Former Yankee Elston Howard Dies

Elston Howard, the first Black baseball player for the New York Yankees and the first Balck coach in the American League, died early yesterday. He was 51 years old.

Elston Howard Jr. said his father died of cardiac arrest in New York City's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he had been a patient since November 26. The elder Howard had been in ill health for about two years.

Howard, the 1963 most valuable player in the American League, was a star of the '50s and '60s before serving as a Yankee coach for 11 years.