A Paycheck From the Minors: Frank Robinson's Signed 1978 Rochester Red Wings Payroll Check

Frank Robinson's 1978 season was not what anyone expected for baseball's first Black manager. After a slow start in 1977 he was fired by Cleveland, resurfaced as an Angels coach, and began 1978 as Earl Weaver's outfield coach in Baltimore. Then the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate needed a manager. When Rochester manager Ken Boyer left to take the Cardinals job, Robinson volunteered to manage the Red Wings. He was reassigned in May, and this payroll check is from that stint: issued by Rochester Community Baseball Inc., made out to Frank Robinson for $200.00, dated June 27, 1978, drawn on the Central Trust Company of Rochester, and boldly signed by Robinson on the back. It's PSA/DNA certified authentic (cert 83198350).

Robinson was already a legend by then. In 1975, he became the first Black manager in big-league history as the player-manager of the Indians, and he was also the first player to win the MVP award in both leagues. He won the Triple Crown in 1966, and he finished with 586 home runs and was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The Red Wings season, a sixth-place finish in the International League, wasn't one of the highlights, but it was a step back to the majors: he returned to the Orioles as a coach in 1979, then became the first Black manager in the National League with the San Francisco Giants in 1981, and later managed the Orioles from 1988 to 1991, winning AL Manager of the Year in 1989. A signed paycheck from his one year in Triple-A is a rare look at the stretch between his time in Cleveland and his return to the majors.