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Monford Merrill “Monte” Irvin
(February 25, 1919 – January 11, 2016)
The left fielder is one of the first famous black baseball players who broke racial barriers. He made his MLB debut on 8 July 1949 for the New York Giants. Irvin later joined the Chicago Cubs before retiring.
He was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles (1938–1942, 1946–1948), New York Giants (1949–1955) and Chicago Cubs (1956). He grew up in New Jersey and was a standout football player at Lincoln University. Irvin left Lincoln to spend several seasons in Negro league baseball. His career was interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945.
When he joined the New York Giants, Irvin became one of the earliest African-American MLB players. He played in two World Series for the Giants. When future Hall of Famer Willie Mays joined the Giants in 1951, Irvin was asked to mentor him. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. After his playing career, Irvin was a baseball scout and held an administrative role with the MLB commissioner’s office.
At the time of his death, Irvin was the oldest living former Negro Leagues player, New York Giant and Chicago Cub. He lived in a retirement community in Houston before his death.
After retiring, Irvin worked as a representative for the Rheingold beer company, and later as a scout for the New York Mets from 1967 to 1968. He was named an MLB public relations specialist for the commissioner’s office under Bowie Kuhn in 1968. The appointment made him the first black executive in professional baseball. He was elected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. The next year, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, primarily on the basis of his play in the Negro leagues.
In 1974, Kuhn was present in Cincinnati when Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s record of 714 career home runs. When the team came back to Atlanta, Kuhn sent Irvin in his place, so Kuhn was not present for Aaron’s 715th home run. Even as late as 1980, Aaron was so angry at Kuhn that he did not attend an event where Kuhn was to present him with an award.
Irvin stepped down from his role with the commissioner when Kuhn announced his retirement in 1984. He retired to Homosassa, Florida, but he accepted an MLB role involving special projects and appearances.
On May 16, 2006, Orange Park in the city of Orange, New Jersey was renamed Monte Irvin Park, in his honor.
Monte Irvin’s number 20 was retired by the San Francisco Giants in 2010.
On June 26, 2010, the San Francisco Giants officially retired his number 20 uniform. He was joined by fellow Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry and Orlando Cepeda in the pre-game ceremony.He later joined those same Giants Hall of Famers in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of Game 1 of 2010 World Series. In 2015, he was presented a 2014 World Series ring by Giants executives and later joined the Giants in visiting the White House.
In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Irvin as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Army during World War II.
On January 11, 2016, Irvin died of natural causes in Houston a month before his 97th birthday.At the time of his death, Irvin was the oldest living African American to have played in the major leagues, as well as the oldest living member of a World Series-winning team. Prior to his death, he lived in a retirement community in Houston. He also served on the Veterans Committee of the Hall of Fame. The Giants wore a patch in his memory for the 2016 season, a black circle with an orange outline with “Monte” on top of his number 20, to be worn on the left sleeve.
On October 19, 2016, a life-sized bronze statue of Irvin was dedicated in Monte Irvin Park in Orange, New Jersey.
In 2021, Irvin was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.