Baltimore Orioles great Frank Robinson, 71, confirmed to The Examiner through his daughter Friday evening that he does own the final “HERE” flag that celebrated his ballpark-clearing home run at Memorial Stadium on May 8, 1966.
“Dad does have the original ?HERE? flag. He said it is packed away in a safe place,” Nichelle Robinson said.
Robinson?s daughter, who handles her father?s media dealings, told The Examiner earlier Friday she did not believe her father had the flag.
Last week, the Orioles celebrated Robinson?s 541-foot shot off of Cleveland?s Luis Tiant, the only home run to ever leave Memorial Stadium, with a video tribute on its 41st anniversary. The flag at the stadium?s left-field grandstand is most remembered as an orange flag with black, bold lettering that simply read: “HERE.”
The flag had many different incarnations and varying colors due to weather-related wear and tear, according to John Zeimann, deputy director of the Sports Legends at Camden Yards museum. The museum is home to the Orioles Hall of Fame and many of the team?s artifacts.
The museum does not have a replica of the flag, but has a similar banner signed by Robinson on loan from the Ripken Museum. The banner is in the museum?s archives, officials confirmed. The signed banner was a gift from Robinson to Cal Ripken Jr. when he retired from the Orioles in 2001. It is not currently on display at the museum.
The Memorial Stadium flag?s whereabouts were a source of confusion. An Orioles spokesman said last week that he thought it had been auctioned off when the team moved out of Memorial Stadium in 1991. Zeimann said he thought it had been given to Robinson at the team?s last game there
Robinson played with the Orioles from 1966 through 1971. He also managed the Orioles during the 1988-1991 seasons. He retired as a manager last October following five seasons as skipper of the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals organization.
