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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World

Major League Baseball’s first black manager, Frank Robinson, dies age 83

Former major league baseball player Frank Robinson has died age 83. (Picture: Getty Images)

Major League Baseball’s first black manager, Frank Robinson, has died at age 83.

Hammering his way into the Hall of Fame, Mr Robinson’s legacy was cemented in 1975 when he stood in the dugout at old Cleveland Stadium as the league’s first African-American manager.

He is the only player to earn the MVP award in both leagues and was a Triple Crown winner.

Mr Robinson had been in failing health and died Thursday in his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles.

"Frank Robinson's resume in our game is without parallel, a trailblazer in every sense, whose impact spanned generations," Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

Robinson hit 586 home runs - he was fourth on the career list behind only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays when he retired and now ranks 10th.

"Frank Robinson and I were more than baseball buddies. We were friends. Frank was a hard-nosed baseball player who did things on the field that people said could never be done," Mr Aaron posted on Twitter.

"Baseball will miss a tremendous human being," he said.

After Mr Robinson was hired by the Cleveland Indians, more than half the major league teams have had black managers.

He later spent several years working as an executive for MLB and for a time oversaw the annual Civil Rights Game.

He advocated for more minorities throughout baseball and worked with former Commissioner Bud Selig to develop the Selig Rule, directing teams to interview at least one minority candidate before hiring a new manager.

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