As manager As coach Frank Oliver Howard (August 8, 1936 – October 30, 2023), nicknamed "Hondo", "the Washington Monument" and "the Capital Punisher", was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchises.

One of the most physically intimidating players in the sport, Howard was 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and weighed between 275 and 295 pounds (125 and 134 kg), according to former Senators/Rangers trainer Bill Zeigler.

His father was a machinist for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and had played semi-professional baseball, later on encouraging his son's interest in the game.

[3] He averaged 20.1 points and 15.3 rebounds per game in 1957, and was drafted the following year by the Philadelphia Warriors of the National Basketball Association.

[2] In 1962, Howard batted .296 with 31 home runs and finished among the NL's top five players in RBIs (119) and slugging (.560).

He won the NL Player of the Month award in July with a .381 average, 12 home runs, and 41 RBIs.

In the three-game pennant playoff that followed Howard had only a single in 11 at-bats and struck out three times against Billy Pierce in the first game, including the final out; but he had a run and an RBI in the second contest, an 8–7 win.

The Giants took the pennant in three games, but Howard ended up ninth in the MLB Most Valuable Player award voting.

[10] In 1963, Howard's production dropped off to a .273 average, 28 homers, and 64 RBIs; but the Dodgers won the pennant, and his upper-deck solo home run off Whitey Ford broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the World Series, helping Los Angeles to a 2–1 win and a sweep of the New York Yankees.

[11] On December 4, 1964, the Dodgers traded Howard, Phil Ortega, Pete Richert, and Dick Nen to the Washington Senators for Claude Osteen, John Kennedy, and cash.

Howard finished the season leading the AL with 44 home runs, a .552 slugging percentage and 330 total bases, and was second to Ken Harrelson with 106 RBIs;[14] he made his first of four consecutive All-Star teams that year.

Beginning in 1968, Howard appeared semi-regularly at first base in order to limit the wear and tear of playing the outfield daily.

He again led the AL with 340 total bases, the most ever by a Washington player, and added 111 RBIs; his fourth-place finish in the MVP vote was the highest of his career.

[22] Howard hit the last regular-season home run for the Senators in RFK Stadium in his final at bat on September 30, 1971, off Yankees pitcher Mike Kekich.

After waving to the cheering fans, Howard tossed his hat into the stands, and blew a kiss to the crowd.

[25] Unable to find a job in the majors in 1974, Howard signed to play in Japan's Pacific League for the Taiheiyo Club Lions.

The couple met and married in 1958 and settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin, going on to raise six children before divorcing.