Frank Howard, a prolific slugger and four time Major League All Star has passed away at the age of 87. He began his professional career in 1958, playing for the Green Bay Bluejays at Joannes Stadium, then a low farm club of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit 37 home runs and drove in 119 that year, met his first wife and planted roots in Green Bay where he raised his six children. His baseball career took off too. With the big league club in L.A. by 1960, Howard was named the National League Rookie of the Year. He moved on to the Washington Senators where he became of their most popular ballplayers swatting prodigious homers, racking up a career best 48 in 1969. The Green Bay Press Gazette kept a running tally every day he hit one out that year. Howard, nicknamed “Hondo” early on, moved with the Senators to Texas when they became the Rangers and finished his career with Detroit. He had a couple of short stints managing teams, with San Diego in 1981 and the New York Mets two years later. Howard also coached with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1985 and 1986.
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