The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Statue honors Frank Robinson
Player-manager broke color barrier
Frank Robinson and his wife, Barbara Ann, pose in front of the plaque in Heritage Park commemorating his historic debut as the Indians’ player‑manager in April 1975.
Cleveland Municipal Stadium long ago fell victim to the wrecking ball, but the memory of Frank Robinson making baseball history there in April 1975 was celebrated on May 27 at Progressive Field.
Prior to the game between the Indians and visiting Kansas City Royals, the Indians unveiled a statue in Heritage Park honoring Robinson and his debut as player-manager of the Indians on April 8, 1975. He broke baseball’s color line in the manager’s office 28 years after Jackie Robinson did it on the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In his first at-bat on that cold Tuesday afternoon, with the eyes of the baseball world riveted on Cleveland, Robinson connected on a slider from New York Yankees starter George “Doc” Medich and lashed a line drive over the fence in left field for a solo home that gave the Indians a 1-0 lead.
Fans in the crowd of 56,715 gave Robinson a sustained ovation as he rounded the bases and crossed home plate. That run got the Indians rolling to what ended as a 5-3 victory over the Yankees.
“I never thought I’d be here for something like this,” Robinson said during the unveiling ceremony.
His jersey number, 20, was retired by the Indians in a separate ceremony before the first pitch. It is the seventh uniform number retired by the Indians joining those of Earl Averill (3), Lou Boudreau (5), Larry Doby (14), Mel Harder (18), Bob Feller (19) and Bob Lemon (21).
Honored guests at the unveiling included fellow National Baseball Hall of Fame member Hank Aaron, and former major-league player and longtime Robincon teammate Don Buford.
Current Indians manager Terry Francona and his players attended.
“You were absolutely magnificent in your career,” Aaron said of Robinson.
Indians radio play-byplay announcer Tom Hamilton was the emcee. He ticked off Robinson’s Hall of Fame credentials during his 21-year playing career, including 586 home runs (10th all time), 1,812 RBI and a lifetime batting average of 294. Robinson was the Most Valuable Player in the National League in 1961 and in the American League in 1966.
Robinson, now 81, joined the Indians as a player in September 1974 in a trade from the Angels.
He previously played for Cincinnati (1956-65), Baltimore (1966-71), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1972) and California (1973-74) before the trade to Cleveland.
He was player-manager for the Indians during the 1975 and 1976 seasons, batting .226 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI in 100 games. He returned in 1977 as manager only and was fired on June 19, 1977. He later managed San Francisco (1981-84), Baltimore (1988-91), Montreal (200204) and Washington Nationals (2005-06).
“What I did in this game, I was very proud of it,” Robinson said. “My one thought was to make this game better for the people who would follow me.”