The Cooperstown Symposium--Part One

For those who believe that they know all there is to know about this great game (a sentiment that has afflicted all of us at one time or another), an event like the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture teaches us that there is much to be learned. This year's symposium, which featured a keynote address by longtime New York Times sportswriter Ira Berkow and also included veteran writers like Steve Jacobsen and MLB's Jack O'Connell, proved to be no different in that respect.

Three days of lectures, speeches, and Q-and-A sessions provided a wealth of knowledge to any participants who were simply willing to listen. On the first day of the symposium, the subject of integration emerged as one of the common themes.

On Wednesday, Hofstra University president (and Pirates fan) Rich Puerzer provided a perceptive account of the coaching career of former major league infielder Gene Baker. Referred to by Puerzer as an "unsung hero," Baker surfaced as a significant character in baseball's integration of coaching staffs throughout the 1960s. In 1961, Baker became the manager of the Pirates' affiliate in Batavia, a franchise in the NY-Penn League. Dealing with first-year players just out of college or high school, Baker served as a combination of mentor, parent, and chauffeur to his young steeds. Among others, future big leaguer Steve Blass praised Baker for the "laid back intelligence" that earmarked his managerial style.

After a brief stint as a player-coach for the Triple-A Columbus Jets, Baker earned a promotion to the Pirates' coaching staff. He became just the second African-American coach in major league history--after Buck O'Neil's debut with the Cubs during their "College of Coaches" disaster. As Puerzer pointed out, Baker took on more responsibility than O'Neil was given by the Cubs. Whereas O'Neil primarily worked as a mentor to Ernie Banks (who was trying to make the transition from shortstop to first base), Baker's duties involved the entire Pirates team. On June 13, 1963, he became the Pirates' third base coach on an interim basis. Though it was only a temporary assignment, Baker had succeeded in becoming a pioneer--the first black third base coach in major league history. That same season, Baker also managed the Pirates for part of one game. He stepped into the managerial chair after Danny Murtaugh was ejected for arguing a call. After a return to minor league managing, Baker became the Pirates' Midwest scout for 23 seasons, while still dabbling in the dugout as a manager of the fall Instructional League. All along, his calming influence made him a major contributor to the Pirates' player development goals.

Integration of baseball remained the theme of the day with a presentation by Brian Richards, a student with the local Cooperstown Graduate Program. Richards' remarkably in-depth examination of the hiring of Frank Robinson as MLB's first African-American manager provided a collection of interesting nuggets. In an August 7, 1971 article that appeared in The Sporting News, Hall of Fame writer Dick Young reported that the Indians would soon name Robinson as their manager. Young's claim turned out to be premature by about three years. In 1973, the Angels briefly considered Robinson, who was the team's principal DH, as a replacement for the embattled Bobby Winkles. (Winkles would survive the season, but would be fired in mid-1974, giving way to White Herzog on an interim basis and Dick Williams as a permanent replacement.) And then in the latter stages of the 1974 season, Indians general manager Phil Seghi considered seven candidates as he sought a replacement for Ken Aspromonte. Of the seven, Richards revealed that four were African-American. Seghi appeared to have the full support of owner Ted Bonda in this regard; a staunch liberal, Bonda embraced the idea of a black manager. In addition to Robinson, one of the other minority candidates was Indians coach Larry Doby, who in 1968 had blasted baseball by saying that "Black athletes are [treated like] cattle." Richards didn't know the specific names of the other African-American candidates, but later conversations with symposium presenters led to speculation that former Negro Leagues (and Indians) star Luke Easter was one of them. (Maury Wills may have been another, but that's mostly guesswork on my part.)

In early October, Seghi settled on Robinson as player-manager, the first playing manager in the major leagues since Hank Bauer of the Kansas City A's in 1961. Already slated to earn $180,000 to serve as the Indians' DH, Robinson received only a $20,000 boost to manage. Somewhat surprisingly, F. Robby didn't bring back Doby as one of his coaches, but did name African-American outfielder George Hendrick as one of his co-captains. (The other was shortstop Frank Duffy.) Robinson endured a shoulder injury, frequent ejections by umpires, and death threats, all of which gave him thought to consider resigning on at least two occasions. But the Indians played well in August and September, winning 27 of their last 42 games to finish within a game of .500. Many of the Indians' players credited Robinson for the late-season surge. A number of the team's younger players (including Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley) meshed well with Robinson, respecting his leadership abilities. On the down side, Robby feuded with a few of the veterans, most notably catcher John Ellis and staff ace Gaylord Perry. During spring training, Perry questioned why none of the Indians' black pitchers and catchers were being forced to run during a workout. Perhaps someone pointed out to Perry that the Indians didn't have any black pitchers or catchers at the time.

In concluding his talk, Richards surmised that, in spite of the occasional flare-ups with Perry, the Indians' clubhouse was not divided by race during Robinson's tenure as manager. As if it needed to be proved, Robinson showed that blacks were quite capable of leading a roster of diverse players and personalities throughout a long season. Unfortunately, Robinson's groundbreaking maneuver did not lead to a wave of other African-American hirings in the late 1970s. With worthy black candidates like Junior Gilliam and John Roseboro being bypassed, only Larry Doby (hired by the White Sox) earned a managerial job during the last five years of the decade.

In our next installment, we'll take a look at some of the highlights from the second day of the symposium.