Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles
 

Day 1 (January 1, 2020 - 001)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’ve been inspired by some of the single player collector threads and have desired to start one in the past, but failed to do so mainly because I’m not the greatest with the computer thing and getting the pictures large enough to see has been an issue. Also, the organizational skills with collecting has been somewhat lacking. Anyway, I’m going to give it a shot and we’ll see what happens.

I recall Mike (docpatly) saying that it surprises him that there are not more threads like this, devoted to a single player, so let us give Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles a shot. I’m sure Brooksie doesn’t have as many followers/collectors as the great Roberto Clemente, but my desire would be to see “anything” related to Brooks or the Orioles; that would include any Baltimore teams (including old school Intl league for example), Playoffs vs. the O’s, World Series appearances with the O’s, etc. Would love to see some pre-war stuff posted. Hey, get creative and post away…

One of the other reasons for starting this thread is to commemorate the 1970 World Series (has it been 50 years?!?). I’m sure Mike (71buc) will follow this thread up in 2021 with a daily thread commemorating the ’71 Pirates.

I mainly collect Brooks Robinson playing day items, but also enjoy picking up Orioles memorabilia as well so I’ll scatter these type of items in the thread. I really didn’t have a lot of disposable income throughout the years, so most of my collection has been picked up slowly over time.

Why Brooks and the Orioles you may ask? I was born in Baltimore (Charm City) and lived on the outskirts and my father worked in the city. My dad was from NJ originally and was a Yankee fan growing up, but slowly and steadily over time, living in MD, became an Orioles fan and he particularly favored Brooks Robinson, the Orioles up and coming third baseman. My dad worked for a large transportation company which had season tickets so we went to Memorial Stadium often. Brooks became my favorite player and hero growing up. I emulated his playing style and “always” wanted to play third. My mom was a fan as well, and took me to the store to pick up cards; back then I wanted them all (football, basketball, hockey, but mainly baseball). Both my mom and dad have since passed away, but I have the memories of having wonderful parents who invested in their child and taught me about sports, but mainly life.

So, let us get this thing started with what Brooks does best...fielding. This is a color picture of Brooks, the greatest third baseman of all time, in action.

Attachment 378977

This color picture shown above was used for the cover of the magazine Baseball 1971 Yearbook. As a side note, growing up Johnny Bench was my favorite non-Oriole player. Again, I’m sure there are plenty of Bench fans to weigh in; I know David (jb67) has some very cool Bench items (I’m sure there are others). I have always enjoyed the defensive part of the game and he was the best catcher I’ve seen play. They shared the cover on a couple magazines back in the day and maybe we’ll see some more this coming year. The article in this magazine related to Brooks is entitled, “Brooks Robinson’s Greatest Decision”

Baseball 1971 Yearbook

Attachment 378978

Quote: "You know it's a crime for anybody to have as much fun as Robby's having . . . and making money for it." - Robin Roberts

Let's start with his rookie card. It was one of the final cards I grabbed to finish my set. Guess I was saving the best for last?

Attachment 378979

Met Brooksie at a show on Long Island a hundred years ago, and man what an incredibly nice guy!!!! Hearing him with that southern accent, talking to everybody in line, was quite a trip for us Noo Yawkizz. He earned a huge place in this baseball fan's heart that day!!!

Happy New Year to all. Can’t wait to see what this thread brings.
Brooks Robinson was the best third baseman to ever play the game and better yet an all time good guy ! Have you ever heard anyone say anything bad about Brooks???
I am sure his wife may have but that’s how it goes. Growing up in Baltimore he was every kid that played baseball favorite player.

Darren,

Might as well show his rookie card up front; such a great shot of young Brooks. Yours is in better shape than mine and I'm glad you added Koufax to the mix since the Orioles and the Dodgers are now are linked by the 1966 Series. Koufax was such a great pitcher and your card and Brooks' as well have nice registration which were tough on these cards.

1957 Topps #328

Attachment 378984

Brooks is such a great person; met him on several occasions over the years. So glad that he made a positive impression when you met him at a show. Maybe we'll discuss that more as the year progresses...

Brooks Robinson
 

Scott,

Looking forward to posting daily. We'll see if I can make it, with interesting items, till year end.

By the way you'll have to document one negative quote by his wife (Connie) for proof of your premise :D

i know he was my favorite growing up in Baltimore; that's for sure!

Brooks Robinson
 

Mark,

As an Orioles fan and collector, I'm excited to see what gets posted over course of the year. Brooks is a big part of my collection and I'll post items as I get a chance.

I grew up in Maine and at 6 years old I fell in love with the bird on the Orioles hat. That was the year Brooks was the AL MVP, so he became my favorite player. The first time I ever met him was at a card show in Portland Maine. By that time, I had three small boys of my own, but I was more excited than the boys.

I'll start my contributions to the thread by posting Brook's first minor league program from the York White Roses in 1955. Brooks was 18 years old and hit .331 in 95 games. I love Orioles history and it's a big part of my collection, although I only collect the O's from 1954 to present and don't do the minor league Orioles before that.

Mark, good luck and looking forward to following this year.

Alan,

Thank you so much for posting the York White Roses program. The early minor league programs are something I would love to add someday. I’m also looking forward to you adding not only Brooks items to the thread, but just great Orioles and Oriole related items that you have collected over the years. Also, you’ll have to post some pictures of your Orioles room this coming year.

This is a great thread I will look forward to following. Love hearing the personal stories surrounding the collecting of players. Always liked Brooks, but as a kid who lived in California in the early '70s, he was a foe for my beloved A's. But you just could not dislike the guy, and such an amazing player. I am originally from Arkansas, and live just east of there near Memphis, and he remains a popular collecting subject here as well due to his Arkansas roots I guess. Anyway, really looking to following along and seeing and learning with this thread.

Rob,

Hope you enjoy. The Oakland Athletics did really well in the early to mid 70’s when Brooks’ career was basically winding down. Those A’s teams had some great players and some unique personalities over the years. Who were your favorites?

I’m sure Brooks is still relatively popular in Arkansas since that’s where he was from originally. He probably isn’t as popular as he was during his playing days, but still is admired.

I'm a Yankees fan so I never liked the Orioles or Brooks. That changed when I met him at at card show in the late 1970's.

A classy guy who took time to talk with me!

Mike

Yes, the A's of '71 thru '76 after which they had pretty much been dissolved were to me as the Orioles were to you. Joe Rudi and Campy were my favorites. Rudi was a quiet, classy guy who was I believe an underrated player, and man Campy was a spark plug for that team. I loved Hunter, Bando, Tenace, Green,and Holtzman as well, and heck, there were so many others who contributed. Was never a big Reggie fan, obviously enjoyed his contributions, but not his demeanor, and still feel Campy should have won the MVP over Reggie in the '73 Series.

Yes, it is probably the older collector base which admired Brooks. I just checked our local shop, the only real shop in our entire region I think, and he has more Brooks cards than I ever remember him having. Guess sales are slowing. But threads like yours help keep the memories alive. I have a small collection of Brooks' cards, and hope to slowly acquire a few more as the years go on.

Mike,

Man, love your signed Brooks ‘70 Topps. That autograph is perfect. Thanks so much for posting it for all to see. So glad you had a positive experience when you met Brooks. I know the first time I met him I was really uneasy since he was my hero growing up; I was afraid of being disappointed. I’ve met him a number of times over the years and I was always treated like a long lost friend.

As a fan of the defensive part of baseball I thought Rudi’s catch in 1972 was one of the greatest outfielder catches. From what I can recall he hit well in clutch situation and did well overall especially in the postseason. He almost won a few MVP awards. I agree he was underrated. Would like to see you post your favorite Rudi card or if you collect memorabilia maybe a favorite A’s item.

I was definitely a fan of Campy. Man, he was a slick fielder and a very good base stealer. Loved getting his cards when I was growing up. Possibly post your favorite Campy item?

Did anyone like Reggie?!? Ha!

I collected with my late father for years and we would go to shows in Raleigh where they used to have great autograph guests. Brooks was probably the kindest, most engaging player we ever met.
Killebrew would be the only other one that I can think of that was so kind and patient. (My wife likes Spahn the best because he went on about how pretty she was haha)
Great thread.

Brooks was the first card show autograph I got too. Seems like he did a ton of them in the past.

Did seem like a good guy, but I imagine his auto is more plentiful than junk era wax :)

So glad to hear about positive experiences when meeting Brooks. I’m with you regarding Killebrew, at least in my experience, one of the great players and just a genuine nice guy. Spahn didn’t talk about what a fine looking fellow I was so he was just ok at signings ; )

Would really like to see any Brooks autograph if you still have any in your collection. Brooks would sign just about everything and has been doing so throughout the years so his auto is plentiful. NOW, the hard part is finding early autographed items. Have you ever seen a vintage single signed baseball of Brooks? That’s a needle in a haystack (at least to me it is).

Remember these '1972 In Action cards that never were' creations, where you provided me with one of the photos?

Attachment 379107

Attachment 379108

Attachment 379109

Of course I remember and they were "all" great looking and are well worth viewing "again". I think my favorite is the third picture the one that Brooks threw Lee May out in the first game of the 1970 World Series. Think the shots from the '70 Series all look so cool with the baseball bunting in the background. Wish Brooks had an in-action card in '72, but I'm sure yours still would have looked better than a Topps version.

Now, do "you" remember the Brooks variations you helped me with?!? Think it's so awesome how you put the pictures on top of one another and went back and forth so you could view the variances.!

I take my variations very seriously. :D

https://i.imgur.com/JwgSf7F.gif


This one is much more subtle, but it is cropped a tad bit differently (most notably where the brim touches/doesn't touch the border)...

https://i.imgur.com/EB9lX1w.gif

Look forward to following this thread. No doubt going to be a classic.

As a die-hard Reds fan this card always hurts just a little when I look at it. One of countless robberies committed during his playing days.

https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...oksie-robberry

I take my Brooks variations very seriously as well...(now that you told me they existed) :D

Where's the OTHER checklist variation? Forgot about that one?

Was adding it as you typed...

David,

I hope the thread will be interesting or at least entertaining.

I'm looking forward to seeing some Bench items (sorry about the B. Robinson commits robbery;)) as well as other Reds players, since they're are forever linked together due to the '70 Series. As I stated above Bench is my favorite non-Oriole player.

I am a fan of the defensive side of the game as well, and Rudi's catch is often seen alongside some of Brook's highlights among the great plays in WS history. I appreciate the suggestion to show some Rudi or Campy, but I don't want to take away from the topic of this thread. Plenty of Brooksie's out there to keep this going I bet. Did get me thinking though, I need to go take some pics of my A's collection. And, I do love that WS card shown above, big fan of the WS subsets (which I am working on completing) and that is a great one. Also love the '72 ALCS card featuring him.

Here is my earliest Bench card I have. I never thought I would end up find this one but I was able to land this a while back. Below is a little background info. on this rarity. Hopefully we can get some other Bench collectors posting as well. Always fun to share info. on our childhood heroes.

PSA Write-Up
1967 Cincinnati Reds Team Issue Postcard. This is the first card listed in the Bench Master Set. It offers a black-and-white shot of a young Bench with a facsimile autograph in blue and the team name in red below it. Hollinden believes these were sold at the stadium and at the local Reds gift shop. His PSA EX-MT 6 is the only graded example.

"I can't imagine there are a lot of these because Bench didn't get called up until the middle of the summer [August]," said Hollinden. "I'm not sure when they produced them, but I have to think that it wasn't until he came up.

https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...issue-pc-psa-1

Brooks Robinson
 

Day 2 (January 2, 2020 - 002)

I collect almost everything related to Brooks, but “try” (my best) to limit myself to playing day items. Also, I don’t collect things that are visually unappealing; there are a number of items in this category (do NOT mention his ’58 Topps card). There are exceptions, but most of the items I post will be from the playing day time frame (mid 50’s till late 70’s). I’ll try to post odd/unusual items, photos, and not seen every day type pieces to keep things hopefully interesting (unless I run out of stuff…).

Only have a couple pieces of artwork and this is a small painting of Brooks by Tom Clark. Clark is more known for being an American poet and biographer, but was an avid baseball fan and he did paint a tad as well.

Attachment 379166

This painting is pictured in Tom Clark’s book “Baseball” from 1976. The painting of Brooks pictured in the book is B&W, but as you can see it’s in vivid color in real life… If you don’t have a copy of the book it has some nice pictures of the paintings Clark conducted (including Brock, Clemente AND possibly some other ’71 Pirates players…).

Attachment 379167

Rob,

Really my “intent” of starting a Brooks and Orioles thread was to not only discuss and show the O’s stuff, but “anything related”. The O’s and the A’s are part of the battle in the AL and Rudi and Campy and the rest of the A’s were part of that history. Personally I’d very much enjoy seeing A’s items from that era as well.

David,

WOW! That is an awesome Bench piece. I may have mentioned it in the past, but I really like how the Reds team issues are set up. Thanks so much for posting the picture of Bench. “Almost” gets a person to be a Reds collector.

A few contributions...
 

While Clemente is "my favorite", I enjoy the passion, stories and collectibles of all player collectors! I am also a huge fan and follower of the "oddball" - thrill of the chase and all. I look forward to following the thread and contributing where I find something relevant. Attached today are a Japanese magazine, a 1968 Fresca Bottle cap, 1973 Topps Pinup and 1962 Venezuelan Topps card.

Brooks Robinson
 

Continuing on with Brooks minor league programs. After 1955 in York PA, he played part of two years for the San Antonio Missions in 1956/57, splitting time with the Orioles.

I just love those old minor league publications.

Brooks Robinson
 

Here's a team photo of the 1957 San Antonio Missions. Unfortunately, no Brooks Robinson. It must have been taken while Brooks was up with the Orioles.

Mark I am excited that you decided to start this thread. I really enjoyed Mike's daily Roberto post. I will look forward to looking at your posts daily as well. I too have met Brooks and can only echo the positive comments from others. He is the very definition of class. He is a true ambassador of the game. By the way, "I’m sure Mike (71buc) will follow this thread up in 2021 with a daily thread commemorating the ’71 Pirates." Thanks for the pressure of following your thread and its predecessor! Nonetheless, here is an original shot of Willie and Brooks at the 1971 series. I purchased it from the estate of the guy who designed those funky bullpen cars.

This came today as part of a $2 each lot. Nothing special but you don't usually get something this nice so cheap. At first it seemed almost pristine, but found a minor edge issue near one of the corners. Still probably a 6 and looks great:

https://i.imgur.com/HSQZwxi.png

Howard,

Thanks so much for posting the pictures of some Brooks toughies. I'm not sure if I've even seen a Brooks Fresca bottle cap. I have a few of the bottle caps, but they're all common. I'm looking forward to you doing a listing on all the varieties and sizes of these things. That would give me some motivation to organize and search. I really haven't actively searched in the past for the caps, but it might be a fun project. I'm sure you have quite a few Clemente caps.

Of course I'm with you on the "odd-ball" stuff; just love it. I also very much enjoy viewing others collections and especially the single player variety like the Lou Brock and Roberto Clemente threads. I'll keep going back to view all the cool items that were pictured.

Now please dig up your Series 3 baseball marbles w/packaging and post that sometime this year; deal? Also, see if you have an extra...:D

I still have the card somewhere tucked away (think it was a '77 topps). Will have to try and dig it up.

Should have had him sign an official ball instead, but I remember scrambling to come up with anything relevant once I saw him signing that day

Alan,

Man, I LOVE the minor league programs your posting. How difficult are the '55 White Roses and the '56 and '57 Missions. I'd love to add examples of those particular programs one day. Also, do you know if there are different varieties of programs from these years or are they all like the examples pictured?

Do you also have a '59 Mounties or is that a dump question :)

I know I've seen a team picture "somewhere" with Brooks included on the Missions. I know I don't have one, but at least there is one out there.

That is just a great color shot of Stargell and Brooks. I also think the old school bullpen cards with the hats on top were super cool. Looks neat pictured in the background prior to a '71 WS game. Can't get a much better picture than that one.

I thought you may just glance over the part about you starting a thread for next year, but you should; it'll be 50 years since the '71 Series for you next year. The pressure is on...

Looks GREAT to me! I think the All Star cards are all pretty neat items and you surely can't beat the price you paid. Thanks for posting Brooks' 1968 Topps All Star card.

One of my favorite Brooks items. It’s a 71-72 salesman sample jersey by Rawlings. Click on the picture and you should see the clear version.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...es/brobby1.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...res/brobby.jpg

Brooks Robinson
 

Mark,

I do have the 1959 Mounties program, which I'll save for tomorrow. There are actually three different colored covers.

The Mounties program will be the easiest to find, but the others do pop up every once in a while. They don't usually go for big bucks. I think most minor league stuff is overlooked by many collectors unless they're cards.

There are still a bunch of low level O's minor league affiliates that I'm finding impossible to find, but the hunt continues.

Brooks was probably pictured in the 1956 Missions team photo, but I don't have one in my collection

Brooks auto on a full size bat. Bought for around $40.00.

Duane,

That's a nice Brooks auto on that bat. The price was a bargain in my view. Thanks so much for posting the autographed bat.

Brooks Robinson
 

Day 3 (January 3, 2020 – 003)

I posted the Brooks and Orioles thread in the Forum – Postwar Baseball Card Forum, but I know the majority of the items I’ll be posting will probably not be his regular issue Topps cards; I hope there’s no offence (if there is blame it on the other player collectors; I just followed suit ;)). When collecting cards I’m not especially condition sensitive. I guess I’ve gotten pickier over the years (who started the off-center thing; didn’t even notice when I was young), but I don’t need a perfect card. Maybe someone on the site will show some high grade Brooks Robinson cards (that would be NICE). Personally I like a nice visually appealing card, but since I started collecting I have only submitted three cards which were progressive proofs, though BVG, since the other three proofs I acquired beforehand were already in BVG holders and thought it would make for a nice display. Any other card that I have entombed were purchased this way; so, I’m not shooting it out within the PSA registry (even though I thought about it a few times).

Below are 1972 Topps Brooks Robinson KP proofs; three of the proofs were my only submission. I believe there’s a couple more color progression proofs that I don’t have, but most, as you can see, are not very exciting.

1972 Topps KP proofs.

Attachment 379387
Attachment 379388
Attachment 379389

Clint,

Thanks so much for posting. I was looking forward to seeing something from your collection. Remember it's not just Brooks stuff, but Orioles in general...

I can't view the first pic of the back of the jersey, but the second pic worked. Looks like a very nice Brooks salesman sample. This is the earliest salesman sample that I have seen. Is there any way you can picture both of the tag up close?

Looking forward to seeing more of your collection.

Brooks Robinson
 

After a full season with the Orioles in 1958, Brooks made his final trip to the minor leagues as a member of the 1959 Vancouver Mounties. Here are the three variations of the 1959 Mounties program, that I am aware of, and the Mounties media guide.

Mark I’m out of town right now, I’ll try to get some up when I come back. I struggle like hell to get any decent sized photos on this site from my phone. So glad you started this thread. I’ll share more Brooks and Orioles items as the year goes on. Great stuff so far!

Mark was kind enough to encourage me to post something from Campy/Rudi/Swingin' A's after my response to his original post. The Orioles and A's hooked up in a couple of classic playoff series as Mark noted near the end of Brooks' career, as represented by one of the programs shown. I have several older, "nicer" Brooks cards, but I included the one below as it is simply one of my favorite cards ever. I love the earlier Kellogg's issues and other oddball, as noted by the inclusion of the Hostess with Campy, but Rose as well. And Rudi up against the wall, well, I just had to haha. Thanks to Mark for encouraging me to add something not completely O's based. Loving this thread and look forward to seeing more.

https://images34.fotki.com/v1212/pho...MG_1598-vi.jpghttps://images12.fotki.com/v1226/pho...MG_1597-vi.jpg
https://images14.fotki.com/v1665/pho...MG_1600-vi.jpg

Mark let me know if you can see this one it’s the front. https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...res/brobby.jpg

Alan,

Finally a program that I have at least seen before. Of course I didn’t know about the different colors on the program so it’s nice to see a scan of them. Now the media guide I didn’t even know the Mounties had one. Thanks so much for the willingness to post part of your great collection.