Wilbert Robinson

Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

Wilbert Robinson
Robinson in 1916
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1864-06-29)June 29, 1864
Bolton, Massachusetts
Died: August 8, 1934(1934-08-08) (aged 71)
Atlanta, Georgia
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1886, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1902, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average.273
Home runs18
Runs batted in722
Managerial record1,399–1,398
Winning %.500
Teams
As player

As manager

Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1945
VoteVeterans Committee

Career

Born in Bolton, Massachusetts, Robinson was a catcher in the minor New England League in 1885 and made it to the major leagues in 1886 with the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association, where he remained until 1890. He lasted in the majors until 1902, playing much of his career with two separate Baltimore Orioles franchises – from 1890 to 1899 with the Orioles team which folded after the 1899 National League season, and in 1901–02 with the American League team which moved to New York City in 1903 and became the Yankees. He also spent one season, 1900, with the St. Louis Cardinals.

1895 Baseball Card

Over the course of his career, Robinson played 1,316 games as a catcher, which prepared him for his second baseball career as a manager. The star catcher of the Orioles dynasty which won three straight titles from 1894 to 1896, he compiled a career batting average of .273, with a peak of .353 in the heavy-hitting season of 1894. Durable behind the plate, he caught a triple-header in 1896, followed by a double-header the following day.[1] He also was the first catcher to play directly behind the batter at all times, as the previous practice had been to play farther back when there were fewer than two strikes.[1] A highlight of his career was a seven-hit game June 10, 1892.[1] He also batted in 11 runs in that game; on September 16, 1924, as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he saw that record eclipsed as Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals batted in 12 runs. (Robinson, whose team was in contention for the pennant at the time, lamented, "Why did he have to save all those hits for us? Couldn't he have made some of them against Giants manager McGraw?")

American League Orioles

Robinson and McGraw joined as business partners in the Baltimore Orioles, a team that would debut in the new American League (AL) in 1901.[2] McGraw served as player-manager of the AL Orioles in 1901 and the beginning of the 1902 season, at which point he departed to the New York Giants. Robinson succeeded McGraw as manager of the Orioles.

After the season, McGraw enticed Robinson to be his pitching coach from 1903 to 1913, during which time the Giants won five NL pennants.

Brooklyn Dodgers

Robinson would not don the manager's cap again in the majors until 1914, when he took over the Brooklyn franchise in the National League. The team was known by various nicknames, including Bridegrooms, Superbas, and Dodgers, but during Robinson's managerial tenure, which lasted until 1931, the club was as often referred to as the "Robins" in honor of their manager, who had acquired the nickname "Uncle Robbie." (The frequently error-prone Dodger teams of this era were also sometimes derisively known as "Uncle Robbie's Daffiness Boys.")

In his 18 years at the helm of the Brooks, Robinson compiled a record of 1,375–1,341, including National League championships in 1916 and 1920 – Brooklyn's only pennants between 1901 and 1940. Those two clubs lost in the World Series to the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, respectively. His 1,375 NL victories were, at the time, the 3rd-highest total in NL history, trailing only the totals of McGraw (then with 2,652) and Fred Clarke (1,602).

Robinson was highly regarded for his ability to draw outstanding performances from his pitching staffs, a result of his many years as a catcher. Among the pitchers he guided to success were Joe McGinnity with both Orioles teams and the Giants, Rube Marquard with the Giants, and Dazzy Vance and Burleigh Grimes with the Dodgers. Another pitcher who would later recall Robinson's excellent advice, although they never played together during a regular season, was John Tener, who in the 1910s served simultaneously as NL president and Governor of Pennsylvania.

Robinson was manager when Al López started out as a catcher in the majors. Robinson watched Lopez' style and finally hollered, "Tell that punk he got two hands to catch with! Never mind the Fancy Dan stuff." Lopez went on to eventually surpass Robinson's record of games behind the plate.

Robinson and Ruth Law

On March 13, 1915, at spring training in Daytona Beach, Florida, Robinson decided to try to set a record of sorts by catching a baseball dropped from an airplane being flown 525 feet (160 m) overhead. Ruth Law, the aviator, supposedly forgot to bring a baseball and instead dropped a grapefruit, which splattered all over the manager. The grapefruit made such a mess that Robinson thought he had lost his eye because of the acid and the bloodlike splatter that covered him. He quickly realized that it was a joke when he saw his teammates burst out in laughter. Outfielder Casey Stengel, later a successful manager himself, is generally believed to have convinced Law to make the switch. From this point on, Robinson referred to airplanes as fruit flies.

Retirement and death

After his retirement from managing, Robinson became the president of the Atlanta Crackers minor league team. He died in Atlanta at 71 years of age following a brain hemorrhage, and was buried in the New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore.

Family

Robinson's brother, Fred Robinson, also played briefly in the majors, appearing in 3 games for the 1884 Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association.

Legacy
Plaque of Wilbert Robinson at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 by the Old-Timers Committee.

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See also

References
  1. Blevins, Dave (2011-12-23). The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4616-7370-5.
  2. "archives – baltimoresun.com – BASEBALL DEAL MADE". pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
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