Current:Home > FinanceFrank Howard, two-time home run champion and World Series winner, dies at 87-InfoLens
Frank Howard, two-time home run champion and World Series winner, dies at 87
View Date:2024-12-23 14:37:05
Frank Howard, a four-time All-Star who slugged 382 home runs during a lengthy major league career that included a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1963, has died. He was 87.
A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals said the team was informed of Howard's death by his family Monday. A cause of death was not provided.
“He was the ultimate teammate,” Dick Bosman, who played six-plus seasons with Howard with Washington and Texas and remained friends with him for decades, told The Associated Press Monday. “Next to my dad, he’s the greatest guy I know.”
Howard played seven seasons with the Washington Senators after earning NL Rookie of the Year honors with the Dodgers in 1960 and helping them win the World Series three years later. He was with the Senators when they relocated to Texas and became the Rangers and finished his playing career with the Detroit Tigers.
“Growing up a baseball fan in Washington D.C., Frank Howard was my hero,” Nationals owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “The towering home runs he hit into the stands at RFK Stadium gave him the nickname ‘Capital Punisher,’ but I’ll always remember him as a kind and gentle man. The entire Lerner family would like to offer our thoughts and condolences to Frank’s family during this difficult time. The world of baseball has truly lost a giant.”
FOLLOW THE MONEY: MLB player salaries and payrolls for every major league team
The Rangers called Howard “a bigger than life personality who was very popular with his teammates and the fans.”
Nicknamed “Hondo,” Howard played 1,895 regular-season and three postseason games from 1958-73. He spent a brief time as a manager, with the San Diego Padres in 1981 and the New York Mets in 1983.
Howard led the American League in home runs twice, in 1968 and ‘70, sandwiched around his 48-homer season that remains the most in Washington baseball history. He was inducted into the Nationals' ring of honor in 2016.
"Frank was a legendary figure in this town and a player that D.C. baseball fans truly admired,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. “I had the utmost respect for him both as a ballplayer and as a human being, and it was always a pleasure seeing him at Nationals Park. He was generous with his time and was never afraid to pass along his knowledge and wisdom."
veryGood! (2935)
Related
- Glen Powell responds to rumor that he could replace Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'
- Bodies of 4 men and 2 women found with their hands tied near Monterrey, Mexico
- Here's how to best prepare for winter driving — and what to keep in your car
- Prince George and Dad Prince William Twin Together at Soccer Match
- US Diplomats Notch a Win on Climate Super Pollutants With Help From the Private Sector
- Monsoon rains inundate northern India, with floods and landslides blamed for almost two dozen deaths
- Glasgow climate pledges are 'lip service' without far more aggressive plans
- Hawaii remains under flood warnings as a 'kona low' storm continues to dump rain
- Florida State can't afford to fire Mike Norvell -- and can't afford to keep him
- Seville becomes the first major city in the world to categorize and name heat waves
Ranking
- Texas man accused of supporting ISIS charged in federal court
- Inside a front-line Ukraine clinic as an alleged Russian cluster bomb strike delivers carnage
- France protests ease after weekend riots over police shooting of teen
- Pope Francis is asking people to pray for the Earth as U.N. climate talks begin
- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says next year will be his last in office; mum on his plans afterward
- Today Is the Last Day to Score Target's Stylish Spring Dress Deals for as Low as $10
- Gavin Rossdale's Daughter Daisy Lowe Welcomes First Baby
- Shapermint 24-Hour Deal: Save $25 on Top-Rated Shapewear and Get a Smooth Look for Sizes Small to 4XL
Recommendation
-
Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Team Up for SKIMS Collab With Dolce & Gabbana After Feud
-
Man who admitted crossbow plot to kill Queen Elizabeth appears in court for sentencing hearing
-
U.S. ambassador to Russia meets with detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
-
In a first, U.N. climate agreement could include the words 'coal' and 'fossil fuels'
-
Cameron Brink set to make Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut
-
A biodiesel boom (and conundrum)
-
Biden announces a plan in Glasgow to help poorer countries with climate change
-
The Arctic has a new record high temperature, according to the U.N.