In this two-part "Stories with Street CRed" podcast, I interview former major league pitcher Al Downing, who played for 17 years in the majors. The Trenton, New Jersey-born Downing, a left-hander, began his pro career with the Yankee and played with the likes of Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra. Downing was also Yankee teammates with Elston Howard, the first African-American to play for the Yankees in the years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
At the age of 22, Downing started Game 2 of the 1963 World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers. A year later, Downing would start Game 4 of the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals, and he would also pitch in relief twice during that seven-game series.
Downing’s early baseball career overlapped with the civil rights movement and the turbulent ‘60s, and he pitched during an era when there were numerous prominent black pitchers who were the aces of their staff -- Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Fergie Jenkins, lefty Vida Blue, Blue Moon Odom and Downing to name a few.
Downing spent the second half of his career with the Dodgers after brief stops with the Oakland A's and Milwaukee Brewers during the 1970 season. And although Downing had a terrific overall career that included one season of at least 20 wins and a career 123 - 107 record, many baseball fans remember that he was the opposing pitcher on the Dodgers who gave up Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974, when the Hammer moved past Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list.
This interview features Downing's reflections on a wide range of topics, including his early baseball career, the social unrest in the country when Downing played compared with recent events in 2020, and the details surrounding that night in Atlanta when he became part of history.