Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947, but it wasn't until three seasons after Robinson last played that Major League Baseball became fully integrated.
That happened on July 21, 1959, when Pumpsie Green made his debut for the Boston Red Sox, the last MLB team to employ a black player.
Green, 83, has lived his life in reluctant acceptance of his place in history. He did not intend to be at the end of the path that Robinson blazed.
"My dad is a quiet man, he's very introspective," said Keisha Green Joyner, Green's daughter. "So I can see why he wouldn't want that kind of attention. He just wanted to play baseball."
Pumpsie Green _ his given name is Elijah _ lives in El Cerrito, Calif. He never publicly disclosed the origin of his nickname, only that his mother started calling him that at a young age. Even his daughter says she doesn't know the origin. It's "still a mystery," she said.
An infielder, he played four seasons for the Red Sox and 17 games for the 1963 Mets. Green Joyner said her father is in ill health and unable to give interviews.
Green was born in the historically black town of Boley, Okla., and grew up in Richmond, Calif.
He came from an athletic family. His brother Cornell was a five-time Pro Bowl performer in a 13-year career with the Dallas Cowboys. His brother Credell starred at Washington State and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.
Pumpsie, a three-sport star at El Cerrito High School, was 25 when the Red Sox called him up from the Double-A Minneapolis Millers on July 1, 1959. Jackie Robinson called to congratulate him.
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