[Scott Garner]

I was happy to pick up this terrific 8 x 10 original photo of early perfect game pitcher Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox. This photo was taken two days after his perfect game against Ty Cobb and the hometown Tigers on April 30th, 1922. Despite all odds, White Sox rookie Robertson persevered and pitched perhaps one of the two most unlikely perfect games in history...

Consider that prior to Robertson's perfect game, only two had been hurled in modern baseball- both by future HOF'ers, no less- Cy Young and Addie Joss. Charlie Roberson's no-hit, no-walk, no-error game is credited with the first time that the term "perfect game" was ever used up to this point in history.

Here is the Chicago Daily Tribune's recount of the game:
"Fully 25,000 fans were packed into the arena to witness this thriller. At the start they were anything but favorable toward the lean Texan. They howled at him and booed him. The Tigers themselves tried to break him down by unwarranted complaints that he was practicing some illegal trick. Undaunted, Robby kept right on going, and when it was all over the fans showed their appreciation of his work by carrying him off the field."

Other then his perfect game, Robertson had a fairly unremarkable career spanning 8 seasons in which he had 49 wins and 80 losses. It is alleged that he was plagued with consistent arm pain following the perfect game. After his career was over, Robertson returned to his home state of Texas and became a pecan grower and buyer. He disappeared out of the public eye for many years until 1956 when Don Larsen pitched the next perfect game in the World Series. The press chased him down for his thoughts since he was the last to accomplish the feat. Charlie Robertson had the unusual quirk of only responding to TTM autograph requests by only signing these on the anniversary of his perfect game- April 30th. His TTM requests typically included the date that he signed April 30th, ___.
Weird, but cool!