By Lou Orlando

VILLANOVA — The very first Phillies game I ever attended was on a Sunday afternoon in 1953 at old Connie Mack Stadium. The star-studded Brooklyn Dodgers were the opponent that day.

At barely 8 years of age, I wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the game to appreciate a fine pitcher’s duel, and left disappointed because I didn’t see any home runs. Had I known more, I could have expected that result because Don Newcombe was pitching for Brooklyn and Robin Roberts was pitching for the Phillies in a game the Phillies and Roberts won, 2-1.

Roberts wasn’t the only future Hall of Famer I saw that afternoon. There was Richie Ashburn, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson, too.

Imagine that, my very first big league game, and I saw no less than six Hall of Famers take the field that afternoon.

I went to that game with my father and my uncle. During the ride home, both talked about how effortlessly Roberts threw and still managed to shut down one of the best lineups in the National League. I guess if four of the men who started for the Dodgers that day would ultimately make it into the Hall of Fame, shutting them down was indeed a special feat.

I’m not sure how Dad and Uncle Vick knew Roberts threw effortlessly, because from our seats in the upper deck in left field, we could barely see Roberts, let alone determine if he was breezing through the Dodger lineup with ease or working hard and sweating up a small ocean.

Roberts was the ace of the Phillies pitching staff all through my childhood. He went on to win 286 games and notch 45 shutouts in a career that spanned 19 years. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the seven-time All Star, is the 305 complete games he threw, and having once pitched 28 complete games in a row!

To put that last statistic in its proper perspective, the pitchers who led the National and American leagues in complete games the last two years had only 27 complete games combined.

In 1953, Roberts threw an amazing 33 complete games. No one in either league has passed that mark since, and you have to go all the way back to 1917 to find another pitcher that exceeded that number. Some guy named Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox led the majors with 35 complete games that year.

I asked Roberts why he was able to pitch so many complete games and why it’s such a rarity today.

Roberts replied, "We only had 10-man pitching staffs back then. So starting pitchers typically finished what they started if they weren’t getting shelled. But we did have Jim Konstanty to close out games in 1950, and he won the Most Valuable Player award that year."

Roberts went on to say that he was fortunate not to have any arm problems, but even if he did, he would have tried to pitch anyway.

"Pitchers today are making big money and have multi-year contracts, so they aren’t about to take any chances with their arms because they get paid whether they pitch or not," said Roberts. "They also have agents who don’t want them pitching when they are hurt, so a lot of them will come out of a game if the slightest thing doesn’t feel right.

"Back in my day, we didn’t have agents and everyone played with a one-year contract. If you wanted another contract, you had better take the ball when your manager handed it to you, because there were a hundred guys in the minors fighting to take your job."

Contract negotiations back in Roberts’day were handled without agents between the team’s general manager and the player. Roy Hamey and John Quinn, who had a reputation as a penny-pincher, were the Phillies general managers for much of Roberts’career with the Phillies.

After Richie Ashburn won a batting title in 1958, Quinn offered him a contract for less money the following year. Quinn told Ashburn that his singles didn’t travel far enough.

Richie countered with the dry Nebraska wit we all came to love by saying, "If they went any farther they’d be outs!"

Roberts said, "One year I met with Roy Hamey and he asked me how much I wanted. I told him I got Stan Musial out all year and I ought to get what the Cardinals were paying Musial. Hamey told me that was too rich for him and to go and talk to the owner."

Roberts went on to say, "I always believed a pitcher had to have a strong lower body to be successful, so I did a lot of running to keep my legs in good shape. And we threw all the time to build up arm strength."

Roberts identifies former Baltimore Orioles manager Paul Richards with setting the stage for the way pitchers are used today.

"Richards was the first manager to regularly use his starting pitcher for six or seven innings and then turn the game over to the bullpen," said Roberts. "He had a young starting staff and employed that as a way of saving their arms.

"That’s pretty much the way it is now, and I don’t see it changing any time soon. Starting pitchers are developed in the minors to pitch five or six innings and they don’t exceed pre-determined pitch counts.

"I never knew how many pitches I threw in a game because no one was counting. And we didn’t have radar guns to track velocity. As the game wore on, the hitters let me know if my pitches were losing speed."

Roberts was signed to his first professional contract in 1947, fresh out of Michigan State University, where he was an All-American selection in baseball and basketball.

"There wasn’t a draft back then, so we auditioned for the scouts at tryout camps across the country,’said Roberts. "I went to a three-day camp that was held at Wrigley Field in Chicago to audition for the Phillies."

"After the first day of the camp, the Phillies offered me a $10,000 bonus to sign with them. On the second day they upped it to $15,000, and on the third and final day, they raised it again to $25,000. That was a lot of money in 1947, so I took the $25,000. The Phillies had raised their offer each day, so I always wondered how much more I could have gotten if the camp lasted a week instead of three days."

Roberts got the call to the majors while he was pitching in Wilmington, Del., in June 1948.

"We were staying at a hotel when my manager told me I was being called up by the Phillies," said Roberts. "After some well-wishing from teammates, I got on a train with my suitcase, checked into a hotel in Philly and then went straight to Connie Mack Stadium. When I got there around 6:30 p.m., Ben Chapman, the Phillies manager, told me, ’You’re pitching tonight.'"

When queried about memorable moments, Roberts named the 1950 pennant clinching game against the Dodgers as his fondest memory.

"Dick Sisler hit the big home run in the top of the 10th inning that put us in the World Series, but what a lot of people forget is Richie Ashburn threw out the winning run at home in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings," said Roberts.

He pitched that game and held the Dodgers to one run while starting for the third time in five days. With all due respect to Sisler, that game was won just as much by Roberts’pitching as it was with Sisler’s dramatic home run.

"That 1950 team was a pretty good team, and even though we never won the pennant again, we had some pretty successful seasons," said Roberts.

Ashburn, Del Ennis, Willie Jones, Granny Hamner, Curt Simmons, Stan Lopata and Andy Seminick formed the nucleus of those post-pennant Phillies teams with Roberts.

"Curt Simmons never got enough credit for our success in 1950," said Roberts. "He had already won 17 games for us when he was called up by his National Guard unit in mid-September, and losing him for the stretch really put a strain on our pitching staff.

"I never saw a better hitter with the game on the line than Granny Hamner. He could look awful in his first three at bats, but put him up there with men on base and a chance to win the game, and he turned into a different hitter."

Recalling Richie Ashburn, Roberts said, "No one was better prepared to play a ball game every day than Richie. And, oh boy, was he ever intense. If he didn’t get a hit, he’d come back to the dugout stomping and chirping because he really didn’t believe any pitcher was good enough to get him out.

"But the biggest reason we never won again was because the Phillies were slow to sign black players while the Dodgers, Reds, Braves, Giants and Cubs all did. Our first black player was John Kennedy, and he didn’t arrive until 1957, 10 full years after Jackie [Robinson] signed with the Dodgers."

Roberts remembered Jackie Robinson as a fierce competitor and a true gentleman.

"The stuff he put up during his first few years in the majors is too embarrassing to even talk about," said Roberts. "It’s hard to imagine nowadays one human being behaving so cruelly to another just because his skin was a different color. But Jackie knew he was serving a greater purpose, and every player of color who has ever enjoyed a single day in the big leagues, has Jackie to thank for the experience."

The Phillies’ first black star was Richie Allen, who won Rookie of the Year honors in 1964.

Roberts recalled when he first saw Allen: "The Phillies used to bring their minor leaguers to Connie Mack Stadium after their seasons ended in August. They would play games in the afternoon before our night games, and a few of the Phillies would sit in the stands and watch them. When Richie Allen hit a ball, heads would turn."

Roberts recalled Allen as being an extremely polite young man: "The Phillies had already traded me by the time Allen arrived in 1964. But I often wondered what his career would have been like had things worked out differently for him in Philly. He had as much talent as any young player I ever saw."

The 1950s and early 1960s have sometimes been called Baseball’s Golden Age. There were only 16 teams back then compared to 30 today, so only the best of the best got to play in the major leagues.

I remember going to Connie Mack Stadium and watching visiting players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Stan Musial, Eddie Matthews, Warren Spahn, Ernie Banks, Willie McCovey, Vada Pinson, Pete Rose, Bob Gibson and the aforementioned Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Famers.

Roberts said Aaron and Musial were the best hitters he ever saw, and Mays was the best overall baseball player.

"Willie could do everything on a ball field, and he just might have been the most exciting player to watch, too," said Roberts. "Henry Aaron would stand at home plate and look half asleep and bored until you’d try to sneak a fastball by him, and then he’d uncoil at it like an angry cobra."

Roberts is quick to praise many of the hitters he faced, but the hitters also had a mutual respect for Roberts.

Ralph Kiner, another Hall of Famer and long-time broadcaster for the New York Mets, knows a thing or two about fire-balling pitchers. After all, he got to see three of the very best the game had to offer — Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden.

Kiner had this to say about Roberts: "Robbie had the best fast ball I ever saw. His ball would move six or eight inches, and he had a lot on it. Add in his pinpoint control, and he was real difficult to hit."

But even the great ones have their off days. Roberts, who started five all-star games, recalls one of those all-star games in particular.

"In the 1955 game, the first three batters I faced [got on base], and then Mickey Mantle hit a home run," said Roberts. "I faced four batters and the score was already 4-0. Let’s just say I don’t count that afternoon among my Kodak moments!

"And another time, Wally Post hit three home runs off me in one game.

"One time I was pitching against the Braves with the score tied 1-1 late in the game. There were two outs and the Braves center fielder, Billy Bruton, was on second base. First base was open with the left-handed Eddie Mathews and right-handed Hank Aaron due up next.

"Our manager, Eddie Sawyer, came out to the mound and tells me, ’I want you to be honest, who do you want to pitch to, Mathews or Aaron?’

"I said, ’Well, if you want me to be honest, neither one!’"

Despite those outings, Roberts had more than enough stellar ones and was deservingly inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1976.

"That day was an extremely gratifying moment for me," said Roberts. "Of the thousands upon thousands who have played in the major leagues, there are only about 250 players in the Hall of Fame, so it’s pretty special."

When I asked Roberts about his thoughts on players suspected of using steroids, and whether they should be admitted into the Hall of Fame, he said that he was puzzled as to why some players even took the stuff in the first place.

"Barry Bonds was a slam-dunk Hall of Famer before the steroid accusations began," said Roberts. "I don’t get a vote, but, based on his numbers, I’d vote for Barry Bonds."

Roberts wasn’t as supportive of former Phillie Pete Rose.

"Pete broke baseball’s cardinal rule by gambling on the game," said Roberts. "On the door of every clubhouse there is a huge sign posted that clearly says you cannot ever bet on baseball. You can’t miss it. There is simply no excuse."

Roberts went on to say that he thought Rose compounded his transgression by lying about it for so long.

"Maybe if Pete had told the truth from the start, some people might feel differently about letting him into the Hall," said Roberts. "But by lying, he only aggravated the situation further."

After leaving the Phillies, Roberts pitched in the majors for the Orioles, Astros and Cubs before retiring to pursue a career in the financial business. He also coached baseball at the University of South Florida and led them to their very first NCAA tournament appearance in 1982.

Now retired and living in Tampa, Fla., Roberts still follows the game that brought him so much joy and fame, and watches the Phillies on a regular basis.

"Today’s Phillies are so much fun to watch," said Roberts. "Last year’s World Series championship really pleased me. I know it meant so much to the people of Philadelphia, because I remember how excited they were when we won the National League pennant in 1950."

Larry Shenk, the long-time Phillies Director of Public Relations, had this to say about Roberts: "When I was a kid growing up in Philly, I always looked forward to Robin pitching. Each time he took the mound the Phillies had a great chance to win that day. Over the years, we’ve become great friends, but as good as he was as a major league pitcher, he’s a better gentleman."

Robbie won 20 or more games six years in a row from 1950 through 1955, with a high of 28 in 1952. He missed making it a seventh straight 20-win season in 1956, but fell one short with 19 victories.

During his career he started 609 games, completed 305 of them and won 286 times.

Not among his list of accomplishments is a no-hitter. However, he did come close on several occasions. Perhaps the most frustrating occurred on May 13, 1954. Roberts gave up a lead-off single to the Cincinnati Reds’Bobby Adams. After Adams’hit, Roberts retired the next 27 batters he faced in order.

Robin’s uniform number 36 was retired by the Phillies, and a statue of Roberts now stands outside Citizens Bank Park.

He was voted the Phillies’greatest righthanded pitcher of all-time.

(Editor’s note: Villanova resident Lou Orlando has been a Phillies fan since the early 1950s. Roberts, now age 82, lived in Bryn Mawr during the 1949 season — Richie Ashburn’s mother was the cook and housekeeper — and Roberts said she was such a good cook that he gained 10 pounds during the season.)

Published: Thursday, July 16, 2009 on Main Line Media

Photos courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum