| Irvin Castille | |
| Position: | Shortstop / Third baseman |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Birth Date: | 17 May 1926 |
| Birth Place: | Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Death Place: | Whittier, California |
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Irvin Castille (May 17, 1926[1] – August 4, 2015[2]) was a shortstop and third baseman who played from 1951 through 1953 in the Negro American League. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana,[3] he batted and threw right handed.
Castille joined the Birmingham Black Barons in the dying years of the Negro leagues.[4] He also was selected to the East–West All-Star Game in 1953.[5] In between, he played with the Brandon Greys club of the independent Mandak League in its 1952 season.[6] [7]
On June 8, 2008, Major League Baseball staged a special draft of the surviving Negro league players, doing a tribute for the surviving Negro leaguers who were kept out of the Big Leagues because of their race. MLB clubs each selected a former NLB player, as Castille was drafted by the Oakland Athletics.
A week later, the San Diego Padres honored him during a homestand highlighted by a Salute to the Negro leagues, fireworks and U.S. Army Appreciation Day at Petco Park.[8] Late in the month, he signed autographs and shared stories about his playing days in the Times of Greatness Mobile event held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.[9]
Castille was a long resident of Whittier, California,[3] where he died in 2015 at the age of 83.[2]