#120 Frank Robinson - Cincinnati Reds

Frank Robinson
Cincinnati Reds
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  183
Born:  August 31, 1935, Beaumont, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1956-1965; Baltimore Orioles 1966-1971; Los Angeles Dodgers 1972; California Angels 1973-1974; Cleveland Indians 1974-1976
As a Manager:  Cleveland Indians 1975-1977; San Francisco Giants 1981-1984; Baltimore Orioles 1988-1991; Montreal Expos 2002-2004; Washington Nationals 2005-2006
Died:  February 7, 2019, Los Angeles, CA (age 83)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1982

Frank Robinson was the first player to win the MVP Award in both National and American Leagues, winning the honor in 1961 with the Reds and then in 1966 in his first season with the Orioles.  Robinson won National League Rookie of the Year honors with the Reds in 1956 and was a six-time All-Star with the club before a blockbuster deal sent him to Baltimore.  Robinson won the Triple Crown in 1966 and led the Orioles to their first World Series title that season, winning World Series MVP honors in the process.  He led the Orioles to their second World Championship title in 1970.  In 21 seasons, Robinson was a 14-time All-Star, batting over .300 nine times and hitting at least 30 home runs in 11 seasons.  When he retired, his 586 career home runs ranked fourth on the all-time list.  Robinson collected 2,943 career hits to go along with 1,812 career RBIs.

1982 Donruss #424

In 1975, he was named a player-manager for the Indians, becoming the first black manager in Major League history.  Although he was named Manager of the Year in 1989, he never guided a team to the postseason.  Robinson was the final manager in Expos history and the first manager for the Nationals after the team relocated to Washington, and he retired following the 2006 season with a career 1,065-1,176 record.  He was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1982, and his #20 has been retired by the Orioles, Reds and Indians.

Building the Set
May 20, 2021 from San Diego, CA - Card #285
Down to needing five cards to complete our set's second series, I got serious.  Unable to find the cards I needed from eBay at reasonable prices, I turned to the reliable Kit Young Cards for this Robinson card and the Dodgers team card (#126) with both arriving from San Diego on May 20th.  The Robinson card was a bit pricey, but Kit Young's price was still lower than most of the ending bids from recent eBay auctions.  A few days later, the final three cards needed for a complete second series would arrive and shortly thereafter I turned my attention to gathering cards from the set's third series.  It felt great to be approaching the 50% completion mark for this iconic set.

The Card / Reds Team Set
This is Robinson's final card as an active player with his original team, and Topps used a hatless photo of Robinson in a Reds jersey for his 1966 card.  The back of the card lets his statistics speak for themselves with his 1961 MVP season highlighted.

Topps reprinted the card in 2011 as part of its 60 Years of Topps insert set.  Topps also created an acetate reprint of the card for Robinson to sign for inclusion in the 2017 Topps Clearly Authentic Reprint Autographs set.  Robinson, at card #22, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of three Reds in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

1965 Season
In his final season with the Reds, Robinson was again the team's regular right fielder.  He appeared in 156 games, batting .296 with 33 home runs (to lead the team), 33 doubles and 113 RBIs.  His RBI total was second on the team to Deron Johnson's (#75) 130.  After the season, Reds owner Bill DeWitt incorrectly predicted Robinson was past his prime and that leg injuries would only continue to decrease his productivity.  Robinson was dealt to the Orioles on December 9, 1965 for pitchers Jack Baldschun (#555) and Milt Pappas (#270) and outfielder Dick Simpson (#374).  While Pappas had some success for the Reds, the other two players did not, and the trade is regarded now as one of the worst in the game's history.

1957 Topps #35

1961 Topps #360

1967 Topps #100

1975 Topps #580

2006 Topps #295

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #35
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (33):  1957-1977, 1983-1984, 1986, 1988-1991, 2002-2006
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps 70 Years of Topps Baseball #70YT-32

2,302 - Robinson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/18/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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