Hall of Famer was 1st Black MLB manager
Frank Robinson was baseball royalty. Two-time MVP. Rookie of the Year. Triple Crown winner. World Series MVP. 14time All-Star. The game’s first AfricanAmerican manager.
But Robinson, who died Thursday at age 83, was one thing to Reds fans: The principal in the worst trade in modern franchise history.
Robinson was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on Dec. 9, 1965, for Jack Baldschun, Milt Pappas and Dick Simpson. General manager Bill DeWitt infamously referred to Robinson as a “not young 30” at the time of the trade.
Robinson had hit .296 with 33 home runs and 113 RBI for the Reds the year before. He topped that after year after the trade. He hit .316 with 49 home runs and 122 RBI for the Orioles in 1966, winning the Triple Crown. He was unanimous American League MVP.
The Orioles won the 1966 World Series with Robinson winning the series MVP. “My mind went blank when the trade was announced,” Robinson said. “But when I thought about it, I changed my thinking. I did not feel I had anything to prove, yet I wanted to prove to Bill DeWitt that I was not done at age 30.”
Robinson went on to play six years for the Orioles, hitting .300 with 179 home runs and 545 RBI. The Orioles won the 1970 World Series as well – beating Robinson’s old team, the Reds, 4 games to 1.
Flashback: Remembering Frank Robinson's trade to Baltimore
Flashback: Remembering Frank Robinson's time at Xavier University in 1956
The Reds signed Robinson in 1953, out of McClymonds High School in Oakland. He was a basketball teammate of Bill Russell and a baseball teammate of Vada Pinson and Curt Flood.
Three years later, Robinson was in the big leagues. He tied the rookie record with 38 home runs and won the Rookie of the Year in 1956.
Robinson was the first black star for the Reds. His rookie year came only two years after Chuck Harmon broke the color barrier for the Reds.
Robinson hit .303 with 324 home runs and 1,009 RBI in his 10 years with the Reds. He ranks second behind Jonny Bench on the club’s all-time home run list.
From 1960 to ’61, he put together arguably of the best three years of any Reds hitter. He hit .323 with 107 home runs and 343 RBI. He led the NL in slugging and on-base plus slugging in each of those years.
Robinson held some bitterness toward the Reds for many years because of the trade. That was reconciled after his retirement. He was elected to the club’s Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1998, the club retired his number 20.
Statues of him and his Reds teammates, Joe Nuxhall and Ted Kluszewski, were dedicated in 2003 – the first season at Great American Ball Park.
The Orioles traded him to the Los Angles Dodgers after the 1971 season. The Dodgers traded for the California Angels after the 1972 season. The Angels traded him to the Cleveland Indians during the 1974 season. Before the 1975 season, he was named player-manager, thus becoming the game's first black manager.
Major League Baseball released the following statement Thursday:
Major League Baseball is sad to confirm the passing of Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, the first African-American field manager in the history of the game and longtime MLB executive, who was 83. He passed away this morning at his home in California, surrounded by family and friends.
Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. issued the following statement today:
“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. Known for his fierce competitive will, Frank made history as the first MVP of both the National and American Leagues, earned the 1966 AL Triple Crown and World Series MVP honors, and was a centerpiece of two World Championship Baltimore Orioles’ teams.
“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. He represented four franchises as a manager, most recently when Baseball returned to Washington, DC with the Nationals in 2005. Since 2000, Frank held a variety of positions with the Commissioner’s Office, overseeing on-field discipline and other areas of baseball operations before transitioning to a senior role in baseball development and youthfocused initiatives. Most recently, he served as a Special Advisor to me as well as Honorary American League President. In 2005, Frank was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, for ‘setting a lasting example of character in athletics.’
“We are deeply saddened by this loss of our friend, colleague and legend, who worked in our game for more than 60 years. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest condolences to Frank’s wife Barbara, daughter Nichelle, their entire family and the countless fans who admired this great figure of our National Pastime.”
The Robinson family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, contributions in Frank’s memory can be made to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee or the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C.
He would go to manage for 17 years, including the San Francisco Giants, the Orioles, the Montreal Expos and the Washington Nationals.
Robinson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 by thenPresident George W. Bush. The honor, established in 1963 for civilians, is granted for "especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."
Robinson was one of only 13 baseball players to win the medal, the nation's highest honor for civilians along with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Robinson worked in the Commissioner’s Office from 2007 until 2015 when he was named a senior advisor to the commissioner and honorary American League president.