Frank Robinson, Jr. (born 1935), was the only baseball player to win Most Valuable Player awards in each major league, the first African American player to manage a baseball team in each major league, and the first to be named Manager of the Year in the National as well as the American League.

Frank Robinson, Jr., was born on August 31, 1935, at Silsbee, Texas, the son of Ruth (Shaw) Robinson and her third husband, railroad worker Frank Robinson. Robinson was the last child born to his mother, whose previous two marriages had produced nine children. When separated from the senior Robinson, the mother moved to California with four-year-old Frank and his two half brothers, eventually settling in the Oakland area. Frank Robinson grew up in a poor, ethnically diverse neighborhood where he starred as an athlete. Excelling in baseball, the 15-year-old Robinson was a right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder on...