By: William Robinson
Brooks Robinson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on May 18th, 1937, and died on September 26, 2023. He played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles and was an 18-time All-Star, 16-time Gold Glove winner, MVP, World Series MVP, and All-Star Game MVP. He is considered by many to be among the greatest third basemen to ever play the game and is considered by most to be the greatest defensive third basemen of all time.
Brooks Robinson made his debut with the Orioles in 1955 as an 18-year-old kid and played up until 1977, retiring three years prior to my birth. Sadly because of that I never got to see him play baseball. My father never really spoke of him either, but that wouldn’t be surprising because even though we shared a last name, he played for the Orioles who had defeated the Reds in the World Series in 1970. This was my father’s team of choice and so likely there were some ill feelings towards him. The Orioles were a powerhouse team during the late 60’s and early 70’s and this was in large part thanks to the work that Brooks Robinson was putting in at third base. That team won two World Series and during one of them Brooks was named the MVP.
After he retired from baseball, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973 on his first time on the ballot with 92% of the vote. Afterwards he became a broadcaster and entrepreneur and has been said to be the most popular player for the Orioles in their organization’s history along with Cal Ripken Jr.
Brooks Robinson’s baseball career is a testament to hard work, perseverance and luck. Twice in his early career he was struck in the head by pitches. The first of which probably would have severely injured him if not for the new fiberglass helmets the players were wearing. On May 17th, 1959, he dove into the dugout and got his arm caught on a hook, tearing tendons in his arm and causing severe bleeding. He narrowly avoided tearing nerves and ending his career at that time. He also had to serve in the Arkansas National Guard to avoid losing time due to being drafted in the military. He struggled at the plate during his early career and didn’t find consistent playing time until late 1959. However, by 1960 Brooks Robinson was one of the best in the game. He was selected to the All-Star Game that season and would be every year through 1974. He was always said to be a hard-working baseball player and this showed.
I have collected baseball cards and autographs for 36 years and during that time there has been few players that I have heard more positive things about than Mr. Robinson. Up until recently he was still autographing things that had been mailed to him and when people approached him in the street or at games, he was always pleasant and would happily sign things for them and take pictures. Several times a year I would see posts in the various baseball groups that I’m in on Facebook about how awesome it was to run into him. He was a kind, generous, hard-working man and this world was fortunate to have him in it.