Monte Irvin

Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin (February 25, 1919 – January 11, 2016) was an American left fielder and right fielder who played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball. He grew up in New Jersey and was a standout football player at Lincoln University before leaving to spend several seasons in Negro league baseball. Irvin played for the Newark Eagles from 1938 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1948, his career interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945. He later joined the New York Giants, playing from 1949 to 1955, and finished with the Chicago Cubs in 1956.

In joining the Giants, Irvin became one of the earliest African-American players in MLB. He appeared in two World Series with the club. When Willie Mays joined the Giants in 1951, Irvin was asked to mentor him. After his playing career, Irvin worked as a baseball scout and held an administrative role with the MLB commissioner's office.

Irvin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. He lived in a retirement community in Houston, and at the time of his death was the oldest living former Negro Leagues player, New York Giant, and Chicago Cub.