Time to go and add one of my favorite subjects here on the blog to the 1971 “Minor League Days” sub-set, “Hondo” Frank Howard, who was bashing the ball at every level of his professional career:
When this picture was taken, the young stud was wrapping up a 1959
season that saw him hit .342 for the Spokane Indians and Victoria
Rosebuds, with 43 home runs and 126 runs batted in over 139 games
combined between the two teams.
This was after a 1958 season, his first in pro ball, when he hit .333
with 37 homers and 119 RBIs over 129 games for the Green Bay Blue Jays.
An absolute beast at the plate, he would be the last Big League player
until Jay Buhner (1995-97) to hit 40+ homers three years in a row from
1968-1970, with a high of 48 in 1969, though leading the league in 1968
and 1970 with 44.
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each
league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the
plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before
moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a
baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching
career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so
nasty as a player that he had TWO great nicknames: “The Capital
Punisher”, and “Hondo”!
