N.J. baseball icon Monte Irvin dies at 96

HOUSTON (AP) — Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, a power-hitting outfielder who starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s in a career abbreviated by major league baseball’s exclusion of black players, has died. He was 96. Irvin, who grew up in Orange, N.J. and played for the Newark Eagles, died Monday night of natural…