Vintage Fridays: Earl Robinson, 1962 Topps #272

Former Oriole Earl Robinson, who batted .271/.343/.433 in 162 games with the club in 1961-1962 and 1964, passed away this past July 4 at age 77. He had suffered two heart attacks last year. Earl starred in both baseball and basketball at the University of California-Berkeley, and earned a doctorate in education from the school. He was inducted into Cal's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Pacific-10 Conference's Hall of Honor in 2010. After his major league career ended, he became California's first junior college African-American head basketball coach when he was hired at Merritt College. He also held positions at various times as director of special projects for the Oakland Athletics, vice president of the Board of Trustees at the Oakland Zoo, and a member of the Board of Directors for the California Alumni Association. His is not a name that is often mentioned in relation to the Orioles, but Earl Robinson led a long and productive life beyond the diamond. May he rest in peace.

Vintage Fridays: Earl Robinson, 1961 Topps #343

Let this card serve as a reminder that Topps has been clumsily manipulating images for several decades. It's not just a recent thing. In this case, Earl Robinson's Dodgers helmet has been painted over with an orange and black that look more like red and navy blue. The Orioles had just purchased his contract the previous December, so Topps didn't have many options here. Earl would play in a career-high 96 games for the O's in 1961, batting .266 with a strong .354 on-base percentage. He totaled 8 home runs and 30 RBI, and his .455 slugging percentage was second-best on the team behind Jim Gentile. Robinson never stuck in Baltimore, though; he saw action in just 29 games in 1962 and another 37 contests in 1964. As it stands, he has had to accept his fate as the third-best Robinson in Orioles history. Of course, the competition is pretty fierce.