Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green (October 27, 1933 – July 17, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963). A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he was listed as tall and . Green had the distinction of being the first black player to play for the Red Sox, the last pre-expansion major-league club to integrate. In his Boston tenure, he was used mostly as a pinch runner or day-off replacement for infielders Pete Runnels and Don Buddin. Green made his debut on July 21, 1959, pinch-running in a 2–1 loss against the Chicago White Sox. Early life Green was born in Boley, Oklahoma, the eldest of five children. One brother, Cornell Green, was a long-time safety for the Dallas Cowboys. Another brother, Credell Green, played football at the University of Washington and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Green was named Elijah, after his father, but his mother called him "Pumpsie" from an early age, although Green related that he did not know the origin of the name. Green grew up in Richmond, California, and was a three-sport athlete at El Cerrito High School. Since major-league baseball had not yet expanded to the West Coast, Green grew up a fan of the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Green later stated that he may have been even better at basketball, but chose to play baseball when he was offered a baseball scholarship at Fresno State University. However, Green decided to attend Contra Costa College when Gene Corr, his high school baseball coach, became the baseball coach there and promised Green he would play shortstop if he attended. In Green's final year of college, he tried out for the Oaks, and was signed to a contract. Minor league career In 1954, Green batted .297 in his second season with the Wenatchee Chiefs, an affiliate of the Oaks. In 1955, he was promoted to the Stockton Ports, the Oaks' top affiliate. Green's contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox during the 1955 season, but he was allowed to finish the season with Stockton before playing the 1956 season with the Albany Senators, a Red Sox affiliate. Green spent the 1957 season with the Oklahoma City Indians and San Francisco Seals, and the 1958 season with the Minneapolis Millers. In 1959, Green was invited to the Red Sox's