Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 - August 16, 1983) was an American player in Major League Baseball who was a center fielder from 1929 to 1941. He was a six-time All-Star (1933-38) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

Born in Snohomish, Washington, Averill broke into the major leagues in 1929 (at the age of 27) with the Cleveland Indians. He played for Cleveland for over ten years, and remains the all-time Indian leader in total bases, runs batted in, runs, and triples. He also remains 3rd in all-time Indian hits and doubles, and 4th in all-time Indian home runs and walks. During his time in Cleveland, the team never finished higher than 3rd. He's famous for hitting the line drive that broke Dizzy Dean's toe in the 1937 All-Star Game. Averill was the first major league player to hit 4 home runs in a doubleheader (with home run in each game) on September 17, 1930; he was also one of the first players to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat (April 16, 1929, opening day).

Averill was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the middle of the 1939 season (June 14). The following season his playing time was limited, but the Tigers reached the World Series. In the seven-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, the 38 year old Averill went 0-for-3 in three pinch-hit attempts. The Reds won the series 4 games to three.

Averill retired in 1941 after struggling in April with the Boston Braves.

After his career, he was very outspoken on being elected to the Hall of Fame. While he didn't campaign for induction, he did make the statement that if he was ever to be inducted, he didn't want it to be posthumously, and if that was the case, he wanted his family to decline the honor. He was inducted in 1975, 8 years before his passing, so he got his wish.