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MONTE IRVIN SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS @ TONY DEE'S
January 4, 2007
MONTE IRVIN SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS @ TONY DEE'S
Date : January 4, 2007
APPEARING AT TONY DEE'S
8136 W 9 MILE RD
OAK PARK, MI. 48237
---- MONTE IRVIN ----
(HALL OF FAMER)
SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS
FEB 24 2007
HAS BEEN MOVED TO
MARCH 17th
TIME: 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM
($15.00 PER ITEM SIGNED)
Monte Irvin
Position: Outfielder, 1937 - 1948
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 210 lbs.
B/T: Right, Right
Born: 1919 in Halesburg, AL
Living in Homosassa, FL
Hall Of Fame Induction: 1973
A high-energy player with vitality, vigor and vim,
shortstop Monte Irvin was the anchor of the Newark Eagles
championship infield. In 1937, at the age of 18, Irvin
joined the Newark Eagles under the assumed name of Jimmy
Nelson, to protect his amateur collegiate status. After two
years under the management of Willie Wells, Irvin matured
into a fine shortstop earning his first berth to the 1941
East All-Star team. After serving in the military, he
played in three other Negro League All-Star Games in 1946,
'47 and '48.
Irvin possessed fine hitting skills, hitting .422 in 1940,
and leading the Negro National League the next year with a
.382 average. He had signed a contract in 1941 for $165 a
month. When Irvin asked for a $25 raise, owner Effa Manley
rejected his offer. So he just packed his bat and glove and
left for Mexico. In 68 games, Irvin slammed 30 home runs
and hit .398 to win the Mexican League triple crown. Irvin
was at the top of his game, when Uncle Sam called him to
serve in the U.S. Army for the next three years, possibly
preventing him from being the first African American to
break baseball's apartheid system.
"Monte was our best young ballplayer at the time," declared
James "Cool Papa" Bell. "He could do everything. You see,
we wanted men who could go there and hit the ball over the
fence, and Monte could do that. He could hit that long
ball, he had a great arm, he could field, he could run.
Yes, he could do everything. It's not that Jackie Robinson
wasn't a good ballplayer; but we wanted Monte because we
knew what he could do. But after Monte went to the Army and
came back, he was sick (it was an inner ear problem), and
then they passed him up and looked for somebody else."
In 1946, he returned to the Newark Eagles and joined forces
with Larry Doby, Leon Day, and Lennie Pearson under the
management of Biz Mackey to led the Eagles to a Negro
National League pennant. He won his second batting
championship hitting .401 and was instrumental in beating
the Kansas City Monarchs in a seven game series with three
round-trippers and hitting a grandiose .462.
After the 1948-49 season in Cuba, the New York Giants paid
the Newark Eagles $5,000 for Irvin's services. Irvin played
in 764 Major Leagues games and become the first product
from the Negro Leagues to win the RBI title with 121 in
1951. That year he teamed with Hank Thompson and Willie
Mays to form the first all-black outfielder in Major League
Baseball.
In 1951, he sparked the Giants' miraculous comeback to
overtake the Dodgers in the pennant race when he batted
.312 with 24 homers and league-best 121 RBI.
The '51 season was the pinnacle of his Major League career.
He hit .312 with 24 home runs and finished third in the MVP
voting, en route to the World Series. Although the Giants
lost to the New York Yankees in six games, Irvin hit .458
and flashed some of the old speed with a steal of home
plate against Allie Reynolds.
He finished his Major League career with a .293 average, 97
doubles and 99 home runs with 443 tallies. Irvin added a
dazzling .394 average to his list of credits for two World
Series performances.
After the 1956 season, the cerebral Monte Irvin traded his
bat for a pen, scouting for the New York Mets from 1967-68
and later spending 17 years (1968-1984) as a public
relations specialist for the commissioner's office under
the Bowie Kuhn administration.
AND IS THE ONLY MAN TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BOTH NEGRO
LEAGUE AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INFO PROVIDED BY LARRY LESTER
NTResearch@comcast.net
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