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Frank Howard
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Memories of
Frank Howard

Frank Howard
Howard
Frank Oliver Howard
Born: August 8, 1936 at Columbus, O.
Died: October 30, 2023 at Aldie, Va.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.07 Weight: 255

Frank Howard was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on August 8, 2012, July 19, 2017, and October 30, 2023.

Non-playing roles with Mets
  • Manager 1983
  • Coach 1982 - 1984, 1994 - 1996

Share your memories of Frank Howard

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Izzy Rosenkranz
May 27, 2001
 Hondo!! A great home run hitter and an upbeat manager. Should have stayed with the Metsies as a coach or neck rub guy.

Mr. Sparkle
October 14, 2001
 I remember listening to the radio back in the early 80'2 and the Mets had lost a game 4-2. They were real bad and in the middle of a horrendous slump. After the game, they always gave a Mets player the honor of player of the game. That day, the honor went to Frank Howard for aggressively waving around the two runners that scored. It just epitomized how pathetic they were in those days.

Aside from that, I always loved Frank Howard. He was a monster of a man and I hated it when he was withthe Yankees.

Marv Lee
January 6, 2003
 As a kid I grew up listening to every L.A. Dodger broadcast. I remember one occasion in '63 when Frank requested of Vin Scully to be on the pregame show. It seems Frank had struck out several times the night before and on the last of those occasions he threw his bat into the backstop and cut loose with a few choice expletives. On the way to the dugout, he noticed two wide-eyed youngsters staring in shocked supprise at his not well chosen words. He felt so bad about burning their ears that he went on the pregame show the next night just to appologize to those kids. That put him on my Mr. Goodguy list forever. Go Big Frank!

Doc B
August 9, 2003
 I stil remember seeing Hondo on a Saturday game of the week check swing a ball off the wall while with the Senators! What a powerful guy! He did a good job with a lousy Mets team when he managed --very upbeat. I hated to see him leave the organization.

Mook
December 19, 2003
 The Tower of Power! A true gentleman through and through. I never forget how when Mad George fired Dallas Green, Hondo quit in loyalty. And of course, there is always the memory of Big Frank in that orange-red trim Senators uniform blasting HR after HR. Or the picture with him and Harrelson in the 68 Mets Yearbook. I remember this commercial he did for Nestle's Quik in the late 60s. "THE NEXT BATTAHHHH FRANK HOWWAAHHHDDDD!" Frank then proceeds to blast a ball into the parking lot, creditting Nestle's Quik, which he duly informs the befuddled nameless catcher (who looked suspiciously like Jake Gibbs) that he's been drinking Quick since "I was about your size".

Where have you gone Hondo Howard?

Jonathan Stern
March 28, 2004
 This is a baseball man. Hearing him interviewed is priceless. His accent, his turns-of-phrase, his fierce loyalty to his manager and organization - would this man fit in anywhere other than in baseball? No matter where you are or what time it is, you feel like you're on a diamond when you hear him talking.

Stories have been told over the years about Hondo and his breakfasts. Apparently, the big guy orders everything on the menu except "Have a nice day!" I have no recollections of him as a Mets manager, but as a coach, Howard added color and life to the ultimately lackluster Dallas Green era.

Kiwiwriter
September 15, 2004
 I knew him when I covered the Mets. Not a great manager, but a supremely nice guy, great with kids and fans as a player and manager. Very self-effacing. After rare Met wins in 1983, he'd lean back and say, "Awww, it's the kids. The kids just did great."

A book on the Washington Senators calls him "Baseball's Gentle Giant."

Bill Nay
March 21, 2005
 When he was with the Washington Senators I saw him hit several home runs but none as memorable as the one he hit through the exit-way in the third deck of RFK Stadium. The ball was still rising when it went through.

To the exit was 565 feet so you can only imagine how far that thing would have gone.

Frank was my childhood idol. He was the reason I would watch the Senators play back then.

rich edwards
March 25, 2005
 Frank Howard in the 1963 World Series hit a line drive, one hop off the 461 feet centerfield fence sign. That's awesome in itself, but it is said that shortstop Tony Kubek jumped for the ball as it passed by him. BTW, RFK stadium only has 2 decks.

The Franchise
September 24, 2005
 Quite a few comments about Hondo, but not one about his legendary ability to hit mile-high fungoes? Wow. That's a surprise. Surely I am not the only one who remembers them. If there were to be a list of all-time favorite Mets coaches, Howard would be very near the top of it. It was great to watch this mountain range of a man booming absurdly high flyballs to his fielders before games. It was really a show!

Mark
September 24, 2005
 Didn't they call him "Capitol Punishment" when he was with the Washington Senators? He was a big guy who hit big home runs in the late Sixties. Was OK as Mets manager and seemed like a nice guy.

Al
February 22, 2006
 I grew up watching Hondo play for the Senators and he was called "The Capitol Punisher". He hit 40+ homers from 1968-71 and finished with 382. He was also the 1960 rookie of the year with the Dodgers. A great memory was of him hitting a home run in the 1969 All-Star game in front of the home crowd in RFK stadium. I have an autographed ball and an entire Frank Howard wall in my apartment. Thanks Hondo!

Feat Fan
February 25, 2007
 Circa '68 (the year he slammed 10 home runs in 6 games) we are sitting in RF seats, 5 rows back at the stadium. Jake Gibbs lofts a towering fly ball that picks up some speed and appears to have enough to clear the fence.

We hustle to the railing, it was an empty ballpark and we were the only ones in the immediate vicinity, c'mon, c'mon, a souveneir, c'mon baby!!!

All of a sudden, this bear of a man gingerly reaches up and extends his glove over the lower grandstand robbing the former Ole Miss QB of a home run. We were good kids and as much as we wanted the darn ball, knew better than to interfere.

The rest of the day we stared out at Hondo, totally in awe of his size, we never saw anyone that big before!

382 home runs and a decent guy, sure gave us a tale to spin.

pete
September 23, 2007
 My family moved to Falls Church, Va. in 66. I was 10. For the next 5 years I rooted for Hondo and the Nats. I distinctly remember him hitting 10 homers in 20 at bats, my dad yelling out the window of the hot, old cape cod. "Hondo hit another!" I remember him hitting a hanging breaking ball from Mickey Lolich over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium. I remember the "Hondo Shift" where teams would play 3 guys in short leftfield. I saw him drag bunt in the late innings when the team needed a rally. I saw him strike out 7 times in a double header. I remember him and Mike Epstein launching titanic blasts into the upper deck. They'd paint the seats: white for Hondos, blue for Epsteins. I remember Frank wearing those goofy white spikes. It was a terrible day when the Nats left town. Thanks, Frank, for the memories.

puddin head
August 10, 2008
 This guy used to kill the Orioles in those days when they had all those 20-game winners. Earl Weaver once had Howard intentionally walked with the bases loaded, even though it forced in a run and put the potential winning run on base; the O's won 6-5. Brooks Robinson of all people once said Howard hit a ball so hard, he didn't even see it until Don Buford picked it up on a hop in left. Frank Howard was positively scary.

Hank M
September 21, 2008
 The 1988 Topps Baseball Card Set featured a 'Turn Back the Clock' series. One card in that subset covered the 1968 season, listing highlights from that year on the back. Every '68 moment on that card had to do with pitching except for one - from May 12 to 18, Frank hit 10 home runs in a span of six games. Apparently, no other batting feat stood out in that "Year of the Pitcher."

Hitting so many homers in such a short amount of time is amazing enough. To do it in a pitching-dominated season like '68 is downright out of this world! This accomplishment is proof of how great a slugger Frank was during his career.

Vince the moob
June 1, 2009
 When Frank Howard was a Mets coach a brawl broke out at Wrigley Field. The Cubs Keith Moreland had his head down and was swinging wildly into the crowd of players trying to act like an out of control tough guy. I will never forget the sight of Frank Howard simply POINTING at Moreland and not saying a word. Keith Moreland, the big bad tough guy IMMEDIATELY stopped swinging. Funny how tough a guy ISN'T when a six foot seven inch three hundred pound annoyed man points at you and quietly insists you to behave. Frank Howards silence was menacing. Also enjoyed the story about the time he was angry at some of the Dodger players when he was with Los Angeles and he turned the hot water faucets in the shower room to the off position and a plumber had to be called to loosen the faucets.

Ed
July 13, 2010
 Frank Howard was my favorite all-time Dodger. I'm still trying to find the story or clip of Vin Scully's story of Frank's longest home run Scully had ever seen. I heard the story once on the radio. I think it occurred in Milwaukee at County Stadium some time in the early 60's. I clearly recall an LA Times sports page article of the monstrous home run Frank hit that day. I also recall the pitcher was a knuckleballer and that the pitch "fooled" Frank - he let go of the bat with his right hand and chopped at the pitch with his left hand only. He made vicious contact with the ball, and it started off as a low chest-high line-drive, but just kept rising until it cleared the fence, the roof, and into the parking lot. I'd sure like to hear Vin Scully recall that story. Frank Howard was my childhood baseball hero.

Jim B
December 6, 2012
 In 1963 my father took this 7-year-old to his second major league game. The first was at Yankee Stadium but this was across the river in Manhattan at the Polo Grounds--now home to an expansion club called the Mets. The game was against the Dodgers. I remember an immense Frank Howard come up and hit a ball that just rose into the night and disappeared into the darkness. We never saw it come down. We recalled the event many times over the years. Seeing the statue of Howard at Nats Stadium in D.C. was special.

Jeff
February 1, 2014
 I recall reading of an interview with Ted Williams, who was a coach, where he was asked if they could beat a particular team. He said something like " I don't know if we can beat 'em", as he gestured over at Frank Howard suiting up, "But I wouldn't mind fighting 'em".

Fritz Fritsch
May 17, 2014
 Back around 1969 or 1970 (I was really young so I don't remember exactly which) I remember watching a game on TV. It was the Yankees vs. the Senators. Steve Hamilton was pitching in relief for the Yankees. Hamilton was the guy with the famous "folly floater". In a scenario similar to the one with Ted Williams vs. Rip Sewell of the similar "Eephus" pitch in the 1946 all-star game, Hamilton threw a Folly Floater to Frank Howard. Howard swung at it and missed. He dared Hamilton to throw it again and Hamilton did. This time Howard caught hold of it and drove it deep to center field. This was in Yankee Stadium, and Bobby Murcer had to put his back flat against the 461-foot sign to catch the ball for a very long fly out.

Now I don't really know if that's exactly how it happened, but that's how I remember it. Even though I grew up in New York, Frank Howard and Harmon Killebrew were my two favorite players. I guess I liked big, slow guys who could hit very long home runs. I was never a Mets fan, but when Howard became their manager for that brief time, I followed the Mets and it was the only time I rooted for them. Not that it did any good, because they were a pretty lousy team at the time. Also, he shared one thing with another favorite player (and an ex-Met) of my childhood days, Ron Hunt. They both wore #33!

jack pesserilo
June 20, 2016
 The following is a story that was TOLD to me. I find it hard to believe, If anyone knows if this story is true, please let us know, Here it is. In 1983, Frank as a manager pinch hit for Jose Oquendo in the first or second inning. Jose had yet to bat that game. When Jose realized he was pinch hit for, he started crying. Does anyone know if this is true?

Steve Farrell
June 18, 2020
 I was in attendance at the old old Yankee Stadium when big Frank Howard hit a check swing fly ball to left field which drove Roy White to the 402 mark where White leaned back over that low fence taking a home run away from big Frank. - Now when I say check swing, I mean Howard had to have barely crossed the plane of the plate when he pulled his swing back - it was a definite oops contact, and yet, lo and behold, what a shot. I wondered at the time, just how far it would have went if he had really laid into it with a full swing. - Definitely one of the longer shots I witnessed over the years at Yankee Stadium.

Scoey
April 24, 2023
 The players with the American League's three highest RBI totals for 1970 are on card #63 in the 1971 Topps set. Frank was the league leader shown at the top, with Tony Conigliaro and Boog Powell in the second and third positions at the bottom. None of the three men on that card ever got elected to the Hall of Fame. I guess one season does not a career make.

Steve
October 18, 2024
 I was about 12 yeas old, strolling the concourse of old Cleveland Stadium with my dad between games of a doubleheader with the Senators. This guy in a Senators uniform stuck his head out of a door. He seemed like he was ten feet tall. I realized it was Frank Howard. He saw me staring at him and boomed "How ya doin sport"? I'm 70 years old and will always remember that moment.








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