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Monte Irvin
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Note: A letter has been
sent on April 25, 2008 to this athlete to provide their contact and
charity information. Once we receive their response, their
information will be entered below. This has been done to
ensure that the information is correct and to protect the athlete's
privacy in case they do not want their information to be posted on
the Internet. |
Contact Information (where autograph
requests should be mailed to):
Contact Person and/or Name of
Organization _____________________________________________
Address:
__________________________________________________________________________
State: _________ City:
__________________________ Zip Code: ________________
Charity
Information:
Name of charity or charities
the donations go to __________________________________________
Signing Habits:
1) If you sign items for free,
what are the maximum number of items you will sign for free? ___________
2) Do you answer questions
sent by fans? ______________
3) Do you prefer when fans
send you their own pens/markers? ______________
4) What can fans do to make it
easier for you to sign their items?
__________________________________________________________________
Donation Charges:
| Item |
Price |
Item |
Price |
| Cards |
|
Flats up to 8x10 |
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| Flats up to 16x20 |
|
Baseballs/small
footballs |
|
| Magazines |
|
Flats larger than 16x20 |
|
| Mini Helmets |
|
Football/Basketball |
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| Large Helmet |
|
Bats |
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| Jerseys |
|
Inscriptions |
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| Other _________ |
|
Other _________ |
|
Who should the check/money
order be made out to: __________________________________________
Payment can be made by: Cash,
Personal Checks, Money Orders, Cashier’s Checks
Monte Irvin's
Message to the Fans
Biography
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin (born February
25, 1919 in Haleburg, Alabama) is a former left fielder and right-handed batter
in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles
(1938-42, 46-48), New York Giants (1949-55) and Chicago Cubs (1956).
Although born in Haleburg, Alabama, Irvin grew up in Orange, New Jersey, one of
five players who grew up in the Garden State to be elected to the Baseball Hall
of Fame. In high school, he starred in four sports and set a state record in the
javelin throw. Monte Irvin attended Lincoln University.
Irvin was one of the first black players to be signed after baseball's color
line was broken by Jackie Robinson in 1947. He fashioned a career of dual
excellence both with the Eagles in the Negro Leagues, and with the Giants in the
National League. After hitting in the Negro Leagues for high marks of .422 and
.396 (1940-41), Irvin won the Triple Crown in the Mexican League with a .398
batting average and 30 home runs in 68 games, being rewarded with the Most
Valuable Player award. After serving in the military in World War II (1943-45),
he returned to the Eagles to lead his team to a league pennant. Irvin won his
second batting championship hitting .401, and was instrumental in beating the
Kansas City Monarchs in a seven-game Negro League World Series, batting .462
with three home runs. He was a five-time Negro League All-Star (1940-41,
1946-48).
He was approached in 1945 by Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey about
being signed for the major leagues, but Irvin felt he was not ready to play at
that level so soon after leaving the service. Irvin earned MVP honors in the
1945-46 Puerto Rican Winter League, and after he spent the 1948-49 winter in
Cuba, the Giants paid $5,000 for his contract. Assigned to Jersey City
(International League), Irvin batted .373. He debuted with the Giants on July 8,
1949 as a pinch-hitter. Back with Jersey City in 1950, he was called up after
hitting .510 with 10 HR in 18 games. Irvin batted .299 for the Giants that
season, playing first base and the outfield.
In 1951, Irvin sparked the Giants' miraculous comeback to overtake the Dodgers
in the pennant race, batting .312 with 24 homers and a league-best 121 runs
batted in, en route to the World Series (he went 11-24 for .458). That year
Irvin teamed with Hank Thompson and Willie Mays to form the first all-black
outfield in the majors. Later, he finished third in the NL's MVP voting. In 1952
he was named to the NL All-Star team.
In his major league career, Irvin batted .293, with 99 home runs, 443 RBI, 366
runs scored, 731 hits, 97 doubles, 31 triples, and 28 stolen bases, with 351
walks for a .383 on base percentage, and 1187 total bases for a .475 slugging
average in 764 games played.
After retiring, Irvin worked as a scout for the New York Mets from 1967-68 and
later spent 17 years (1968-1984) as a public relations specialist for the
commissioner's office under the Bowie Kuhn administration. In this capacity he
became the target of scorn--not racial, but because of what the public saw as a
double standard. When Commissioner Kuhn, who had ordered the Braves not to bench
Hank Aaron in the opening series in Cincinnati at the start of the 1974 season,
sent Irvin to Atlanta, the fans booed Irvin because the Commissioner was holding
Aaron to a stricter standard than he cared to follow himself (he attended a
"boosters" event for the Cleveland Indians).
Monte Irvin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, primarily on
the basis of his play in the Negro Leagues. Today, he serves on the Veterans
Committee of the Hall of Fame and actively campaigns for recognition of
deserving Negro League veterans.
****
Outfielder
Born: February 25, 1919 (1919-02-25) (age 89)
Haleburg, Alabama
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 8, 1949
for the New York Giants
Final game
September 30, 1956
for the Chicago Cubs
Career statistics
Batting average .293
Home runs 99
Runs batted in 443
Teams
Negro Leagues
Newark Eagles (1938-1942, 1946-1948)
Major Leagues
New York Giants (1949-1955)
Chicago Cubs (1956)
Career highlights and awards
1x All-Star selection (1952)
World Series champion (1954)
Led NL in RBIs in 1951 with 121
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Elected 1973
Election Method Negro League Committee
****
Source: Wikipedia.org at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Irvin
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