His best day at the plate was on June 17, when he hit two home runs and two doubles.In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals.Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the Beginning his major league career at the relatively advanced age of 28, he played only ten seasons from 1947 to 1956, all of them for the Brooklyn Dodgers.Robinson's career is generally considered to mark the beginning of the post–"long ball" era in baseball, in which a reliance on raw power-hitting gave way to balanced offensive strategies that used footspeed to create runs through aggressive baserunning.Historical statistical analysis indicates Robinson was an outstanding fielder throughout his ten years in the major leagues and at virtually every position he played.Assessing himself, Robinson said, "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being. He was arrested for brandishing his pistol in 1961 after a confrontation with white customers and a white short-order cook in a late-night Cincinnati eatery. Frank Robinson was born on August 31, 1935 in Beaumont, Texas, one of his mother’s 10 children. Just as Jackie Robinson's breaking of baseball's color barrier in 1947 had opened doors for Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays and many others to play in the Major Leagues, it was Frank Robinson who paved the way for every minority manager who has followed.

Player/Manager Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians watches his team from the dugout steps during a game in June, 1976 at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

In July, he was called to testify before the Robinson's Hollywood exploits, however, did not sit well with Dodgers co-owner Before the 1951 season, O'Malley reportedly offered Robinson the job of manager of the Montreal Royals, effective at the end of Robinson's playing career. He wasn't like the three most-celebrated black athletes in America from World War I through the Korean War — boxer Joe Louis, track and field athlete Jesse Owens and his baseball predecessor Jackie Robinson — who were depicted synecdochally by a white America in pursuit of racial peace and unity as long as it was separate.

“They said this was the chance for you to break that barrier,” Robinson told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” in 2016. Frank Robinson, barrier-breaking Hall of Fame baseball player and manager, dies at 83 In 1988, after the Orioles started the season 0-6, Robinson replaced Cal Ripken Sr. as manager.

In the mid-1940s, Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945.Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena. Covering him and becoming good friends with him during his career as a manager and executive over 35-odd years, I found it easy to recognize that. Frank Robinson was one tough individual. He did win AL Manager of the Year in 1989 for guiding the upstart Orioles to an 87-75 record. One of Robinson's pitchers was Gaylord Perry, a white Southerner and 21-game winner for the Indians the previous season. Robinson's mother worked various odd jobs to support the family.In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at At Muir Tech, Robinson played several sports at the In 1936, Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earned a place on the That year, Robinson was one of 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger (An incident at PJC illustrated Robinson's impatience with authority figures he perceived as While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career.By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning.After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, After his discharge, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club, the Los Angeles Bulldogs.In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interests.