“Nobody thought it was a big deal, and they just wanted to win. “Nobody ever thought they would look up and see nine brothers on the (lineup),” Cash-Garcia said. They saw the game change only 24 years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. At that time, they could enter only through the backdoors of many restaurants and hotels while playing during Jim Crow in the south. The Cash and Oliver family were especially tight. Decades earlier, Pamela Cash drove Donna Oliver to the hospital the day she gave birth to Al’s daughter Felisa.Ĭash and Clines became friends in the minor leagues. They grew so close, Oliver gave the eulogy four years ago at Pamela Cash’s funeral. They’ve kept in touch through phone calls while exchanging Christmas cards and sending graduation gifts to each other’s children over the years. They’ve mourned together, beginning with the saintly Clemente’s death on New Year’s Eve 1972 on an ill-fated relief mission to Nicaragua when the cargo plane he was on crashed off the coast in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Ĭlemente was the first of the “All-Brothers” lineup to die. The families have remained close over the years. All Black lineup families built tight bonds He was followed by Cash, Oliver and shortstop Jackie Hernandez. Sanguillen was behind the plate and batting fifth. Fellow Hall of Famer Willie Stargell hit cleanup and played left field. Hall of Famer Clemente batted third and played right field. Murtaugh’s historic All Black lineup included second baseman Rennie Stennett leading off, followed by Clines. And he always answers their calls, Cash-Garcia notes. The day was going to be capped with a panel discussion on MLB Network.ĭave Cash was so busy, he wasn’t even able to take his grandsons’ calls Wednesday morning. Wednesday was expected to be a whirlwind of media activities in Pittsburgh for the remaining four and the late Roberto Clemente’s son Roberto Jr. … The first thing Manny said to me was, ‘Oh my god, you look so much like your mother.'”Ĭash-Garcia, who lives with her father in a suburb at Tampa with her two sons, is grateful that many are celebrating the first All Black lineup in MLB. “It was like going to a family reunion,” Cash-Garcia said. Roberto Clemente’s son Luis, poses with Dave Cash, Alex Cash-Garcia and Josh Gibson’s great-grandson Sean. That tight bond was on display in July at PNC Park for the 1971 World Series champions’ reunion. They are Uncle Gene, Uncle Manny and Uncle Al, just as Dave Cash is Uncle Dave to the other players’ children. To her they are more than just historical figures. “That team definitely proved it.”Ĭash-Garcia wasn’t born until 1983, but she has had a front-row seat to the tight bond between the men who made history 50 years ago. “My dad would like for people to remember, and me too, that color doesn’t mean anything and family isn’t always blood,” Cash’s daughter Alex Cash-Garcia said. They returned to PNC Park for the first time since July 17, when they held a reunion of the 1971 World Series champions. That quartet was back in Pittsburgh on Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “All Brothers” lineup Murtaugh used on Sept. Only four men off Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh’s historic All Black lineup remain – catcher Manny Sanguillen, center fielder Gene Clines, third baseman Dave Cash and first baseman Al Oliver. 1, 1971, lineup, which was the first all-Black or Latino lineup in MLB history. From left Gene Clines, Al Oliver, Dave Cash and Manuel Sanguillen (sitting) are the last remaining members of the Pirates’ historic Sept.
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