Eddie Robinson: "Lucky Me: My Sixty-Five Years in Baseball"

Anyone who is involved in the game of professional baseball for sixty-five years is more than lucky; they’re blessed. Eddie Robinson, now 90, recounts his lengthy career as a player, coach and executive in his autobiography, “Lucky Me: My Sixty-Five Years in Baseball,” which is currently available via SMU Press.

Eddie Robinson - Lucky Me / SMU Press

Robinson, along with help from co-author C. Paul Rogers III, speaks eloquently about his six-plus decades in baseball. Growing up in Paris, TX, Robinson had his start from humble beginnings in the farming community during the Great Depression. Signed into professional ball in 1939, he began a career that saw Robinson make stops with seven different American League ball clubs from 1942-1957, as well as three years of World War II Service that almost stopped his playing days dead in its tracks.

Recovering from a botched surgery to remove a bone tumor during World War II, Robinson endured a long and hard road to return to baseball in 1946. Not only did Robinson come back, he excelled. Robinson had a banner year that season, winning the MVP of the Triple-A International League, beating out an upstart Jackie Robinson, who was on his quest to make baseball history. This wouldn’t be the first time that the Indians farmhand would have a brush with baseball’s integration, as he was involved in some controversy surrounding the debut of Larry Doby the following season.

Robinson was the only right-handed first baseman on the club, and was asked to defer to Doby by lending the rookie his glove to play the position. Only days before, manager Lou Boudreau has assured Robinson that he was the team’s primary first baseman. A flummoxed Robinson threatened to quit after lending Doby his glove; however, he explained his reasoning was not due to Doby’s race.

“I threatened to quit because of my anger at Boudreau, not because he was a black guy coming in,” he said.

After winning the World Series with the Indians in 1948, he was traded to the Washington Senators for Mickey Vernon. This would begin the merry-go-round that would see him visit seven teams in the next nine seasons. It is through these travels where the book takes shape.

Robinson adds colorful tidbits about his career at the end of extra chapter entitled, “Extra Innings,” which are anecdotes that enliven the stories of his career. Through his play with seven different franchises, Robinson details many innings that illustrate the depth of his career. Robinson has a story for seemingly every “name” player from the 1940s and 1950s and tells them in a manner that keeps the pages turning.

For the New York fans, Robinson expertly details his time as a member of the New York Yankees from 1954-56, where he helped man first base under Casey Stengel’s platoon. Robinson would later return to the Yankees in the early 1980s as a scout.

While not a Hall of Famer, Robinson merits a lot of credit for his long relationship with the national pastime. Whether it was as a player, coach or executive, Robinson put his best foot forward and reaped the rewards of a long-time association with the sport. “Lucky Me,” allows the reader to ride along with Robinson through his sixty years in baseball, taking in the scenery every stop of the way.

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Bill White | The Making Behind His Book 'Uppity'

Former New York Yankees broadcaster Bill White made an appearance this Saturday at Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey to promote his memoir, Uppity: My Untold Story of the Games People Play. Legions of Yankee fans are familiar with White only from his work in the broadcast booth alongside Phil Rizzuto; however, White was a pioneer in baseball, a member of a select group of African-American players to debut in the 1950s. He endured racial taunts and the laws of Jim Crow segregation to achieve a celebrated 13-year major league career with the Giants, Cardinals, and Phillies.

Bill White signing copies of his book Uppity / N. Diunte

White attempted to redirect all of the negativity he faced from the fans and the opposition into his output on the field. He explained how he turned the racial epithets hurled at him as the only African-American player in the Carolina League in 1953 into fuel against the opposing pitchers.

"I was the lone African-American in the entire league," White recalled. "We played in Raleigh, Greensboro, and Durham. All of the teams were in the South. After I got down there and I figured out what I was going through, I'd rather I played someplace else, but I stayed there, overcame that, and it made me play harder. I hit almost .300 and drove in close to 100 runs. I think that what I went through, back to what my mother and grandmother taught me, it helped me do better. I took it out on the baseball."

Between 1956 and 1969, White was named to the All-Star team five times, won six Gold Gloves and a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. White then spent 18 seasons doing commentary for Yankees games from 1971-1988 before being named President of the National League in 1989. At the time, White was the highest ranking African-American in professional sports.

After his five-year tenure presiding over the National League, White washed his hands with baseball after a 40-year career as a player, broadcaster and executive. He became a recluse, staying far away from the spotlight of the media. Asked if he currently follows the major leagues, he responded with a resounding, “No.” So at 77, then why did he choose such a public display of his career?

"I think that there are a lot of young kids, not necessarily minorities that gotta realize they can do whatever they want to do if they work hard enough," he said. "It doesn't make much difference where you come from. I grew up in the South in a steel mill town. I took advantage of whatever opportunities were given to me. I had parents who said, ‘Hey you're going to get an education, you are somebody, you've gotta work twice as hard as the people you are competing with to be successful, so go out and do it.’ That's the way I've worked all my life and the way I've done things all my life. That’s why I wrote the book."

White’s title Uppity, which represented the then-white view of the educated, high-achieving blacks, stemmed from a comment he heard from Giants’ executive Chub Feeney.

"When I came out of the Army, two years later Orlando Cepeda was Rookie of the Year," he recalled. "Right behind him was Willie McCovey. I said to management, ‘Find me some place to play,’ and the GM said, 'Bill, you're too uppity.'"

At that time, the executives did not care for players giving them orders to be traded, especially from those that were black. White later received his wish, being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959. It is there where his career flourished, beginning a string of five All-Star appearances in six seasons.

White, who spends much of his time traveling in his mobile home, reflected on the return to where his big league career began in 1956. It was an awe struck experience that has stayed close to him for over 50 years.

"Like any other young player, I was star struck playing with guys like Willie Mays and Alvin Dark," he said. "I lived right above the Polo Grounds and I walked to work. As a kid coming from a small town, I didn't really get a chance to see the great things in New York, the Statue of Liberty, plays, and museums. I didn't get a chance to see those things and I missed them."

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Brad Emaus and the history of the Mets Rule 5 draft

Brad Emaus

With signs pointing to Brad Emaus earning the nod for the second base position with the New York Mets this spring, click here to take a look at Emaus' career and the Mets recent history with their results in the Rule 5 draft.

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Spook Jacobs: 'He's worth $30,000 in the minor leagues!'

Former Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey scoffed at the possibility of losing fomer farmhand Spook Jacobs to another franchise. Jacobs was signed by the Dodgers in 1946 and quickly ascended the ranks of Brooklyn’s farm system, moving from Class-D Thomasville to Class-AA Mobile by 1949. After batting .304 for Mobile in 1950, the White Sox made a run for Jacobs.

Spook Jacobs / 1955 Topps

The recently deceased Jacobs discussed in a 2009 interview how Rickey would not sell Jacobs to the White Sox even though he was blocked at the major league level by Jackie Robinson.

“If you are behind Jackie Robinson, you don’t have much of a chance,” Jacobs lamented. “We had 28 farm teams; that’s 28 other second baseman and with two in the big leagues, that’s 30 second baseman. You don’t have much of a chance when they won’t let you go and you have to stay. The White Sox offered $30,000 for me and Branch Rickey said, ‘He’s worth that much in the minor leagues!’ Unbelievable!”

Bound by the reserve clause, there wasn’t much Jacobs could do except continue to play hard and hope for an injury at the big league level or a trade. After the 1953 season, the Dodgers left Jacobs unprotected and the Philadelphia A’s drafted him in what we now know as the Rule 5 draft. Jacobs started at second base for A’s the entire 1954 season, and continued with them for parts of the 1955 and 1956 seasons before being traded during the 1956 season to Pittsburgh where he appeared with them for 11 games. He finished with a career .247 batting average in 188 games played.

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Marty Marion, former National League MVP, dies at 93

Marty Marion

Marty Marion, the 1944 National League MVP, nicknamed "The Octopus" for his tall build and long arms, died Tuesday night from natural causes. He was 93.

At 6'2" in height, Marion revolutionized the shortstop position when it was known primarily as a place for short and speedy defenders. His range and soft hands were his trademark, helping to pave the way for other tall shortstops such as Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Marion was voted MVP of the National League in 1944, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series pennant. He would play 11 seasons for the Cardinals from 1940-50 and then two additional seasons as a player-manager for the St. Louis Browns from 1952-53.

As a manger, Marion managed the Cardinals in 1951 and then replaced Rogers Hornsby as manager of the Browns in 1952. He took over the reigns of the Chicago White Sox ballclub late in the 1954 season and managed them through the end of the 1956 season.

Marion received as high of 40% of the Hall of Fame vote when he was eligible. In later years, he received support from the Veterans Committee. Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda put Marion in the same class as two other Hall of Fame shortstops, stating, "He was an outstanding shortstop for the Cardinals on the same level as Phil Rizzuto and Pee Wee Reese."

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