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BOOKSHELF

Loyalty to a Pastime

Ray Robinson ’41

Ray Robinson ’41 recalls his days as a delivery boy for a liquor store on the Upper West Side, where he and his family lived. On more than one occasion, the job took him to the doorsteps of Babe Ruth’s apartment building, where the aging baseball legend, always wearing a bathrobe, would come down and pick up his whiskey order. “He tipped very well,” Robinson remembers, noting that $1 during the Great Depression went a long way. Robinson, however, preferred the introverted Lou Gehrig ’25, a former Columbia baseball star, over the flamboyant Ruth when he frequented Yankee games as a child in the late ’20s.

Both stars, as well as numerous other “immortals,” are included in Robinson’s latest book, Greats of the Game: The Players, Games, Teams and Managers That Made Baseball History (Harry N. Abrams, $35; photographs compiled by Christopher Jennison). As a passionate baseball fan for more than 70 years, Robinson uses his knowledge of the game and an almost intimate familiarity with its personalities to highlight the careers and achievements of his baseball greats. Greats of the Game includes sections on legendary managers, the greatest games, moments, teams and World Series, and historical profiles of notable baseball stadiums. “It’s completely arbitrary,” Robinson says of his player selections for “The Immortals” section, “and when people see it, I hope some will agree and others will want to argue about it.” One of the great qualities of baseball, Robinson says, is its ability to furnish fans with topics for never-ending debates that enrich their appreciation for the sport.

Greats of the Game: The Players, Games, Teams and Managers That Made Baseball History by Ray Robinson ’41

For all his expertise and written work on baseball, it may come as a surprise that Robinson, now 84, was 65 when he began devoting a great deal of his time to writing about the sport. Until then, he worked in the magazine industry with posts that included managing editor of Seventeen and nonfiction editor of Good Housekeeping. While he built his career as a magazine editor, Robinson kept a close eye on baseball and wrote about it whenever he could. From the late ’50s to the ’70s, he coordinated the yearly publication of Baseball Stars, profiles by various sports writers of that year’s outstanding major league players. Robinson continues to write baseball-related articles as a freelancer for The New York Times, The New York Post and American Heritage magazine.

Since he left the magazine industry in 1986, Robinson’s output has been extensive; he has authored or contributed to more than 10 books, including baseball player biographies Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig [’25] in His Time and Matty: An American Hero, about New York Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson. Robinson also has written biographies of non-baseball figures — Rockne of Notre Dame: The Making of a Football Legend and American Original: A Life of Will Rogers. In 2003, after years of collecting last words said by notable figures at their deathbeds, some recorded and others alleged, Robinson authored Famous Last Words, Fond Farewells, Deathbed Diatribes, and Exclamations Upon Expiration, which he called a “fun book and a change of pace.”

With Greats of the Game, Robinson combines his sports journalist acumen with his fondness of the game. In many instances, his descriptions of players and teams include his reactions as a fan, such as his “infatuation” with the “out of town” Cincinnati Reds of 1939 and 1940. In his profile of pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, Robinson regretfully recalls a moment 60 years ago when he saw the former star, frail and troubled by alcoholism, at a flea-circus museum near Times Square telling stories or asking “for a few pennies.” While saddened as a fan, Robinson celebrated Alexander’s professional career, which included two victories over the formidable Yankees in 1926 as a Cardinals pitcher. Robinson’s lifelong experience with baseball — he attended his first game in 1928 — lends Greats of the Game the unique voice of a writer who is not only knowledgeable about baseball history but also has lived through a significant part of it.

Robinson, who lives in New York City with his wife, Phyllis, and Norwich terrier, Penelope, was honored in October 2004 with the Jacob Javits Lifetime Achievement Award by the ALS Association/Greater New York Chapter in its 10th annual Lou Gehrig Sports Awards. Robinson already is working on his next book, about Wendell Wilkie, the Republican presidential candidate who lost to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. He also hopes to write a book on Jack Dempsey and heavyweight boxing.

As fan, expert and writer, Robinson periodically shares his passion for baseball with “a group of guys” — sports writers and other baseball experts — who have collectively published more than 100 books on the game. The group includes television broadcaster Bob Costas, who flies from St. Louis to attend the New York meetings. “We share our knowledge about baseball and its history,” Robinson says. As reflected in Greats of the Game, Robinson believes that baseball enjoys a rich past, and in making that heritage more accessible to fans, Robinson continues to support the game he loves.

Peter Kang ’05

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