Hall of Fame Inductees
Munford Merrill “Monte” Irvin attended Lincoln University and was a star football player. He was also a member of the basketball and track and field teams. He won the 1940 CIAA Open Championship in the javelin throw.
Irvin was also a standout baseball player and was one of the first black players to be signed by Major League Baseball after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier in 1947. Irvin was a 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). In 1951, Irvin sparked the New York Giants’ miraculous comeback from 14 games back in August to win the pennant by surpassing the Brooklyn Dodgers. Irvin batted .312 with 24 homers and a league-best 121 runs batted to help the Giants advance to the World Series. He finished third in the National League Most Valuable Player voting during that season. Irvin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. Today, he serves on the Veterans Committee of the Hall of Fame and actively campaigns for recognition of deserving Negro League veterans. In 2010, the San Francisco Giants officially retired his number 20 uniform and he threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series. At 93, Irvin is the oldest living African-American to have played in the Major Leagues.
