Elston Gene Howard (February 23 1929 – December 14 1980) was an American catcher, left fielder and coach in Negro League and Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the New York Yankees. The first African American player on the Yankees roster, he was named the American League's Most Valuable Player with the 1963 pennant winners after finishing third in the league in slugging average and fifth in home runs, becoming the first black player in AL history to win the honor. He won Gold Glove Awards in 1963 and 1964, in the latter season setting AL records for putouts and total chances in a season. His lifetime fielding percentage of .993 was a major league record from 1967 to 1973, and he retired among the AL career leaders in putouts (7th, 6,447) and total chances (9th, 6,977).