Elston Howard

On this date in 1968, Elston Howard announces his retirement.

"If Weiss (Yankees GM) had to have a Negro on the Yankees, he would have one. But only one, and he wasn't going to be an aggressive, crusading, loud-mouthed Negro like Jackie Robinson or Vic Power. He would be a Negro who would accept the conditions under which he had to play and not make trouble or headlines. He would live in segregated headquarters during spring training and in the southern cities and accept it, and he would be grateful just for the opportunity to play on the Yankees." - Author Peter Golenbock (Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964) on Howard becoming the first African-American on the Yankees in 1955