Frank Robinson Signed Baseball Indians “4-8-75” First Player – Black Manager Debut – COA JSA

Amassed from a large collection of single-signed baseballs comes this treasure. The Baseball Hall of Fame is reserved for only the best of the best in the game and Frank Robinson was no exception. Frank Robinson will forever be remembered for baseball’s toughest achievement, the Triple Crown.

His legacy will be surely be remembered through pastime stories and mementos he inked for fans. Presented is a OML (Selig) baseball autographed by Robinson on the sweet spot in blue ballpoint pen (“9”) with the inscription, “4-8-75 – CLEVELAND INDIANS”. This was the date he debuted as the first Black manager and player in the Major Leagues.

“As for being the first black manager in the major leagues, Robinson said, “I’m the first one only because I was born black.”4 The months passed by and the day of the season opener arrived. It was a cold, raw day in Cleveland on April 8, 1975. The temperature at game time was 36 degrees. With the wind whipping off Lake Erie, many of the 56,715 spectators at Cleveland Stadium may have believed it to be much colder. About 70 out-of-town journalists sought accreditation to cover the game. On the field, 25 photographers were at work. (Cleveland Stadium and Memorial Stadium in Baltimore were the only major-league ballparks where photographers could work on the field.

Robinson, hitting second for the Cleveland Indians as their new player-manager, crushed a first-inning pitch from Doc Medich for a home run to power the Indians past the New York Yankees, 5-3, on Opening Day.”

Authentication: JSA Basic Cert & Sticker

Frank Robinson Signed Baseball