Howard Jr, Louis J
Class of 1960Louis J. Howard, Jr. began in 1954-55 in Little League then to Pony League in 1956-57, on to Junior High where he played in and won the Championship. He also play in Junior Legion Baseball where they won the Legion State Championship.
During High School he played in 3AAA Championship games and was on the winning team for all 3. He received the New Hanover High Key Club Award, Boseman Trophy/Most Valuable Award. He turned down a professional baseball contract with the Sand Francisco Giants to accept a scholarship at Wilmington Junior College with Bill Brooks.
At Wilmington college his team won the National Junior College Championship in 1961. Howard was All American on the 2nd team and in 1962 his team came in 2nd place in the National Tournament. He was offered scholarships from University of Tennessee, North Carolina State University but accepted a full baseball scholarship from Wake Forest. Wake Forest was the first team A.C.C., first team All State and won the A.C.C. Championship.
In 1964 Howard signed a Class A contract with Pittsburgh.. In 1966 he moved back to Wilmington where he became a teacher/coach in the New Hanover County school system. He retired in 1996 but continued involvement in Wilmington Senior Citizen Softball and helped Little League players with pitching skills.
Howard was a 2018 inductee into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.
Accolades: 2018 Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame, Professional Baseball Player