Pumpsie Green Died Today, At Age 85

Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green, the first black player to wear a Red Sox uniform, died today at age 85. The team had a moment of silence before Wednesday night's game against the Blue Jays.

Before Green made his debut as a pinch-runner against the White Sox on July 21, 1959, the Red Sox were the last major league team holding out against integration. It had been almost three years since Jackie Robinson had played his last game.

Green tripled off the left field wall in his first at-bat at Fenway Park, kicking off an August 4 doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics. "I was almost on a cloud or in a trance or something," he said years later. "I couldn't breathe. I was so hyped up." (Back in…