Baseball’s first black manager, the barrier-breaking Frank Robinson, passed away on Thursday. He was 83.
“Frank Robinson’s résumé in our game is without parallel, a trailblazer in every sense, whose impact spanned generations. He was one of the greatest players in the history of our game, but that was just the beginning of a multifaceted baseball career,” Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said in a statement.
The Cleveland Indians hired Robinson as Major League Baseball’s first black manager in 1975. On opening day, during his first game as a player-manager, Robinson clubbed a home run. He spent two seasons as a player-manager. His best season as the Tribe’s manager came a season later, in 1976, when the team went 81-78.
“With the Cleveland Indians in 1975, Frank turned Jackie Robinson’s hopes into a reality when he became the first African-American manager in baseball history,” Manfred, Jr. added.
Robinson’s managerial career was no flash in the pan. For 16 years, he led different ball clubs through the rigors of a season. Besides the Indians, he managed the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, and the Washington Nationals. Perhaps the high point of his managerial career came in 1989, when he won manager of the year and his Orioles finished second in the competitive American League East.
He last coached in 2006, with the Washington Nationals, according to Baseball-Reference.
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Robinson was a dominant player before breaking racial barriers as a manager. He spent the majority of his career with the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds, clubbing 586 home runs while playing as an outfielder and first baseman.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine mourned Robinson on Twitter, saying he remembered the dominant Rookie of the Year-campaign Robinson had for the Reds. “When I was growing up, Frank Robinson was certainly one of my heroes,” DeWine said.
In 1961, Robinson won his first Most Valuable Player award, from the National League. For context, the American League MVP that year was Roger Maris.
In 1966, now playing in Baltimore, Robinson helped the Orioles win their first World Series. He won his second MVP, this time from the American League, that season. He became the first player to win the MVP award from both the National League and American League, another barrier broken.
Baltimore won a second World Series in 1970, overcoming Robinson’s old club, the Cincinnati Reds, in the process.
In 1982, in the midst of his managerial career, Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as a player. The Indians would unveil a statue of Robinson in 2017, a small token of gratitude to a man that helped pioneer a path forward for baseball.
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images