Frank Howard, an outfielder and first baseman who spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and eight with the Texas Rangers — previously Washington Senators — passed away Monday at the age of 87.
Although Howard was drafted by the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors in 1957 out of Ohio State University, he instead chose to sign with the Dodgers, where he spent the 1958 and 1959 seasons playing in their Minor League system. Howard was recalled at the end of both seasons, making his MLB debut on September 10, 1958, and totaling 17 games across the two years.
His first real taste at the Major League level came in 1960 when he played in 117 games, hitting .268/.320/.464 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI, which earned him Rookie of the Year honors. That also made Howard the first player to win the award for the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
He went on to play for the Dodgers through the 1964 season, batting .269/.326/.495 across 624 games with 123 home runs and 382 RBI. During the 1962 season, Howard finished ninth in National League MVP voting after hitting .296/.346/.560 with 31 home runs and 119 RBI.
In 1963, he helped the Dodgers win the World Series title in a sweep of the New York Yankees, which was his only time playing in the postseason. Howard hit .300/.300/.700 during the World Series with one double and one home run across 10 at-bats.
Following the 1964 season, the Dodgers traded Howard in a multi-player deal to the Senators, which gave him an opportunity to receive more playing time.
From 1965-1971 with the Senators, he batted .279 with 237 homers and 670 RBI in 1,077 games. Howard is the all-time expansion Senators (1961-1971) leader in batting average, runs scored (516), hits (1,071), doubles (146), homers, RBI, walks (533), on-base percentage (.368) and slugging (.513).
He was honored as an American League All-Star in four consecutive seasons from 1968-1971 and finished top-five in MVP voting twice.
Howard led the American League with 44 homers in both 1968 and 1971 while hitting a career best 48 long balls in 1969. He also led the league with 126 RBI and 132 walks in 1970.
On September 30, 1971, Howard hit the final home run in Senators’ history at RFK Stadium before the team moved to Arlington, Texas, to become the Rangers.
Howard also hit the first home run at Arlington Stadium on April 21, 1972, and batted .244 with nine homers and 31 RBI for the Rangers before being traded to the Detroit Tigers.
He spent two seasons with the Tigers before he retired after a 16-year Major League career, batting .273/.352/.499 with 382 home runs and 1,119 RBI.
Howard was inducted into the Washington Nationals Ring of Honor in 2016 for his contributions to Washington D.C. baseball. Only Ryan Zimmerman has hit more home runs while representing a Washington D.C. team.
“I’d like to send my deepest condolences to the family of Frank Howard,” Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement. “Frank was a legendary figure in this town and a player that D.C. baseball fans truly admired.
“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. He will be missed.”
Howard holds the Washington D.C. baseball record for most home runs in a season (48), most consecutive games with a home run (six) and highest career slugging percentage (.513).
Frank Howard coaching career
Howard spent two seasons as a manager with the San Diego Padres and New York Mets following his plying career. He guided the Padres to a 41-69 record in 1981 and the Mets to a 52-64 record in 1983.
Aside from that, he also worked as a coach for numerous organizations, beginning with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1977. He also had stints with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays during his coaching career that lasted from 1977 through 1999.
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