![Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson [S_bukley / Shutterstock.com]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3ebe7ad/2147483647/strip/true/crop/974x732+0+0/resize/840x632!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F2%2F07%2FFrank-Robinsonhoriz.jpg)
Baseball Hall of Famer and former Indian Frank Robinson has died at 83.
Robinson became the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball when Cleveland announced they had hired him as a player-manager on October 3, 1974, after acquiring him from the Angels earlier that season.
In his debut as player-manager on April 9, 1975, Robinson hit a home run in his first at-bat. At Cleveland Stadium. Against the New York Yankees.
Robinson came to Cleveland at age 38. The famous home run was the 575 th of his career and marked the beginning of his 20 th season.
A 12-time All-Star according to the Hall of Fame, Robinson began his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956, when he won National League Rookie of the Year honors. He was named National League Most Valuable Player in 1961. Robinson was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before the 1966 season and promptly won the Triple Crown and the American League’s Most Valuable Player award, becoming the first player to win MVP in both leagues.
Robinson retired with the Indians after the 1976 season. He went on to manage the San Francisco Giants from 1981 to 1984 and the Orioles from 1988 to 1991. He returned to managing with the Montreal Expos in 2002 and followed the franchise to Washington D.C., where he managed the Nationals through the 2006 season.
Robinson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility, with 89.2 percent of the vote.
The Cleveland Indians released the following statement concerning Robinson’s death.
The Cleveland Indians organization is deeply saddened by the passing of baseball legend Frank Robinson. Our organization and the City of Cleveland are proud to have played a role in Frank’s significant impact on the game when he became the first African-American manager in baseball history on April 8, 1975. The fact Frank hit a solo home run in his first at-bat that day as the Indians’ player-manager symbolizes his greatness as a Hall of Fame ballplayer. The entire Indians organization extends its thoughts and prayers to the Robinson family.”
The Indians unveiled a statue in his honor, which resides in Heritage Park at Progressive Field, and retired his uniform #20 on May 27, 2017.
Robinson played 21 seasons in the Majors, for the Reds, Orioles, Dodgers, Angels and Indians. He hit 586 home runs – 10th all time – and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. He served two years as player-manager with the Indians (1975-76) and was exclusively manager in 1977. He also managed for the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals.
