4. April 8, 1975 – Robinson becomes first black manager
By the time 1975 came around, Frank Robinson was wrapping up his playing career, but he already knew where he wanted his baseball career to take him, and the Cleveland Indians gave him that shot, hiring him as a player/manager for the 1975 season.
This was historic because no AFrican-American had ever managed a game in the major leagues. A week shy of the 28th anniversary of the color barrier being broken in the game, Robinson broke through another barrier in the game.
Robinson decided to ensure he could trust his lineup, batting himself second, and he wanted to ensure a victory, so he took opposing starter Doc Medich deep to left field in the first inning to give himself an early 1-0 lead.
The Yankees would rally for 3 runs in the top of the 2nd, but the Indians were able to come back and rally for a 5-3 victory. Robinson would hit 9 home runs that season, his second to last of his MLB career, playing less than 50 games.
It was, however, the first win of what would become an illustrious managing career that would see him win 1,065 games over 16 seasons. Oddly enough, in spite of nearly a .500 record over his career, he never once made the playoffs as a manager for any of his four organizations that he managed.
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