Frank Howard
From BR Bullpen
Frank Oliver Howard
(Hondo or Capital Punisher)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 7", Weight 255 lb.
- School Ohio State University
- Debut September 10, 1958
- Final Game September 30, 1973
- Born August 8, 1936 in Columbus, OH USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Frank Howard began his major league career with several years on the Los Angeles Dodgers, and then became the best and most popular player for the expansion Washington Senators. He hit over 30 home runs once with the Dodgers, and hit over 40 home runs three times with the Senators.
At 6'7", he was one of the biggest players of his era, but still played most of his career in the outfield.
Howard went to Ohio State University and is still (as of 2008) the major league player with the most at-bats to come out of Ohio State. In the minors for 1958-59 and a month of 1960, he hit copious home runs, never slugging below .550. He became a major league regular in 1960, hitting 23 home runs in 117 games for the 1960 Dodgers.
An all-or-nothing slugger with prodigious power but limited speed, he was very much in the mold of contemporaries Harmon Killebrew and Willie McCovey, but his career falls just short of those two Hall of Famers. He hit 17 Home Runs of off Hall of Famers Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Catfish Hunter, Juan Marichal, Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Robin Roberts, Warren Spahn and Hoyt Wilhelm. He led the American League in home runs twice and RBI once and was a four-time All-Star.
While not remembered as hitting for average, he hit .296 three separate times in his career, and finished in the top ten in the league in batting average four separate times.
Howard attempted to continue his playing career with the Taiheiyo Club Lions in 1974 but injured his knee just before the season opener. He retired after only one game.
After his playing career, he became a minor league manager, and eventually was given a chance to manage in the majors, but both of the teams he led, the 1981 Padres and the 1983 Mets, were in a rebuilding mode. He always did have a reputation of being able to relate to young players and help them improve, and indeed, his two teams both made it to the World Series within three years of departure, on the strength of their young talent.
He served as a coach for many years (including the Milwaukee Brewers from 1977-1980 and 1985-86) and it was always a sight to see the 6'7" Frank Howard limp, on bad knees, to the first base coach's box.
It's no surprise that, based on the "similarity scores" method, the most similar players to Frank Howard are Rocky Colavito, Joe Adcock, and Norm Cash.
He slugged .700 in the 1963 World Series.
He went to Ohio State University at the same time as Galen Cisco.
[edit] "The Howard Seats"
Three seats at RFK Stadium are painted white to denote where mammoth home runs by Howard landed. These seats can be found in the upper bowl in Section 536, Row 5, Seat 17, Section 538, Row 4, Seat 19, and in Section 542, Row 3, Seat 3.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1958 MVP Three-I League, Green Bay Bluejays
- 1959 Minor League Player of the Year, Victoria Rosebuds, Texas League & Spokane Indians, Pacific Coast League
- 1960 NL Rookie of the Year Award
- 1960 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- 4-time AL All-Star (1968-1971)
- AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1968)
- 2-time AL Total Bases Leader (1968 & 1969)
- 2-time AL Home Runs Leader (1968 & 1970)
- AL RBI Leader (1970)
- AL Bases on Balls Leader (1970)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 10 (1960, 1962-1965 & 1967-1971)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1962 & 1967-1970)
- 40 Home Run Seasons: 3 (1968-1970)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 4 (1962 & 1968-1970)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1969)
- Won two World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959 & 1963) (he did not play in the 1959 World Series)
| NL Rookie of the Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 1960 | 1961 |
| Willie McCovey | Frank Howard | Billy Williams |
| Preceded by Jerry Coleman | San Diego Padres Manager 1981 | Succeeded by Dick Williams |
| Preceded by George Bamberger | New York Mets Manager 1983 | Succeeded by Davey Johnson |
[edit] Year-By-Year Managerial Record
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Spokane Indians | Pacific Coast League | 65-78 | 7th | Milwaukee Brewers | ||
| 1981 | San Diego Padres | National League | 41-69 | 6th | San Diego Padres | ||
| 1983 | New York Mets | National League | 52-64 | 6th | New York Mets | replaced George Bamberger (16-30) on June 3 | |
| 1997 | GCL Braves | Gulf Coast League | 21-38 | 15th | Atlanta Braves | ||
| 2002 | Columbus Clippers | International League | 3-4 | -- | New York Yankees | replaced Brian Butterfield (12-25) on May 16 / replaced by Stump Merrill on May 23 |
[edit] Further Reading
- Thomas Boswell: "All of Us Bear the Marks of the Lash", in How Life Imitates the World Series, Penguin Books, New York, 1982, pp. 102-103.
- Thomas Boswell: "Sometimes I Think He's Too Good for the Game", in How Life Imitates the World Series, Penguin Books, New York, 1982, pp. 184-188.
- Frank Howard (as told to George Vass): "The Game I'll Never Forget", Baseball Digest, September 1970, pp. 39-41.[1]
