On July 21, 1959, Pumpsie Green made his major league debut as an eighth-inning pinch-runner with the Boston Red Sox, then played shortstop to finish the game against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park.
Green's appearance was merely a blip in the box score, but his presence in a Red Sox uniform represented a climactic moment in baseball history.
Green, who died on Wednesday at 85 at a hospital in San Leandro, Calif., was the first black player for the Red Sox, the last of the 16 major league franchises of the time to have remained all white. His family confirmed the death in a statement, adding that he had been ill for five months.
Read Full Article »