#345 Floyd Robinson - Chicago White Sox

Floyd Andrew Robinson
Chicago White Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 9, 1936, Prescott, AR
Acquired:  Obtained by the Cleveland Indians from San Diego (PCL) as part of a minor league working agreement, before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1960-1966; Cincinnati Reds 1967; Oakland Athletics 1968; Boston Red Sox 1968

Floyd Robinson was a football and baseball star at San Diego High School, and he turned down a football scholarship from the University of Arizona in order to sign with the San Diego Padres in the Pacific Coast League in 1954.  He made his big league debut with the White Sox in August 1960, and played in his first full season in 1961.  He batted .310 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs that season, finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Don Schwall (#362) and Dick Howser (#92).  Robinson then strung together four straight solid seasons with the White Sox as the club's regular left or right fielder, winning a share of MVP votes each year between 1962 and 1965.  He enjoyed a career year in 1962, batting .312 with a league leading 45 doubles and 109 RBIs.  Robinson hit a career high 14 home runs in 1965.  After a final year with the White Sox in 1966, Robinson played in parts of the next two seasons with the Reds, Athletics and Red Sox.

In 1969, he played one more season for the Hawaii Islanders (the Angels top farm club in the Pacific Coast League) before retiring from baseball.  In 1,011 career games, Robinson collected 929 hits while batting .283.  He had 140 doubles, 36 triples, 67 home runs and 426 career RBIs.  In 2007, Robinson and his wife Sandra established the nonprofit Floyd Robinson Foundation to provide "premium college grants to the most hardworking and deserving graduating high school students from all over San Diego County."

Building the Set
September 7, 2021 from Twitter trade with Eric M. - Card #350
On the night of September 3rd, and while organizing a stack of extra cards on my computer desk, I Tweeted out a photo of the John Briggs (#163) card from this set.  I had somehow added a double of the card and I was curious if baseball card Twitter would be interested in a one-card trade, exchanging the Briggs card for another card I needed for our set.  Fellow Phillies fan and Von Hayes super collector Eric M. responded, and we quickly worked out a trade.  Eric had two cards we needed for our set, this Robinson card and the Bob Saverine (#427) card.  I mailed out the Briggs card along with the Ken Reynolds Rookie Stars card from the 1971 Topps set, as Eric needed it for his Phillies collection.  A few days later, the two 1965 Topps cards arrived from Eric along with a surprise autographed Stan Lopata card from the 1975 TCMA 1950 Whiz Kids set.  I may need to work out a few more Twitter trades along the way!

The Card / White Sox Team Set
Robinson's uniform #3 is clearly visible on his sleeve and partially on his back.  The cartoon on the back of the card highlights his 6 for 6 performance on July 22, 1962 against the Red Sox.  All six hits from Robinson were singles.

1965 Season
The opening day right fielder for the White Sox, Robinson played in a career high 156 games.  This would be his last season playing for manager Al Lopez (#414), whom he greatly admired.  Robinson batted .265 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs.

1962 Topps #454

1963 Topps #405

1964 Topps #195

1966 Topps #8

1968 Topps #404

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #454
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1962-1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #404

49 - Robinson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/1/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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