Curt Roberts

[GeoPoto]

(James: Thank you for the kind feedback.)

Prior to the 1954 Pittsburgh Pirates season, the local black community in Pittsburgh pressured the team to integrate their roster, as other teams such as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants had done. To speed up the integration, the black community began to protest against the Pirates and boycotted Pirate home games. The general manager of the Pirates at the time was Branch Rickey, who had signed the first black Major League Baseball player, Jackie Robinson, seven years earlier while general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. After playing two years in the Pirates minor league system, Roberts made his major league debut on April 13, 1954, against the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field, to become recognized (Note: Major League Baseball recognizes Curt Roberts as the Pirates' first Black player; however, Carlos Bernier, a black Puerto Rican, debuted a season earlier on April 22, 1953.) as the first black player in Pirates' history. Prior to the game, Rickey gave a speech to Roberts and his wife that was similar to that he gave to Robinson before his first game in 1947. In the speech, Rickey explained to Roberts that he needed to have a "very even temper" in order to succeed in the major leagues, as racial abuse from the spectators was a common occurrence. Rickey later said that he selected Roberts to become the Pirates' first black player owing to his skills and calm demeanor.

In his first major league at bat, Roberts tripled against starting pitcher Robin Roberts. He also had a double in the game. Roberts hit his only career home run off St. Louis Cardinals starter Joe Presko in an 8–5 win on June 11. He scored three runs, including the game winner, in an August 6 game against the Cincinnati Reds. On September 8, Roberts' two errors against the Milwaukee Braves proved costly, as the Braves won their 10th game in a row. Roberts finished the 1954 season as the primary starter at second base, batting .232 with one home run and 36 RBI) in 134 games.

Roberts started the 1955 season in a slump. In his first six games, Roberts only had two hits in 18 at-bats for a batting average of .118. On April 17, in one of the few games he started that season, Roberts' wild throw to third base led to a Brooklyn Dodgers run, the decisive factor in a 3–2 Pirates loss. It was thought that the racial pressure on Roberts was affecting his ability, so to help him, Dodgers second baseman Jackie Robinson wrote a letter to Roberts discussing how to handle his emotions and offering words of encouragement. However, Roberts was soon demoted to the minor leagues and spent the rest of the 1955 season with the Hollywood Stars in the Pacific Coast League. While with the Stars, Roberts broke the Pacific Coast League record for most consecutive games without an error at second base with 40. He also missed playing time after suffering a concussion when he was hit by a pitch delivered by Bubba Church.

Roberts and teammate Johnny O'Brien competed for the second base job prior to the 1956 season. Roberts played 31 games at the beginning of the year, hitting .177 with four runs batted in, mostly in a backup role, before losing his job to future Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski. On May 1, Roberts succeeded in getting a game-winning, two-RBI, ninth-inning double off "Vinegar Bend" Mitzell of the St. Louis Cardinals. Two days later, Roberts made his last career RBI, a double in the fourth inning in a 5–1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

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