MLB Celebrating 50th Anniversary of First Black Manager

During the 1975 Cleveland Indians season, future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson served as MLB’s first black manager.

Former Cleveland Indians manager and player Frank Robinson stands with a new statue commemorating his career prior to the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 27, 2017. Jason Miller/Getty Images

Jim Kern was there in 1975 when MLB history was made in Cleveland, Ohio.

“That was an unusual Opening Day,” Kern, a former Cleveland Indians’ pitcher, told The Epoch Times about the atmosphere at Municipal Stadium on April 8, 1975. “We (Indians) didn’t normally draw well back in the 1970s but for that historic game, there was a huge turnout.” There were 56,715 people in attendance.