLB.

Whenever my Dad and uncles would get around to taking about the greatest athletes in the Essex County area they saw play, Monte's and one of his brother's names were always near the top. My Dad who was on the Orange HS JV when Monte was a senior used to tell the story that when Orange baseball and track were home at the same time, they'd agree to stop the game long enough so that Monte could run 100 yard dash because the crowd was there to watch him run as well as play baseball. Checking his Wiki page it says he held the NJ HS record at one time in the javelin.

I believe his nephew is/was a poster here. My condolences to his family.

Great ballplayer. Terrific hitter & left fielder for the Giants. Would have had far more acclaim if he hadn't suffered a terrible broken ankle. Really ended his career for all practical purposes.

When I was playing HS ball, we had a big lefty man-child pitcher named Mert Oles, who eventually signed with the Pirates. If we were playing home & there was a home track meet, he would come off the mound & run the 440 or throw the shot in his uniform. Could run like hell & strong as an ox.

 

[SBP]

My Dad, 94, played football at Orange HS with Monte, and they were friends...Both running backs. he was sad to hear this, but tol me some great stories of them boxing in gym class....priceless....

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

Met Monte and his wife and daughter 40 years ago when they were looking for an apartment at Hidden Lake in North Brunswick I was just a kid but my dad used to talk about he and Larry Doby and how proud he was that they were Jersey guys. A soft spoken sweet guy who would have had bigger metrics if he was born just a little later When I think of him I think of my dad

 

[knightfan7]

My Dad, 94, played football at Orange HS with Monte, and they were friends...Both running backs. he was sad to hear this, but tol me some great stories of them boxing in gym class....priceless....

Not 100% sure but I think my dad graduated from OHS in '38. May have been in the same class. He'd be turning 95 this year.

 

[BigRnj]

Sad to hear. He was my Dad's favorite player as a kid. He watched him play at Roosevelt stadium in Jersey City. Somehow he struck up a friendship with him many years ago and they talked every month or two on the phone until just a few years ago.

 

[beaced]

My Dad, 94, played football at Orange HS with Monte, and they were friends...Both running backs. he was sad to hear this, but tol me some great stories of them boxing in gym class....priceless....

I did my student teaching in Phys. Ed. at Orange H.S. in 1950. Legendary Teacher Carl Seibert would tell me stories about Monte.

 

[PhDKnight]

I am in my mid 30's and only yesterday learned of him via an article in the LA Times. Amazing life. The article stated that he was asked by Branch Rickey to be the man to break the color barrier in baseball, but he was worried about his ability to perform after serving in WWII and going 2 full years without playing ball.

 

[retired711]

I am in my mid 30's and only yesterday learned of him via an article in the LA Times. Amazing life. The article stated that he was asked by Branch Rickey to be the man to break the color barrier in baseball, but he was worried about his ability to perform after serving in WWII and going 2 full years without playing ball.

I've never heard that story, but I can believe it. It made sense for Rickey to ask him; Irvin was older than Robinson and thus perhaps more mature and able to accept race-baiting. And Irvin was very quiet and wouldn't retaliate verbally -- only with his play on the field.