Hector Lopez - Managing

Managing

López was the manager of the Buffalo Bisons in 1969. This made him the first black manager at the AAA level. This was six years before Frank Robinson became the first black manager in the major leagues. López was one of three black men (Sam Bankhead and Gene Banks) to manage in the minor leagues in the twenty-five years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. In 1990, he coached Malverne High School of Malverne, New York in Nassau County on Long Island in addition to working in the parks department in the Town of Hempstead. López has also managed in Venezuela and been a player-manager in Panama. He was the manager of the Panama national baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.