At 85, Frank Howard is still our hero

Frank Howard was the first baseball hero for a generation of fans who saw the Washington Senators move away in 1971, keeping baseball out of Washington for the next 34 seasons. The former slugger spent more than an hour spinning baseball yarns last weekend for fans who have loved him since childhood.Sometimes, a voice from the past can take you there in an instant.

And on a cold, snowy Saturday in January, when the voice is that of your first baseball hero, it not only takes you back all those years, it puts a year in your eye, a smile on your face, and a glow in your heart.

Frank Howard, the Washington Senators’ slugger whose towering home runs into the upper deck of RFK Stadium captured the…