Frank: The First Year [VINTAGE1976] [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Robinson, Frank; Anderson, Dave

Published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1976

About this Item

Fine unread condition glossy blue boards, white cloth spine, and red spine lettering contained in a very good condition color photographic dust jacket. Includes List of Other Books by Dave Anderson; Author Dedication; Frank Robinson Statistics; Prologue: The First Shall Not Be Last; and Epilogue: Only the Beginning. Illustrated with a section of black-and-white photographs. "In the poised, outspoken style that typifies his career as one of baseball's fiercest competitors and a superstar of the modern era, Frank Robinson recounts in this book his remarkable and dramatic experience as the first black manager in the history of the major leagues. Written in collaboration with Dave Anderson, the renowned sports columnist of The New York Times, Frank is both the essence of baseball and a document that transcends sports: an intimate, superbly detailed record of the business of managing men on the playing field and a revelation of one man on a spot no one ever occupied before him. As player-manager of the 1975 Cleveland Indians, Frank Robinson was faced in spring training not only with his historic role but with the task of raising a second-division dissension-ridden team to the level of respectability. Day by day, he records both what happened and his reactions to what happened - on the field, in the locker room, in the front office. He discloses his doubts, his conflicts with his players (most notably with Gaylord Perry, the team's star pitcher), his disputes with umpires, the problems of managing himself as a player, his racial significance. From one of the most implausibly dramatic opening days in the history of the game - when he hit a home run in his first time at bat to lead the Indians to victory - we follow his mounting frustrations as the team descends into the cellar, the painful weeding out of players, his turnabout as a disciplinarian that succeeded in turning around the team, and the Indians' successful finish that won him his job for another year. One of the best books ever to have come out of baseball, Frank embodies the strong character of its subject - it is honest, vital, intelligent, by turns humorous and serious. It also represents a unique view from inside a baseball mind, the mind of a manager." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 008539

Bibliographic Details

Title: Frank: The First Year [VINTAGE1976] [FIRST ...

Publisher: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York

Publication Date: 1976

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Kenney, John (cover photograph); Anthony, Robert (jacket design)

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition