Jackie Robinson had one of the most profound effects on Major League baseball, enduring hatred and prejudice as the sports first African American player. It was another Robinson that followed in his footsteps and had a profound effect on its oldest franchise.
Frank Robinson was 20-years old when he burst on the baseball scene in 1956, nine years after “the color line” was obliterated. Frank, like Jackie, is in baseball’s Hall of Fame. From the start he announced his presence with accomplishment fueled by an intensely competitive demeanor. He intimidated while refusing to be intimidated.
Robinson was Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player in both leagues, Manager of the Year and in spite of numerous dust ups with umpires over the years, he became the baseball’s director on on-field behavior.
Gus Bell helped his young teammate adjust in front of the eyes of his impressionable, five-year old son, David Gus Bell, who is known as Buddy.
“My dad and Frank were fairly tight,” Buddy said. “When Frank came up to the Reds it wasn’t easy for Frank. Dad was an important part of getting dad somewhat comfortable. Unfortunately, there was still a lot of stuff happening in the world.”
Robinson grew up in a mixed race housing project in Oakland and didn’t experience the obvious racism until his baseball talent took him from home. He was denied entrance to the only movie theater in Ogden, Utah while a member of the Reds’ farm team in the city. Robinson was segregated from the team in many road cities by the prejudice of pre-60‘s America.
The elder Bell was an important part of Robinson’s adjustments. Buddy watched it from the box seats of Crosley Field but didn’t understand the social trauma.
“I was at an age where I was impressionable. I just thought he was the greatest players,” said Bell. “I just loved the way he played the game. He played the game hard.”
Robinson would get up after a pitcher knocked him down. Robinson would get on top of the plate and refused to back off. He would slide hard into any base. One day in 1960 Robinson slid so hard into third base against the Milwaukee Braves, trying to stretch a double into a triple that Eddie Mathews, the Braves third basemen punched Robinson. It was Gus Bell, who replaced the Reds’ right fielder.
Hard nose play and Hall of Fame statistics were just part of Robinson’s baseball aptitude.
“I didn’t realize how brilliant a baseball guy he was until I played for him,” Bell said.
Bell followed his father’s path in life. He attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Upon graduation, Bell was the 16th round draft choice of the Cleveland Indians. He reached the Major Leagues in 1972, the year his son David was born.
Bell was well into his third season when the California Angels traded Robinson for a player to be named later and cash to the Indians.
General manager Phil Seghi, who was a Reds’ scout in 1953 when Robinson signed with the Reds, made Robinson the first African-American manager, perhaps with knowledge of Robinson’s brilliant baseball mind.
“It was a whole different relationship,” said Bell, who was now Robinson’s teammates and a player managed by his father’s friend. “I learned a lot of things from Frank. The one thing I learned most was how to compete. I learned it was important to compete not only for yourself but for the rest of your teammates.”
Bell, who later managed in Detroit, Colorado and San Francisco, changed his focus as a player.
“I think when you’re first coming up, you compete because you want to stay in the big leagues and you want to make some money. It’s fun and whatever, but Frank let it be known that it was really, really important that you are responsible, not only for yourself but the rest of your team.”
Buddy’s son David, who is the Reds’ rookie manager must have had that message passed on to him. He held his first team meeting on Wednesday and expressed expectations along those lines.
“Number one we have to create an environment where people can be the best they can be. There is a lot of responsibilties that come with that. When you have a lot of unique individuals, then the challenge becomes we have to do this thing as a team,” David Bell said. “We’re in the business of competing but doing it as a team. Something that can go without saying is the effort, the work and effort that it takes to be great. It goes into the way we prepare. It goes into how we play the game.”
There was 100 words in his quotes on expectations and not one of them mentioned winning. Robinson was a winner but didn’t talk about it.
“Frank never talked about winning all that much,” Bell said. “It was so obvious to him that’s why you came to the ballpark every day, so you didn’t talk about it. I still to this day believe that. I think it’s a given. I was really fortunate to be around him.”
Bell’s relationship with Robinson had it’s rougher moments.
“Honestly, it wasn’t always easy,” Bell said of Robinson, who was well known for his rough edge that was created by his competiveness. Robinson once admitted that he was determined that his own father, Frank, was wrong. Robinson’s parents divorced when he was real young and his father told Robinson’s brother that he would never make it to the Major Leagues.
“He was so demanding,” Bell said. “His expectations were so high. He was so brilliant and perfection was important to him. That’s another thing I learned from him. Trying to be perfect and you never really got there. I became a perfectionist because of him. It was important for me everyday.”
Bell and Robinson were connected through time ending on February 8th with Robinson’s passing from bone cancer at the age of 83.
“There were so many different memories I had, as a young boy, as a teenager, as somebody that played with him and for him, and then I managed and he was in charge of the on-field behavior.” Bell said. “We got into it a couple times because of that. I for one, and I don’t think there was anybody else that had such a wide range of relationships that I had with Frank. Often time that made the relationship a bit difficult. Because of his relationship with my father, his expectations of me were higher than anyone elses. But I feel very fortunate that I had those wide range of relationships with him.
Bell was called to baseball’s New York office for conflicts with umpires.
“I can be a little edgy,” Bell admitted. “I had been thrown out of a couple games. I had to meet with Frank and Sandy Alderson. “I’m sitting across from Frank in this conference room. Frank was schooling me on how to act properly when I’m talking to an umpire. He was by far the worst of anybody I’ve ever been around but he had such a passion for it.”
“He had to suspend me a couple times but Frank always did his job as well as he could possibly do it. It was really important to him no matter what he was doing.”
Beneath the rough exterior there was a sense of fairness and compassion to Robinson.
“He had such a biting personality too sometimes but deep down there was some compassion and empathy,” Bell said. “You didn’t see it that often. He could be such an intimidating dude because of a lot of different things. He was one of the greatest players that ever played and he was one the brightest guys, I’ve ever been around. That combination would put you on alert. I think more honest you were with Frank the better off you were. He could fool you sometimes. Sometimes you didn’t think he was listening or caring but he was such a deep thinker.”
“Relationships with him wasn’t always easy but It wasn’t always easy for him,” Bell said. “He’s in a better place.”
