Robin Roberts interview
Date1988 February 29
DescriptionTwo audio cassettes featuring an interview with Robin Roberts conducted by Robin Roberts on behalf of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on February 29, 1988 in Temple Terrace, Florida.
Object numberHF-1994-0001-011
Interviewer
Roberts, Rod
Interviewee
Roberts, Robin, 1926-2010
Subject
Roberts, Robin, 1926-2010
Classificationsaudio/visual materials
Library Call NumberCTA 840
Collection NumberBA RMA 001 Rod Roberts oral history collection
Library Call NumberCTA 839
Dimensions2 audio cassettes
TrannscriptionCassette 1Side One -- Track 1 - (Interviewer talks about Hall of Fame interviews, not using them) Born in Springfield, IL, Sept. 30, 1926; had four brothers and two sisters, he was next to last; two of his brothers played high school baseball, football and basketball; father was from Wales, a coal miner, and settled in Springfield after WWI to mine coal; mother was from Bolton, England; mother's maiden name was Sarah Gattrick (sp?) (00:00:00 to 00:02:38) Track 2 - Played softball until they were about 15, didn't need a lot of equipment, didn't use gloves, just a bat and a ball, so it wasn't expensive; at 14-15 he joined the American Legion program; he used to play in men's softball night leagues as a catcher, a fun sport; didn't pitch softball, always caught or played 3rd base (00:02:38 to 00:04:41) Track 3 - Played football and basketball in high school, went to college on a basketball scholarship; went to Springfield High School for two years, then to Lanphier High School in Springfield; went to Michigan State College; originally went to Michigan with the Army in the Air Corps Reserve program; the Army group played the Michigan State team; the coach saw him and asked him back to play for Michigan; there; originally just 4,500 students when he first went there in ‘45, grew to 15-16,000 when servicemen all came back in ‘46; he left in '48; he went out for baseball one year, March of ‘46, after basketball and the coach needed a pitcher, so that's what he did; he was in the big leagues by June of '48; he went to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies and spent two months in the Minor Leagues, went 9-1 in Wilmington and then the Phillies called him up in June of '48; so he got there in a hurry (00:04:41 to 00:07:50) Track 4 - He had just two pitches, a fastball and breaker ball pitcher, he was a control guy who could throw it hard and had good low delivery (00:07:50 to 00:08:23) Track 5 - He reported to the Phillies on June 17, 1948 and pitched the first night he got there, reported to Ben Chapman at 6 p.m. and was on the mound by 8 p.m., lost 2-0 but better than today when they baby the pitchers; pitched against Pittsburgh, they were on top of the league at that point, had a good team, (Danny) Murtaugh, Ralph Kiner, at shortstop was Stan Rojek, pitcher was Elmer Riddle; an older ball club but playing well (00:08:23 to 00:10:08) Track 6 - On Ben Chapman as manager, fired in the middle of July; Dusty Cooke took over for a couple of days; Eddie Sawyer came up and took over the club, he was manager when they won the pennant; Chapman had wanted to keep Roberts rather than sending him to the Minors; Chapman was a noisy, involved, and had Roberts pitch regular; he never managed again in the Majors after leaving the Phillies; Chapman was a good player, had a short fuse; had some problems with Jackie (Robinson) the year before, but Roberts didn't see any of that; Roberts played with black players before; always respected Robinson; one of the coaches, Cy Perkins, said Robinson was the closest thing to Ty Cobb he had ever seen; when Roberts played against him, enjoyed the competition and felt it helped the game (00:10:08 to 00:13:14) Track 7 - On Curt Simmons, threw as hard as anyone else, a left-hander; came up out of high school, was two years younger than Roberts, his first two years he had control problems, but he was a fantastic pitcher in 1950, he helped them win the pennant, but then left in September to go into the National Guard; they lost the World Series to the Yankees, but they weren't the same club; (Andy) Seminick was hurt, and Bubba Church had been hit in the eye, and Simmons was gone; Simmons have been great friends; Simmons had an accident with a lawn mower in '52 or '53, cut off a slight bit of his big toe but kept him out for a month; people thought it was due to arm problems; Simmons had a lot of arm aches from his motion; Roberts had an easy motion and his arm never bothered him, but Simmons could have used an extra day of rest between pitching days; discussing left-handed pitcher Wally Ritchie's throwing motion, a stiff-arm motion (00:13:14 to 00:17:05) Track 8 - Eddie Sawyer was manager until '52, they fired him, he came back in '58 and he stayed until opening day '60; a special friend outside of baseball; was an astute man who managed you without you knowing it; an exceptional person (00:17:05 to 00:18:10) Track 9 - On Harry Walker, hit .365 the year before Roberts came up, but he had been hurt so (Ritchie) Ashburn had become the regular center fielder; then Ashburn broke his hand sliding and missed the month of September; he didn't play as deep as he could have, he could run and shag the balls, his arm wasn't that bad, but didn't have an arm like (Willie) Mays, he was accurate (00:18:10 to 00:19:45) Track 10 - On having a young ball club, nicknamed the Whiz Kids, shortchanged 8-9 older players, (Jim) Konstantly was in his 30s, (Ken) Heintzelman, Andy Seminick, Dick Sisler, a lot of guys who were a big part of the club that were not recognized because they were older; in '48 they were just getting it together; tail end of '49 is when they really believing in themselves as a team, won 7 out of 8 from the Braves in '49 and beat them out of third place; the next year carried on and won the pennant (00:19:45 to 00:21:07) Track 11 - On Dutch Leonard and Schoolboy Rowe; Leonard was from Auburn, IL, a knuckleball pitcher like Hoyt Wilhelm; Schoolboy was a great pitcher but hurt his arm a lot, a good hitter,; those two were the stars of the staff; Rowe was a fantastic runner, like Rip Sewell, a big guy; Rowe was with the '34 Tigers when they won the pennant, his first year he won 21 games, never had a year like that again; one of the big secrets is to be able to go out there year after year and rack up big numbers; on announcer (Richie) Ashburn, enjoying him on the radio, fans enjoy him (00:21:07 to 00:24:13) Track 12 - On Blix Donnelly, mostly a relief pitcher, a spunky guy, small, 5'8"-5'9"; one of the first ones to die off of that team (00:24:13 to 00:24:53) Track 13 - On Willie Jones, a solid baseball player, a fine fielder, a solid hitter, could hit the guys who threw strikes, (Sal) Magli or (Warren) Spahn; couldn't hit the wild throwers; got four doubles off of Johnny Sain; like Ron Santo or Brooks Robinson, they could hit the curve; Sain was a breaking ball pitcher; there were a lot of solid players on that club, (Del) Ennis, (Ritchie) Ashburn, (Granny) Hamner (00:24:53 to 00:26:12) Track 14 - On a lot of players being concerned about wild pitchers, no helmets then; the Pirates had a pitcher named (James?) McDonald who had just come up to the Majors, had a good arm and could throw hard, hitters couldn't read him; twice in a row they beat (Don) Newcombe because of line drives by Jones; helmets really haven't changed the game because hitters are much more aggressive towards home plate; good hitters before were much more balanced, like (Ted) Williams, or (Willie) Mays because they had great reflexes; Andre Dawson got hit because he leaps into the ball; hitters have a responsibility to get out of the way of the ball; people said Roberts didn't throw at hitters enough, but he never did that unless someone was throwing at their players; he blamed himself if he hit a player; hitters today don't expect to be thrown at, pitchers don't aim at the head, but hit people in the arm; never saw anyone pitch better than Sal Magli, he was phenomenal, two different curve balls a back-up fastball, always the same delivery and looked like the same pitch; easy to talk about (Sandy) Koufax and (Josh) Gibson, Thomas Bond, (Juan) Marichal, all great pitchers; but for five years Sal Magli was a great pitcher, for five years against the Dodgers he was incredible, in one year he shut them out five times in Ebbets Field (00:26:12 to 00:32:00) Track 15 - On Del Ennis, the only legitimate long-ball hitter, expected that he would hit 30 every year; (Andy) Seminick hit 20 home runs, (Granny) Hamner did once; (Stan) Lopala hit 32 one year; Ennis was a fine athlete, ran well, a good fielder, a big right-hand hitter, but they missed him at first base on double-plays, he would make it, always ran full tilt to first base, said "it's only 90 feet," he was quiet, a bit of a jokester, people used to boo him when he'd hit a pop fly and cheer him when he hit a home run (00:32:00 to 00:34:38) Track 16 - On rough guys, Peter (Dalles?) a well known guy yelling at people, was rough on Jackie (Robinson), and yelling at umpires Larry Goetz refused to umpire one day before they took him out of the park; Roberts was fortunate that he never heard the fans; his ability to concentrate was crucial, he knew when he "had" it from the moment he got up; never had trouble sleeping the night before a game; the Yankees release him in April of '62, and he never pitched for them, he signed with Baltimore and he pitched to the Yankees six times and every game was like a World Series to him because they had released him, he whipped them four times, one game they took him out and another one the Yankees beat him, but he was concentrating on every game; Curt (Simmons) used to say he didn't see how he could get them out with his "stuff," need control (00:34:38 to 00:38:42) Track 17 - On Mac Scarce, a great arm, but didn't have a long career (00:38:42 to 00:39:04) Track 18 - On Bill Nicholson, he was Roberts' hero, he was a big Cubs fan, Roberts pitched a couple games against him; never saw him play until then, such a fine guy, a pinch hitter near the end of his career, a fun guy, loved to play cards with the younger players, (Putsy) Caballero, Ashburn, Hamner; really a nice thing having Nicholson around for a couple of years had a lot of old stories; hit some big home runs for them; they used to play poker when they traveled by trains because people had trouble sleeping on trains, Roberts never had problems sleeping; sometimes played gin if they didn't have enough players for poker; one time when they were barnstorming in Hawaii, they went to a craps game but Roberts just watched; on Edd Roush shooting craps but not playing ball on Sundays (00:39:04 to 00:42:29) Track 19 - On Eddie Waitkus joining the team in the Nicholson trade, along with Russ Meyer, same time but possibly not the same trade; Waitkus was solid, could run well, filled the role at first base, led off on the club in '50, Ashburn hit second; Waitkus was shot in July of '49 but he recovered and played every game in '50; was shot in the stomach, it just missed his heart (00:42:29 to 00:44:02) Track 20 - On Russ Meyer, in '49 he won 17 games, an exceptional pitcher, went 9-8, got made in Cincinnati, kicked the water bucket (talks to wife about shopping), doctor said he broke his ankle and he was done for the year and he walked around with a cast, and it turned out he didn't have a broken ankle, they took the cast off and he won eight straight ball games, the best year he ever had and he thought he had to go home; in '50 he had trouble winning, only won 9, Bubba Church and Bob Miller got an opportunity because Meyer wasn't pitching well, he had a temper, they called him the Mad Monk, he was fun off the field, and he had a good time; they traded him to the Dodgers and he won 15 games for them (00:44:02 to 00:46:45) Track 21 - On Hank Borowy, was there in '49 and then was traded back to the Cubs; Jack Sanford reminded him of Hank, he threw hard but it wasn't easy for him (00:46:45 to 00:47:31) Track 22 - In '51,the greatest thrill winning in Brooklyn when they thought they had blown it, had all the setbacks (tape runs out) (00:47:31 to 00:48:04) Side Two -- Track 1 - On the 1950 World Series being a pitcher's series, 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and then Whitey Ford pitched his first game in the 4th and they beat us 5-2; but they were drained; (Andy) Seminick had a bad foot when it started; they had worked hard; the Yankees won the first one with Jim Konstanty pitching; Roberts couldn't start because he had pitched four games in the pennant race; he pitched one into the 10th, they were ahead in the bottom of the 9th, if they had scored a run they would have one; (Mike) Goliat was hitting, Roberts was up next, on deck, it was 3-1 on Mike, next pitch was ball 4, swung at it and it was double play, instead of being bases loaded, one out, they lost; next game they were ahead 2-0 in the 8th inning in Yankee Stadium, they scored two runs, the ground ball went to (Granny) Hamner and he dropped the ball trying to throw to second, and the Yankees scored in the 9th to win 3-2; first three games were tight, well-played games; in the second game, the Yankees got 10 hits, 7-8 of them in the first 4 innings; Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds walked four players and Roberts walked three; Joe DiMaggio hit a shot in the upper deck at the top of the 10th inning and the Phillies didn't score in the bottom of the 10th; he was 2-0 and hadn't had any trouble with DiMaggio earlier in the game, and pitched to him like a normal player, but he showed Roberts that he wasn't just anyone, he was Joe DiMaggio (00:00:00 to 00:04:30) Track 2 - On not being able to sleep after losing, walking a lot after a game, 2-3-4 miles so he could relax; after wins they used to go out and celebrate; one time he had lost four straight, the 4th one was a 1-0, 12-inning game, he gave up two hits in Pittsburgh and (Ted) Kluszewski hit a home run in the bottom of the 12th; he was really uptight after that game, he couldn't relax, he showered quick and he had a little clubhouse incident, he didn't have too many of those, but he ripped up a few things; he was walking back to the hotel, head down, mad as could be, looked up and he was in a bad neighborhood and grabbed a cab; got back to the hotel before the other guys; the same thing that helps you concentrate; found walking to be very relaxing, did the same thing when he was a coach; pitching created more tension than coaching; he always blamed himself for the team losing (00:04:30 to 00:08:18) Track 3 - On players' temperaments, very serious on the field, sometimes happy-go-lucky off the field; sometimes a player was a character on the field, Lew Burdette for example, it was part of his operation, with the spitball and the laughing; didn't see many players like Burdette; on Little League players being taught to lose, a coach sometimes makes playing miserable for kids, they aren't developed enough to be really good players; his father was interested in his sports, but couldn't play himself; the black kids, Irishmen, Italians who became good athletes was because their parents weren't involved, so the kids developed their own style (00:08:18 to 00:11:38) Track 4 - Roberts and his wife Mary bought a home in Philadelphia in May of '52 and Curt Simmons bought a home right next door in August (00:11:38 to 00:12:21) Track 5 - On looking forward to the '51 season; he and his wife had their first baby in October of '50 and they went to Florida in January before spring training; the team still didn't have Curt back and they weren't a good club in '51; it wasn't an easy year, he worked hard and gave a full effort, went 21-15 but overall the team didn't perform and Simmons wasn't there; the previous year they both kept winning; that year Bubba Church was still trying to bounce back from getting hit in the eye, and (Bob) Miller was injured, so that hurt the club; it was probably the most disappointing year because after winning the pennant in '50, they had high hopes for '51, but didn't pan out (00:12:21 to 00:14:45) Track 6 - On Church getting hit, the only one Roberts ever pitched to that he was afraid of was Frank Howard; Kluszewski hit a lot through the box; (Enos) Slaughter hit a lot of line drives, (?) Henry hit a lot up the middle too; sometimes he would take a shot to the body to get an out; he didn't see Church get hit because he was getting ready for the second game of the double-header, so he was inside; the ball hit Church right below the eye and cut him; but he came back the next year and won 15 games (00:14:45 to 00:16:50) Track 7 - On Smoky Burgess, hitting .340 every year but still getting traded; not an aggressive, physical guy, but a phenomenal hitter; Eddie Sawyer picked him up in a trade with the Cubs, wanted to save Roberts the embarrassment of having Burgess hit off of Roberts; Roberts won 28 games and Burgess caught 21 of them; he was small and Roberts liked to throw low; they made him a pinch hitter, and the DH rule would be perfect for him now; one of the great hitters; he hit .368 one year when he and (Stan) Lopala alternated, Burgess hit against right-handers; he was a good catcher for Roberts; it was hard for him to play every day (00:16:50 to 00:19:58) Track 8 - On second basemen; Emil Verban was there when Roberts came up, then (Granny) Hamner played there because Eddie Miller was at shortstop; in '49 they had (Putsy) Caballero; and then Mike Goliat, who was an exceptional 3rd baseman, but they had Willie Jones at 3rd; Goliat had great arm and good solid hands, but was not a natural 2nd baseman; they sent Eddie down in '51 and put Caballero there, then brought up Ted Kazanski in '53 and moved Hamner to 2nd, he had ripped his knee up on a slide, he was never the same after that; Goliat had some moments, he could hit (Don) Newcombe, overall he hit in about 65 runs, 14-15 home runs; the next year he opened the season with a home run, but by June he was in Toronto; fun to be around, a cocky guy (00:19:58 to 00:22:38) Track 9 - In '54, Steve O'Neill took over as manager, then Terry Moore briefly, then Mayo Smith came in in '55 with Whitlow Wyatt, the last year Roberts won 20 ball games; one day in August, he beat Newcombe in Ebbets Field, they both had 18 wins, and Roberts won 3-2 in 10 innings; on Monday, on Friday, back in Connie Mack Stadium and beat Newcombe for Roberts 20th game; always the month of September, playing the Dodgers, a long month for them; difficult to pitch with a club that wasn't in the running for the pennant that last month; even in '51, he pitched against Newcombe on Saturday night and he lost 5-3, on Sunday, they brought him in in the 8th inning and the game went 14 innings and Jackie (Robinson) hit a home run in the top of the 14th to beat them before the playoffs; they were always fighting to be the spoilers with the Dodgers or the Giants, but in most cases they lost (00:22:38 to 00:25:38) Track 10 - On pitchers not pitching long games anymore, concern about their arms, he used to get into a rhythm and was throwing good, so silly to take him out; one time in '51 or ‘52, he was pitching against the Braves and it was 3-3 in the top of the 8th, he got two outs and they scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th, and he had hit at the bottom of the 7th; bottom of the 8th, they scored 3 and he hadn't batted, so they left him in, and the game went 17 innings and no one scored until Del Ennis hit a home run off of Bob Chipman in the bottom of the 17th, so they won, so he pitched 9 more innings after the 8th; another time, opening day against the Dodgers, it was cold, in '56 and he was ahead 6-3 in the 8th inning, they got two on and two out, and (Gil Hodges) came up and he supposedly couldn't hit a curve, so Roberts threw him a curve and he hit it into the stands, tying the game; Roberts made a terrible pitch, so the game went 14 innings and Gino Cimoli hit a home run in the top of the 14th, Roberts hadn't had much trouble but that was a very cold night in Philadelphia, lost 7-6; he pitched a 15-inning game against the Cardinals, won 3-2; pitched a 12-inning game against Pittsburgh and Kluszewski hit a home run; pitched a 13-inning game with Baltimore; probably pitched 10 games that were more than nine innings, won of this 20-game wins, they won in 11 innings, beat the Giants; once he got his rhythm going, it was silly to take him out; his World Series game went 10-innings; a lot of times when they lost, it was because of a home run; he threw mostly fastballs and breaking balls; never any ill effects from long games; only one time, his shoulder was a little stiff; from '55 on, he never threw the same, he pitched 11 years without any trouble, but then one time he pitched in a 9-inning game against the Dodgers on a Friday night, and they brought him in to relieve on Saturday night in the 9th, struck out Newcombe with bases loaded, and they beat the Dodgers; and then they asked him to warm up on Sunday and he pitched a full 9-inning game on Tuesday, and after that game, his arm wouldn't straighten out; he was going to take a week off, but they wanted him to pitch again; anytime a manager asked him to pitch, he would pitch, never said no to pitching; his arm never came back after '55; he had a stretch with Baltimore, when he was 39 years old, opened the season and for four games in a row, he had that good movement on his fastball again, and he pitched four straight complete games in '65; beat Washington, the Yankees, Boston, and the Twins; he went out to pitch again and the elbow went out again, he never said he couldn't pitch, and that night he got beat by Detroit and they released him by July (00:25:38 to 00:34:42) Track 11 - On winning 20 games being important in terms of dealing with management, the year he only won 19, it was important, he typically always won more than 20; he always felt short not getting to 25 wins, only did it once; in August of '56 he went from 11-15 to 18-16 with 3 starts left; the Giants beat him 2-1 Friday night in the Polo Grounds, so he was 18-17; they came up against the Dodgers and he beat them 4-3, struck out 10, struck out Jackie (Robinson) three times, a miracle; so he was 19-17, one more start on the last day of the season; he was warming up and Hamner threw him a knuckleball and it pulled his arm out again, went out to pitch and he lost, so he didn't make 20 wins (00:34:42 to 00:37:35) Track 12 - On contracts, dealing with (Herb) Pennock, but he died, so Roberts dealt with (Robert) Carpenter, even after they hired Roy Hamey; Carpenter liked football better than baseball, wasn't that excited as people would think (00:37:35 to 00:38:29) Track 13 - On his routine, he pitched one day, took a day off, pitched batting practice the next day, and run, and then the next day he would run; so every four days he would pitch; when O'Neill came, he had him pitching every two days, not a good idea; he would come in and relieved and had 28 saves with the Phillies; Sawyer appreciated his pitching and he was the starter (tape glitches, gap in recording) (00:38:29 to 00:39:20) Track 14 - (fixing tape, conversation picks up in the middle) On saves, he was 5th in saves one year, had 28 from coming in on the middle day in the 9th inning; wasn't a smart thing, but they asked and he did it; never relieved for Eddie Sawyer, he was the regular starter; but he did saves for O'Neill, Mayo (00:39:20 to 00:41:04) Track 15 - On Saul Rogovin; one time he got hit by Ferris Fain, when he was with Detroit; Rogovin was a tough man, and big, he could really fight; he was a real character; only with the club a couple of years (00:41:04 to 00:42:22) Track 16 - On Stu Miller and Bob Miller; Stu could throw; Bob won his first eight starts in the big leagues, but hurt his back; Stu had a funny delivery, everybody talks about what a problem he was for the home run hitters, (Harmon) Killebrew, Frank Robinson, (Roy Campanella?) Campy, they all talked about Stu's delivery; Roberts worked with him in Baltimore, where he had a lot of success; Stu threw soft, Killebrew said the only time he hit him was he counted to three after Stu released the ball, but it never worked again (00:42:22 to 00:43:43) Track 17 - On Elmer Valo coming over as a pinch hitter, formerly with the As, a line drive hitter, right up the middle; hit the wall in Connie Mack Stadium; a sincere fielder, ran into some walls (00:43:43 to 00:44:21) Track 18 - On Ed Bouchee, he was on an all-1st-baseman's rookie team, had personal problems, went to a psychiatric hospital for three or four months, came back and he was better; he was a good hitter, could hit Warren Spahn at midnight with the lights out; Spahn had more trouble with left-handers than right-handers, Bouchee never quite developed the way they expected (tape glitches, gap in recording), Bouchee went to Cincinnati (00:44:21 to 00:45:28) Track 19 - On Ron Negray, just at the tail end, hit a grand slammer off of Roberts when he was with the Cardinals; had great power and a great throwing arm (00:45:28 to 00:46:07) Track 20 - Harry Anderson, a good looking hitter, couldn't run or shag the ball, should have played first base (tape runs out) (00:46:07 to 00:46:29) Cassette 2 Side One -- Track 1 - On Gene Conley, pitched some good games, played both baseball and basketball, he threw hard; just never worked out for him with the Braves, they had an outstanding ball club; he came to the Phillies and pitched for a few years, broke his hand one year, a ball was hit back to him and he reached up with his bare hand in the second inning, pitched a shut-out with a broken finger; he was really a basketball player, rough and tough, played for the Celtics; Otto Graham played in the NBA, on the Rochester Royals when they won the championship but went over to football; Dave DeBusschere also played multiple sports, focused on basketball rather than pitching; with Conley, basketball was easy, pitching was not easy; DeBusschere was a smoother pitcher; Conley was a good hitter, quite an athlete; pitching is kind of like a golf swing, the bigger you are the harder it is to pitch; some big guys are impressive, (Steve?) Carlton at 6'5"; Jim Kaat, 6'4" or 6'3", very coordinated; one year the Phillies had six guys that were 6'5" or better—(Jim?) Lonborg, (Wayne) Twitchell, Ron Reed, Carlton; Magic Johnson would be interesting to see on the mound (00:00:00 to 00:03:39) Track 2 - Released by the Yankees and went to Baltimore; he was waived in '62 and picked up by the Yankees; released him in April 26, 1962 and he signed with Baltimore in the middle of May, worked out with Cincinnati, would have preferred to stay in the National League; Freddie Hutchinson of the Reds said he would meet him at the field; threw five pitches and Hutchinson said he'd give him 10 straight starts, had to work out contract with Bill DeWitt, he called DeWitt and Roberts was making $33,500, and they said they would only pay him $15,000, Roberts had four kids and couldn't take such a low salary, and he never talked to Hutchinson again; then Baltimore picked him up, he was 10-9 with them, and almost one the ERA that year, but Hank Aguirre won it; next year he was 14-13 with Baltimore, then he was 13-7 in '64; in '65, won four games and didn't win anymore, they put him in the bullpen and he said to Harry Brecheen that he wanted to go home if he wasn't going to pitch, after the All-Star Game, he called Lee MacPhail and he already had his release filled out; he no sooner got home when Paul Richards called him from Houston, so he signed for them; first game was against the Phillies and he threw a shut-out; he pitched the first game on Astroturf (00:03:39 to 00:08:48) Track 3 - The Phillies had a bad club when they waived him, Gene Mauch and John Quinn had asked him to move on; Cy Perkins said that when a club isn't a pennant club, every ballplayer ought to move once; once in '57-‘58 he was supposed to be traded to the Cardinals for (Stan) Musial, but he wouldn't play anywhere but St. Louis, so they canceled the trade; it might have made a difference for his career; when (Jim) Bunning was traded from Detroit to the Phillies, it really helped his career; the secret is to only be traded once; he did well for Baltimore, if he'd stayed, the next year, Frankie Robinson joined them and they won the pennant; he went from Houston to the Cubs, just trying to hang on; just like Carlton, keeps trying because he wants to pitch, he's 43 and he's a tremendous physical specimen, Roberts thinks he should keep trying as long as they keep giving him the ball; Roberts even went to the Minors after he was released by the Cubs, he still wanted to play ball; the best way to play sports is when you're stealing, that's when it's fun and relaxing (00:08:48 to 00:14:06) Track 4 - On greatest defensive play on a bubble gum card, saw Duke Snider make a play in the 12th inning of a game, the Dodgers had them beat 4-3, two outs, two on, Willie Jones hit a ball to left center in Connie Mack Stadium, Duke ran, caught his foot in the wood fence, jumped and back-handed the ball and caught it; greatest play he ever saw, saved the game, a great physical effort; Jackie (Robinson) dove and caught a hit off Waikus that was good; but if he keeps watching Ozzie Smith, expects to see some incredible plays; they talk about great shortstops, Roy McMillan, Larry Bowa, good fielders, but look at Smith and there is no comparison; Smith is an entertainer and an outstanding fielder; most people don't remember McMillan; Bowa only made seven errors at shortstop one year; Smith comes across with double-plays, fun to watch (00:14:06 to 00:17:37) Track 5 - On his career spreading over different eras of baseball, starting with Pullman cars, seeing black players come in, on expansion teams; so much common sense involved in baseball, the TV coverage creates inhuman pressures, the secret to performing is to have fun, can't worry about the outside pressures; if you really thought about pitching to Henry Aaron with bases loaded, you could never do it; watching Minnesota win the playoffs, no idea they would win, so they were just out there having fun playing, all the stuff about contracts and agents is just a bore; they never took themselves that seriously, the game was serious, great satisfaction in being a ball player, so grateful for the opportunity to play, had some contract squabbles, but was always relieved when they were over; saw Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, (Curt) Flood, all of those players elevated the game; Mays was the most outstanding player he ever saw; never saw Joe DiMaggio play at the height of his days, voted greatest living player; even Aaron with his great ability, all the rest, Musial, (Roberto) Clemente, none of them played like Mays, he did everything exceptional, he threw, he ran, he hit home runs, could steal bases, did it all and he was a showman; Ted Williams was a hitter, but not that exciting in the other areas, ran exceptionally well when he started, hit .400 he was in his own world; one time Tommy Byrne walked Williams with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, and he was so angry they had to talk him into going to first base to tag the bag (00:17:37 to 00:23:53) Track 6 - On greatest all-time players, Mays was the greatest, the rest of the positions, can't pick a team, can pick an all-star 50 players, played in both leagues, so too hard to narrow it down, do you choose (Red) Schoendienst, or (Bill) Mazeroski, or Rod Carew; knew that the guys he left out could beat the ones he picked, like Tony Oliva, Cuban player, no one who saw Oliva didn't think he wasn't great, like Musial with a little more pop, more home run power, what a hitter he was; Musial had some 36-37 home run years; Oliva just whacked that baseball, the '65 Minnesota Twins had a solid team, Mudcat, (Grant) (Jim) Kaat, Jim Perry, and won the pennant in '65; in ‘62 the Yankees were tailing off, (Roger) Maris had had his big year in '61, (Mickey) Mantle was hurt bad, still had (Tony) Kubek, just can't pick one; saw so many outstanding players, (Sal) Magli, (Josh) Gibson, (Juan) Marichal, Warren Spahn, hardest pitcher he ever saw throw was Curt Simmons; saw (Sandy) Koufax in Ebbets Field, he keeps missing the cage, and Roberts asked Carl Furillo who it was, and Furillo said "some Jew kid, he'll never be a pitcher as long as he has a hole in his ass," and he wound up with 90 mph fastballs; left-handers take longer to develop than right handers; so many good players, the Cardinals for example, with Terry Moore, Enos Slaughter, Stan Musial, Marty Marion; the Braves in '57-'58 was as good a baseball team as he ever saw, they lost in '56 to the Dodgers and they shouldn't have, they had Aaron, (Wes?) Covington, (Joe) Adcock, (Joe) Torre, Eddie Mathews, Johnny Logan a solid shortstop, had some pop, Mathews a solid player; but with all the money and coverage, there is a place for athletics in this country, but not where it stands today, not $2 million contracts; the only sport where that is justified is boxing; baseball is a team game; Andre Dawson saying he wants a long-term contract, we used to put out every day trying to win a ball game; Dawson was the closest thing to Mays, but the search for the three-year contract detracts from the game; the agent is telling him this, but if Roberts was an owner, he would say there is no way he'd pay someone that kind of money for busting his ass for one year; a better way to go would be a big bonus; Dawson got hit in the mouth, hit in the kneecap and never missed a game, he tried to steal second after getting hit in the kneecap because he was chasing the three-year contract (contains profanity) (00:23:53 to 00:33:24) Track 7 - On protecting ballplayers against catastrophic injury, doesn't think anybody should be restricted, should be free agents every year, get it back to supply-and-demand; the owner can offer a deal to the best players, offer a bonus for performance, rather than multi-year deals; George Steinbrenner would go out and buy the seven best, but he tries to get too many, so it doesn't work for him, already has problems, Gary Ward and Jack Clark, both right-handed DHs, getting $1.8 million and the other getting $1 million, and they're sitting around; no such thing as team loyalty, it's gone; loyalty comes from winning; the Minnesota bunch didn't have loyalty before they won; fan loyalty is based on winning, they like Big League baseball; fans have more loyalty than the players; like the Yankees all those years, the players were thrilled to be there because they were winning and it helped them financially (00:33:24 to 00:37:36) Track 8 - On "real job" outside of baseball, was in the investment business for 11 years, than coached college ball for 8 years; enjoyed investment business, enjoyed the people and made good money, but to put in 12 hours a day, he got tired of it; respects people who have real jobs, the winning and losing in sports is an immediate reaction, but in the investment business, every day you have a game every day and you're never sure you're winning; always thought it was special to be able to play ball, especially seeing his Dad working so hard as a coal miner, nobody pushed him into athletics, always doing it his own way, playing to win the game, always felt bad if he lost, he got ulcers from it; on his father not questioning his love of athletics, his brothers always said he would get in the way, so let him go and play; people today don't have the same perspective, all about money; he had a kid in South Florida called up by Oakland, and let's say they give him $1 million, and some would go into the bank and the rest would be based on performance, clubs are crazy for signing these big contracts, unrealistic, more on Andre Dawson, shows what a team game it is, pay on team finish and individual stats (phone rings) (00:37:36 to 00:45:25) Track 9 - Rest of tape is off-microphone conversation, about negotiating TV contract (00:45:25 to 00:47:44)" Public Access NotePlease note that not all works are on view at all times - their availability is subject to change per the discretion of the Museum staff. 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