Elston Howard was a New York Yankee hero. Down three games to one in the 1958 World Series to the Milwaukee Braves, he made a game-saving dive in the outfield, then doubled off the runner, in a play that turned the Series around.

The next game the Yankees won again in ten innings in which Howard had two hits and scored a run. And in Game Seven, with the score tied in the eighth inning, he drove in the go-ahead run. The New York Baseball Writers named him the most outstanding player of the World Series.

Howard batted .462 in the 1960 World Series, but the Yankees lost, on the famous Bill Mazeroski home run. He was an All-Star in 1961 and battled Norm Cash of Detroit for the batting title. In 1964 he became the first African-American to win the American League MVP and also took home the Gold Glove.

In 1965 he hurt his elbow and it lingered into 1966. In 1967 no Red Sox fan will ever forget that he was the player who broke up Billy Rohr's no-hitter that April night. But he was injured yet again when he took a foul ball off his finger later in the year.

In August he was traded to the Red Sox. They were making their World Series run at the time and Tom Yawkey called Elston to assure him how much they wanted him. He briefly considered retiring, but the chance to play in yet another World Series was too enticing, so he came to Boston.

When the Red Sox later faced the Yankees back in New York, he came to bat against his former team and the Yankee Stadium crowd gave him a standing ovation, one he later called “the best ovation I ever got in my life.”

His most memorable game for the Sox came on August 27th. That day the Red Sox faced Chicago, clinging to a 4-3 lead in the ninth. Ken Berry, the tying run at third, attempted to score on a shallow fly caught by right fielder Jose Tartabull. Tartabull’s throw was high, but Elston leaped to snare the ball, then swept the tag down in the same motion — Berry was out and the game was over.

But Elston's greatest contribution to "The Impossible Dream" though, may be one that can’t be measured. It was in his influence on the pitchers and in the clubhouse. His knowledge of the hitters in the league, his game-calling ability, and his calming presence helped the entire young pitching staff.

In 1968, Howard’s elbow acted up again. At midseason, he couldn’t straighten it and he did not want surgery so his playing time was limited. In his final major league game, he received another standing ovation, this time from the fans at Fenway.