Sad News-- Eddie Robinson

[upstateNYmilb]

Originally Posted by skelly423

I echo the sentiments on this post. Since nobody seems to have mentioned it, over the last year Eddie has recorded a podcast sharing stories of his playing days. If you're not familiar with it, do yourselves a favor and seek out "The Golden Age of Baseball with Eddie Robinson"; you won't be disappointed.

I discovered his podcast about a month ago, and ive really enjoyed listening to each episode. In fact, I just purchased a 51B to send to him to sign...

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[ValKehl]

There is an Eddie Robinson obituary in today's Wash. Post. Here's the link to it (there may be a firewall): https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...e52_story.html

Here are two excerpts from this obit that I found interesting:

(1) In 1948, when Mr. Robinson was with Cleveland, he had a role in one of the most memorable moments in baseball history: Ruth’s final visit to Yankee Stadium. The ailing slugger dressed one last time in his Yankee pinstripes, with his familiar No. 3 on the back, and walked onto the field from the Indians’ dugout on June 13, 1948. “He talked in a very raspy voice,” Mr. Robinson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2016. “I could tell he needed some help. He was going to walk out to home plate without any crutches. I just reached into the bat rack and pulled out a bat and gave it to him.” (The bat belonged to Feller, the team’s star pitcher.) “He carried that bat up to home plate,” Mr. Robinson recalled. “And that famous picture of him facing out with him standing with that bat — I got the bat and had him autograph it.” Nat Fein, a photographer for the New York Herald Tribune, stood behind Ruth, who looked across the diamond and steadied himself with the bat. Two months later, Ruth was dead. Fein’s enduring image was the first sports photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize.

(2) In 1977, Mr. Robinson returned to his home state as general manager of the Texas Rangers. During spring training of his first year on the job, manager Frank Lucchesi benched infielder Lenny Randle in favor of another player. An enraged Randle attacked the manager before a game, breaking his cheekbone and some ribs. Lucchesi spent several days in the hospital, and Randle was promptly traded. Later that season, Mr. Robinson fired Lucchesi as manager because of the team’s lackluster performance, hiring the pugnacious Eddie Stanky as his replacement. Stanky lasted just one game before returning home to Alabama. After the dust settled — and Mr. Robinson ultimately hired Billy Hunter — the Rangers were led by four managers in eight days. While the drama was unfolding, Mr. Robinson received a call from Berra, his former teammate on the Yankees. “Yogi, what are you calling me for?” Mr. Robinson recalled years later to the Star-Telegram. Berra was trying to congratulate Stanky on his new job, but his call was transferred to the wrong Eddie. “Yogi, you won’t believe this,” Mr. Robinson said, “but Stanky just quit. You want the job?” Without hesitating, Berra said, “Hell, no.”