San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Miller time for Pumpsie, with maybe a story or two

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Pumpsie just wanted a Miller beer.

Was that too much to ask? I don’t believe Pumpsie Green ever got that Miller. He died Wednesday at age 85.

Green, raised in the East Bay, was the first black player on the last bigleague team to integrate, the Boston Red Sox in 1959. He was also a good guy and a fantastic storytelle­r.

Last October, Chronicle colleague John Shea and I dropped in on Green at his home in El Cerrito, unannounce­d. We had seen sketchy news reports that he was in such ill health that he could not do interviews or have visitors. Seemingly near death. Why don’t we drop by and give him our best wishes, through his family?

To our shock, Pumpsie answered the door, greeted us with a warm smile and invited us in. He spent a couple hours telling us fantastic stories of his life and career. Shea and I were like little kids at our first ballgame.

Green, with no bitterness, took us back to the days of integratio­n. In ’55, the Sox assigned him to their farm team in Montgomery, Ala. He refused to go, telling his white manager, “Do you know what’s going on in Montgomery?” As in: The bus boycotts touched off by Rosa Parks.

At spring training in ’59 Green had to stay 17 miles from his teammates because blacks had to be out of Scottsdale, Ariz., by sundown.

He never let the ugliness get to him.

“It was every black, not just me,” Green told us. “So that was the only solace I had. ‘It’s not just you, Pumpsie, it’s all blacks.’ ”

Green said he had diabetes. His family had taken away the keys to his Cadillac. No more workouts at his favorite Berkeley YMCA. He said he never got out. It seemed almost like he was a prisoner in his own beautiful home.

“I just wish I could have a Miller beer,” Green said with a sigh.

As we left, Green said warmly, “Nice of you guys to take your time.”

Shea and I made plans to kidnap Pumpsie for a couple hours, get him that Miller. We never did.

He’s lifting one now.

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicl­e.com Twitter: @scottostle­r

 ?? Scott Ostler / The Chronicle 2018 ?? Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, the first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox, which was the last Major League Baseball team to integrate, kicks back in his El Cerrito home in October.
Scott Ostler / The Chronicle 2018 Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, the first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox, which was the last Major League Baseball team to integrate, kicks back in his El Cerrito home in October.

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