“He was the ultimate teammate, always,” Dick Bosman, who played six-plus seasons with Howard with Washington and Texas and remained friends with him for decades, told The Associated Press by phone Monday. “Next to my dad, he’s the greatest guy I know.”

Howard played seven seasons with the Washington Senators after earning NL Rookie of the Year honors with the Dodgers in 1960 and helping them win the World Series three years later. He was with the Senators when they relocated to Texas and became the Rangers and finished his playing career with the Detroit Tigers.

“Growing up a baseball fan in Washington D.C., Frank Howard was my hero,” Nationals owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “The towering home runs he hit into the stands at RFK Stadium gave him the nickname ‘Capital Punisher,’ but I’ll always remember him as a kind and gentle man. The entire Lerner family would like to offer our thoughts and condolences to Frank’s family during this difficult time. The world of baseball has truly lost a giant.”

Howard hit the final home run for the Senators at RFK in 1971 and the first at Arlington Stadium in April 1972 after the team moved. The Rangers called Howard “a bigger than life personality who was very popular with his teammates and the fans.”

The 6-foot-7 Howard, nicknamed Hondo, played 1,895 regular-season and three postseason games from 1958-73. He spent a brief time as a manager, with the San Diego Padres in 1981 and the New York Mets in 1983.

“Frank Howard was one of the most intimidating figures to ever wear a Mets uniform,” the team said in a statement. “Despite his size, Howard was known to all as `The Gentle Giant.’ Frank had two tenures as a coach with us and served as an interim manager in 1983. He was known throughout the organization as one of the most kind and generous individuals.”