Monte Irvin
| Monte Irvin | |||
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Irvin circa 1953
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| Left fielder | |||
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Born: February 25, 1919 Haleburg, Alabama |
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Died: January 11, 2016 (aged 96) Houston, Texas |
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 8, 1949, for the New York Giants | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 30, 1956, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .293 | ||
| Home runs | 99 | ||
| Runs batted in | 443 | ||
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Negro leagues Major League Baseball |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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MLB
Negro leagues
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| Member of the National | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1973 | ||
| Election Method | Negro Leagues Committee | ||
Negro leagues
Major League Baseball
MLB
Negro leagues
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin (February 25, 1919 – January 11, 2016) was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles (1938–42, 46–48), New York Giants (1949–55) and Chicago Cubs (1956). He grew up in New Jersey and was a standout football player at Lincoln University. Irvin left Lincoln to spend several seasons in Negro league baseball. His career was interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945.
When he joined the New York Giants, Irvin became one of the earliest African-American MLB players. He played in two World Series for the Giants. When future Hall of Famer Willie Mays joined the Giants in 1951, Irvin was asked to mentor him. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. After his playing career, Irvin was a baseball scout and held an administrative role with the MLB commissioner's office.
At the time of his death, Irvin was the oldest living former Negro Leagues player, New York Giant and Chicago Cub. He lived in a retirement community in Houston prior to his death.
Irvin was born February 25, 1919, in Haleburg, Alabama, and was the eighth of 13 children. As a child, he moved with his family to Orange, New Jersey, one of five players who grew up in the Garden State to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame Also one of 42 Chicago Cubs elected to the Hall of Fame. In high school, he starred in four sports and set a state record in the javelin throw. Irvin played baseball for the Orange Triangles, the local semiprofessional team, and he credited its coach with giving him an activity that helped him to stay out of trouble. He was offered a football scholarship to the University of Michigan, but he had to turn it down because he did not have enough money to move to Ann Arbor.
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