Aaron Pointer facts for kids

Aaron Elton Pointer (born April 19, 1942) is a retired American professional baseball player. He played in the major leagues for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros. This was in 1963, 1966, and 1967. After his baseball career, he became an official for the National Football League. He is also famous for being the older brother of the four sisters who formed the Pointer Sisters singing group.

About Aaron Pointer

Early Life and School

Aaron Pointer is the oldest of six children. His parents, Rev. Elton and Sarah Elizabeth Pointer, were church leaders. He is the older brother of Ruth, Anita, Bonnie, and June Pointer from the Pointer Sisters.

Aaron grew up in West Oakland, California. He went to McClymonds High School. There, he was elected student body president. Aaron was also very active in sports at McClymonds. He played on the school's undefeated 1959–60 basketball team. Two future NBA players, Paul Silas and Joe Ellis, were also on that team. Aaron received a full basketball scholarship to the University of San Francisco. He met his wife, Leona, while attending college there.

Baseball Career Highlights

In 1961, Aaron Pointer signed with the Houston baseball team. This team was new to the National League. In his first season in 1961, Aaron had an amazing year. He became the last player to bat over .400 in a full season of professional baseball in the United States and Canada. This means he got a hit more than 40% of the time he tried to hit the ball.

He played 93 games for the Class D Salisbury Braves and four games for the Triple-A Houston Buffs. Overall, he hit .402 with 132 hits. He led his league in runs and batting average. He was also named the Most Valuable Player and an All-Star.

Pointer first played in the major leagues in 1963 for the Houston Colt .45s. He then spent 1964 and 1965 playing in Houston's minor league teams. He returned to the major leagues for 38 games in 1966 and 1967 for the renamed Houston Astros. Over three seasons in the major leagues, he had a .208 batting average. He also hit two home runs and had 15 runs batted in (RBIs).

In 1968, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played for their Triple-A team, the Tacoma Cubs. After the 1969 season, he signed with the Nishitetsu Lions in Fukuoka, Japan. Aaron played three seasons in Japan from 1970 to 1972. He also played baseball in Venezuela before he retired.

Life After Baseball

After retiring from baseball, Aaron Pointer moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1973. He started working for Pierce County Parks and Recreation. His job was to schedule and oversee sports activities. He also began officiating football games. He started with local games and then moved to high school and college games.

From 1978 to 1987, Pointer was a football official for the Pacific-10 Conference. He became a head linesman. He was also the first African American referee in that conference. In 1987, Pointer joined the National Football League (NFL) as a head linesman. He wore uniform number 79. He retired from the NFL after the 2003 season. However, he still works as a game-day observer for the NFL. Once, he worked a game in Los Angeles where his sisters sang the national anthem before the game started.

Pointer retired from Pierce County Parks and Recreation in 2000. He had worked there for 29 years. Today, he is the president of the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma board of commissioners. He was appointed to this role in 2001. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Tacoma Athletic Commission.

In June 2008, Aaron Pointer was honored. He was inducted into the Tacoma Hall of Fame.