Former Rangers general manager Eddie Robinson is Major League Baseball legend and the oldest living player to play on a World Series-winning team. His professional baseball career spanned 65 years, from 1939, when he broke in with the Valdosta Trojans in the Class D Georgia-Florida League, through 2004, when he retired from scouting for the Boston Red Sox. In his 13-year playing career, Robinson was on the roster of seven of the eight American League teams in existence at the time. We are excited to hear him speak about his life and career at this year’s Legends & Leaders on April 7 at the new Globe Life Field!
Growing up during the Great Depression in Paris, Texas, Robinson came from humble circumstances. As a child, he was known for being the only kid who could hit softballs over the right-field fence on the playground. His talent earned him a spot on the Knoxville Smokies of the Southern Association, and in 1941 he joined the Baltimore Orioles of the International League, the top rung of the minor leagues. After turning down a scholarship from the University of Texas in hopes of playing professionally, Robinson’s dream came true when he was a late-season call-up for the Cleveland Indians in 1942.
After an outstanding season with Baltimore in 1946, Robinson was named the International League MVP, beating both Jackie Robinson and Bobby Brown. In 1948, Robinson was traded from the Indians to the Washington Senators. In his first All-Star at-bat, he lined a single to right field off Warren Spahn to drive in Joe DiMaggio, helping the American League to an 11-7 victory.
In 1950, Robinson was traded again, this time to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player deal. With an improving White Sox team that finished fourth under new manager Paul Richards, Robinson had his best year yet, batting .282 and finishing third in the league in both home runs and runs batted in with 29 and 117, respectively. He was also named to his second AL All-Star team.
Following the season, Robinson was trying to negotiate his contract for 1953 when he learned that White Sox general manager Frank Lane had traded him in a five-player deal to the Philadelphia Athletics first baseman Ferris Fain, who had won the last two American League batting titles. After the 1953 season, Robinson was traded again, this time to the five-time defending world champion New York Yankees in a huge multi-player deal. The Yankees were still overcrowded at first base in 1956 and traded Robinson to the Kansas City Athletics at the trading deadline in a four-player deal.
In all, Robinson had a stellar 13-year major league career, making four All-Star teams and playing for seven of the eight American League franchises (he missed only the Boston Red Sox). His 29 home runs for the 1951 White Sox stood as the team home run record for nearly 30 years. He was the seventh player and first White Sox player to hit a ball over the roof at old Comiskey Park; the first six were Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle. For a power hitter and run producer, Robinson had outstanding bat control and never struck out more than 56 times in a season. Only in two seasons did he whiff more than walk, and in those seasons he was a part-time player. In 1950, for example, he fanned only 32 times in 647 plate appearances. Ted Williams declared that Robinson “was the most underrated and best clutch hitter I ever played against.”
Robinson has been kind enough to tell us more about his time in the MLB and as general manager for the Texas Rangers at this year’s Legends & Leaders. Make sure to register for Legends & Leaders HERE.