Austin College Kangaroo Charlie Robertson is on my mind. Robertson is a former Roo baseball player who pitched a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox on April 30th, 1922.
The 99th anniversary of his perfect game is this week. So, I’m going to honor this Roo by counting down my Top 5 favorite Charlie Robertson baseball moments over the next five days up to Thursday, April 29th.
Sunday, April 25th: #5 Fenway Park
Monday, April 26th: #4 (still to come)
Tuesday, April 27th: #3 (still to come)
Wednesday, April 28th: #2 (still to come)
Thursday, April 29th: #1 (still to come)
Sunday: #5 Fenway Park
Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, is a shrine for baseball fans. Built in 1912, Fenway and Wrigley are the oldest ballparks in the major leagues. I was fortunate to live in Boston in the 1990s and got to enjoy my fair share of Fenway games.
I saw the Red Sox at Fenway on my 25th birthday. On April 29th, 1995 I headed to Fenway Park with friends to watch Boston earn an 8-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Frank Thomas didn’t help the White Sox cause at the plate, and Wilson Alvarez picked up the loss for Chicago.
The White Sox faced Boston at Fenway on June 11th, 1923. Austin College Kangaroo Charlie Robertson was picked as the starter for Chicago. From the Chicago Tribune:“
Manager Gleason intends to employ Charlie Robertson in the opener. The Sherman, TX lad is in better trim than any other member of the Pale Sox’s somewhat limited pitching staff, and if given a few runs by his mates should be able to turn in a victory.”
Robertson did just that, pitching a 9-inning complete game and earning a 5-4 win. He even helped his own cause with a single.
The win at hallowed Fenway is my #5 all time Charlie Robertson baseball moment. But #1 is my favorite.
Austin College Kangaroo Charlie Robertson is on my mind. Robertson is a former Roo baseball player who pitched a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox on April 30th, 1922.
The 99th anniversary of his perfect game is this week. So, I’m going to honor this Roo by counting down my Top 5 favorite Charlie Robertson baseball moments over the next five days up to Thursday, April 29th.
Sunday, April 25th: #5 Fenway Park
Monday, April 26th: #4 Wrigley Field
Tuesday, April 27th: #3 (still to come)
Wednesday, April 28th: #2 (still to come)
Thursday, April 29th: #1 (still to come)
Monday: #4 Wrigley Field
Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root was on the mound at Wrigley Field during Game #3 of the 1932 World Series, win New York Yankees batter Babe Ruth seemed to motion to the outfield. Ruth then parked a home run into the Wrigley bleachers, giving birth to the much debated “called shot” of the Bambino.
In the crowd that day at Wrigley was Arthur Krause, grandfather of Austin College baseballer Kevin Krause. Kevin, who was inducted into the AC Hall of Honor in 2019, was a mere 11 years old in 1981 when he watched AC earn a national championship in football from the stands at Jerry Apple stadium.
Charlie Root got the call for the Cubs on May 19, 1928 and went toe-to-toe with Austin College Kangaroo Charlie Robertson at Wrigley Field. Robertson, in the final season of a 10-year career, matched Root every step of the way. After 7 innings, Robertson had yielded just 6 hits and the score was tied at 2-2. But an 8th inning sacrifice fly by Root himself was the difference. Despite going 9 innings, the Cub who gave up Ruth’s famous homerun would edge the Roo 3-2.
Like Fenway, no baseball trip is complete for any fan without visiting Wrigley Field. Unlike most modern stadiums which sit either downtown on near a highway, the “friendly confines” can be found in a lively neighborhood of brownstone homeowners and bustling retail. Taking the “L” to Wrigley is recommended, as parking is an issue. I know.
I stopped by Chicago in 1993 on a trip from Boston to Texas in order to see a game at Wrigley. The Dodgers were visiting the Cubs. I arrived early, paid a premium, and parked right next to the stadium. That luxury came with a price, however. The Cubs staff parked cars at Wrigley like sardines in a can. Everyone was warned: Drive off within 15 minutes after game’s end or be prepared to see a tow truck haul it off. I scurried after that last out to my car, ready to depart like Dale Earnhardt awaiting a green light in Nascar.
Wrigley is baseball history. It’s one of two oldest stadiums in the Majors. Wrigley is the last stadium to install lights; most of us old timers remember when they went up in 1988. It’s the home of the Billy Goat Curse, erased in 2016 after 108 long years. Wrigley’s the place made famous by Cubs announcer Harry Caray, who I saw on the field that day in 1993. It’s the place where Kevin’s grandfather saw the Sultan of Swat call his shot again Charlie Root.
And it’s also where Roo Charlie Robertson battled Root to the very end on a May afternoon in 1928. Which makes it my #4 all time Charlie Robertson baseball moment. But #1 is my favorite.
Austin College Kangaroo Charlie Robertson is on my mind. Robertson is a former Roo baseball player who pitched a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox on April 30th, 1922.
The 99th anniversary of his perfect game is this week. So, I’m going to honor this Roo by counting down my Top 5 favorite Charlie Robertson baseball moments over the next five days up to Thursday, April 29th.
Sunday, April 25th: #5 Fenway Park
Monday, April 26th: #4 Wrigley Field
Tuesday, April 27th: #3 Polo Grounds
Wednesday, April 28th: #2 (still to come)
Thursday, April 29th: #1 (still to come)
Tuesday: #3 Polo Grounds
Charlie Robertson took to the mound on September 5th, 1927 against Manager John McGraw’s New York Giants. Robertson scattered 9 hits over 9 innings, going the distance and earning the win at the Polo Grounds. Robertson also helped his own cause by getting a hit and scoring a run. The Boston Braves defeated the Giants 6-1.
Despite the impressive outing by Robertson, Giants Hall of Fame batter Roger Hornsby still had a solid day. Hornsby went 2-for-4 on the day, though his hits failed to yield any runs. Hornsby, who holds the major league record for highest batting average in a season (.424) was a north Texas contemporary of Robertson; the two later both called Fort Worth home. He finished his baseball career with a .358 batting average, second on the all-time major league list and just behind the great Ty Cobb.
Robertson’s win at the Polo Grounds was not the first time Giants Manager John McGraw watched a Roo pitch. In the spring of 1908, McGraw took his Giants team to Texas for spring training and scheduled games against Austin College in Sherman. At Luckett Field just north of campus, Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson pitched against the AC baseball team while McGraw volunteered for umpire duty. New York won every game handily, though the Houston Post did report that the “Sherman Students play[ed] better ball than was expected.” After spending the night in Luckett Hall, the Giants boarded a train for New York to kick off their season at the Polo Grounds.
The Polo Grounds were the home of the New York Yankees until 1923, when the Bronx Bombers moved across the Harlem River to their new Yankee Stadium home. There, the Yankees kick off a golden age decade that culminated in the greatest team ever: the 1927 Yankees. On the same day as Robertson’s win at the Polo Grounds, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig each went deep to reach 44 home runs on the season. Ruth would eventually hit a record 60 home runs in 1927, and alongside Gehrig would lead the Yankees to a World Series Crown. Yankee Stadium is my #2 all-time Charlie Robertson baseball moment tomorrow.
John McGraw’s New York Giants no longer reside in New York, and the famous Polo Grounds are no more. But the Polo Grounds are still a part of American sports lore. It’s the place where John McGraw battled major league foes just weeks after batting the Roos in Sherman back in 1908. It’s the site where “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” entered the lexicon in 1951. And it’s the stadium where Roo Charlie Robertson shut down the New York Giants in 1927. Which makes it my #3 all-time Charlie Robertson baseball moment. But #1 is my favorite.
Austin College Kangaroo Charlie Robertson is on my mind. Robertson is a former Roo baseball player who pitched a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox on April 30th, 1922.
The 99th anniversary of his perfect game is this week. So, I’m going to honor this Roo by counting down my Top 5 favorite Charlie Robertson baseball moments over the next five days up to Thursday, April 29th.
Sunday, April 25th: #5 Fenway Park
Monday, April 26th: #4 Wrigley Field
Tuesday, April 27th: #3 Polo Grounds
Wednesday, April 28th: #2 Yankee Stadium
Thursday, April 29th: #1 (tomorrow)
Wednesday: #2 Yankee Stadium
Charlie Robertson didn’t get the decision after pitching 6 2/3 innings at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 1926. And his St. Louis Browns eventually lost 7-6 to the 1926 New York Yankees, who were on the cusp of becoming the most celebrated team in baseball history. But nothing should detract from the Roo’s effort that day in front of 30,000 fans.
Robertson struck out six that afternoon and left the game late with the score still tied. The Yankee duo of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig managed to only go 1-for-7 against the Kangaroo and accounted for three of Robertson’s six strikeouts. Robertson also helped his own cause by batting 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Yes, on May 22, 1926, Charlie Robertson struck out Babe Ruth twice AND had a better day at the plate than the Bambino.
I was fortunate to see an incredible game at Yankee Stadium in 1999 with Roos Frank Tooley and Sridhar Yaratha. On July 4th weekend, New York was down 2 in the ninth against Baltimore. All looked lost for the hometown team. But then John Belushi fired up the crowd by yelling “Was it over when the German’s bombed Pearl Harbor,” Scott Brosius belted a 3-run walk off homer to win the game, and the Yankee faithful (along with three Roos) went wild. The 1999 Yankees won the World Series and were arguably the best New York team since the 1927 squad of Babe Ruth.
Babe Ruth is probably the most iconic figure in baseball and arguably the best hitter of that era. But is he really? While the Babe owned some major league hitting records after retirement, most were claimed by another player: Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers. Many of Cobb’s baseball records still stand today, including career batting average. Over a 23-year career, Ty Cobb hit an astounding .366; most major leaguers would be thrilled to hit .366 for a season. In 1922 along, the year of my #1 favorite Charlie Robertson moment, Cobb batted an astounding .401. Since Ted Williams in 1941, no batter has even broken the .400 plateau.
I love the fact that Robertson defeated the Red Sox at Fenway, had a strong outing at Wrigley, shut down John McGraw’s Giants at the Polo Grounds, and showed Babe Ruth who was boss at Yankee Stadium. Those are all great Charlie Robertson moments. But the #1 moment? That’s tomorrow. It takes place on April 30, 1922 in Detroit and stars Ty Cobb, perhaps the greatest hitter that ever lived.
But Cobb might as well have not shown up to play that April 30th. Because Charlie Robertson was scheduled to take the mound that day for the Chicago White Sox at Tiger Stadium. As Robertson called it a night in his Detroit hotel on April 29th, this Kangaroo probably had no idea that the next day he would gift baseball with “the most perfect game ever pitched.”
