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Every now and then, a chance conversation gets your wheels spinning and sends you down a rabbit hole of memory, history and discovery.

Baseball certainly lends itself to those sorts of spirals of exploration; that’s just part of a game with such an extensive chronology.

Late last month during a visit to St. Louis, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick mentioned that the museum planned to highlight and bring attention to the outstanding managers who led teams in the Negro Leagues. In fact, the museum just announced its “Leaders & Innovators� campaign on Wednesday.

Kendrick’s words prompted thoughts about the first Black manager in Major League Baseball history, the legendary .

One of the most impactful figures in MLB history, Robinson kept his hand in the game at the major league level in one manner or another for more than six decades starting in the 1950s.

A Hall of Fame player who went on to become a manager and executive in the MLB office, Robinson’s trailblazing and influential career in the big leagues began with a game against the Cardinals.

Now entering the rabbit hole …

The starting point for Robinson came when the Cincinnati Reds were still known as the Redlegs. Robinson started in left field and went 2 for 3 with a double against Cardinals pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell. Robinson also warranted an intentional walk. Meanwhile, the Cardinals won the game, 4-2, thanks to a ninth-inning two-run home run by a fella named Stan Musial.

Robinson’s Hall of Fame career included a Rookie of the Year (1956), two MVP awards, a batting title, a triple crown, a World Series MVP (1966), 14 All-Star selections. Robinson held the distinction as the only player to win the MVP in both the American League and National League until completed that feat with his performance last season.

Robinson’s 1966 season still ranks among the best individual performances in MLB history. All he did that year was bat .316 with a .410 on-base percentage, a .637 slugging percentage, 49 home runs, 122 RBIs and 122 runs scored for the Baltimore Orioles. He recorded 7.7 wins above replacement (WAR) per — not the best season by WAR in his career.

With February being Black History Month, it’s only fitting to remember that Robinson became . What can often get forgotten is that he was a player/manager for the Cleveland Indians at the time and actually started (as the DH) in his first game with the club.

Robinson managed the Indians for three years (two as player/manager), then had managerial stints with the San Francisco Giants (1981-84), Orioles (1988-1991) and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (2002-06). He earned manager of the year honors in 1989. For his career, he went 1,065-1,176.

Robinson served as an executive for MLB after his managerial career. His roles included vice president of on-field operations and executive vice president of baseball development.

February also marked the month of Robinson’s death in 2019. Robinson died at the age of 83 in Los Angeles.

That same week, Jackie Robinson’s daughter Sharon, an educator and author of children’s books, visited the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy in Missouri. Sharon also serves as an educational consultant for MLB. She previously developed and managed a program for the MLB called “Breaking Barriers: In Sport, In Life.�

Knowing that one of the last public comments Jackie Robinson made conveyed , I asked Sharon in 2019 about Frank Robinson’s death.

She responded eloquently and with great perspective as she pointed out Frank Robinson was still relatively young — Sharon Robinson’s mother, Rachel, was 96 at the time — and that he’d accomplished so much and he’d had an impact on so many during his life.

Rachel threw out the ceremonial first pitch the day Frank Robinson made his managerial debut as a player-manager. Jackie Robinson died almost three years earlier, so he never saw the milestone he’d called out as being overdue. Former Cleveland Guardians pitcher Mudcat Grant sang the national anthem that day, and Frank Robinson hit a home run in that game.

Sharon Robinson also shared with me that she and her mother had grown to consider Frank Robinson’s family, including his wife and daughter, as part of their family. Sharon said that they’d even visited Frank Robinson one final time in LA the week prior to his death.

The connective tissue of baseball extends so far and touches to many individuals.

Grant, who sang the anthem for Robinson’s debut, was the pitcher who popularized the term “Black Aces� to designated MLB pitchers who won 20 games or more in a season.

Recently elected Baseball Hall of Famer C.C. Sabathia, who began his career with the Indians, mentioned Grant in multiple interviews following his election to the Hall of Fame.

Grant took a liking to Sabathia as a young pitcher, and he kept reminding Sabathia about the importance of reaching the 20-win plateau. He even teased Sabathia about falling short of 20 wins despite the fact Sabathia won a Cy Young in Cleveland. Sabathia eventually surpassed the 20-win mark with the New York Yankees.

Ironically, I also met Grant once in 2011 at a golf tournament outside of Binghamton, New York. The tournament served as a fundraiser for the local Boys & Girls Club as well as the Urban League and multiple local charities.

Yes, baseball can send you down some incredible rabbit holes. It also gives you an excuse to remember some incredible characters and amazing people, all while realizing you can draw a direct line from many of those folks to the current day.