Towards the end of a Hall of Fame-worthy career as a player, Frank Robinson became the first African-American manager in the major leagues in 1974, when the Cleveland Indians hired the then-39-year-old as their 28th manager and ninth player-manager in franchise history. Robinson, while recognizing the importance of the position he was in, said at the time that it was just the first step.
“I just hope baseball people don’t say, ‘All right, Frank Robinson is the first black manager, we have one, that’s it.’” he told the New York Times in October of 1974.
“In my heart, I don’t think I was hired because I was black.