Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson by Doug Wilson. (Thomas Dunne Books, 352 pg.,
$26.99). HB, 2014.Brooks Robinson was one of the finest
third basemen in baseball history. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, he is arguably
the most popular athlete ever to wear the uniform of the Baltimore Orioles, his
only team in 23 years in the major leagues. He played in 18 All-Star Games, was
the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1964, and won 16 Gold Gloves. He
starred on some of the most dominant teams of the last fifty years, including
two World Series winners. His fielding heroics in the 1970 Fall Classic made
him a one-man highlight film, and he has set the standard for excellence at the
hot corner.
He retired in 1977. So why did it
take 37 years for someone to finally write a comprehensive, full-length
biography of such a sporting icon?
In the preface to his new book, Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson,
author Doug Wilson answers that question bluntly: Robinson was the seemingly
perfect All-American male, “viewed as a squeaky-clean good guy in a time when
attitudes were changing.” He had no skeletons in his closet. He endured no dishonorable
scandals, conflicts, or controversies. “In other words,” Wilson asserts, “none
of the things that drive book sales.” Can anyone argue with him on this point?
How else to explain the endless shelf space devoted to volumes on Mickey
Mantle, whose personal demons cause psychobabblers to salivate?
Wilson acknowledged this handicap when he
first set out to write a biography of Brooks Robinson. What he eventually
produced is a book that hopefully will prove the publishers wrong. The story of
Brooks Robinson is that of a decent man. But it is also an entertaining and
informative account of a playing career spanning three decades in which the
great American game underwent seismic shifts.
Brooks is what a baseball biography
should be about. This is now Wilson’s third such venture, having previously
written excellent books on Fred Hutchinson and Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. Like
those, Brooks is well-researched, and
Wilson is a first-rate writer worthy of his subject. Readers will get an inside
look at the evolution of the Orioles, from their rag-tag seminal days in
Baltimore following their exile from St. Louis, through the “Baby Birds” years
of the early 1960’s, culminating in the world championship seasons that gave birth to the ethos of “The Oriole
Way.”
Wilson gives us delightful profiles of
some of the characters of those wonderful teams. Among them is manager Earl
Weaver, the former bush-leaguer suddenly transformed into the umpire-baiting,
lineup-juggling maestro. With his mantra of pitching, defense, and three-run
homers, the Orioles became the blue-chip franchise in the American League
following the collapse of the New York Yankee dynasty.
The great pitching staff was anchored
by names like Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer, who in his privileged
boyhood had lived on Park Avenue in Manhattan, and played catch in Central Park
with his butler. It was a team with great nicknames. John Wesley “Boog” Powell,
the fun-loving, power-hitting gentle giant, anchored first base and boasted an
18 3/4-inch neck. At catcher was Andy Etchebarren, affectionately called Lurch
because of his resemblance to the unibrowed character on the television program
“The Addams Family.” Outfielder Curt Blefary was labelled Clank, the same sound
a ball made upon hitting his glove. Centerfield dynamo Paul Blair they called
Motormouth, “for obvious reasons,” writes Wilson. Even Robinson’s nickname of
“The Human Vacuum Cleaner,” is one of the best ever pegged on a player.
It was the acquisition of the
multi-talented African-American slugger Frank Robinson, however, which had
vaulted the Orioles to the top of the American League. Together, Brooks and
Frank Robinson became the symbol of the Orioles of that period, not only on the
field but off. The 1960’s were a time of racial tension, but Wilson portrays
the Baltimore clubhouse as one of harmony and togetherness which overcame
differences in skin color. Frank Robinson instituted the Orioles’ hilarious
kangaroo court, of which he himself was the judge. The court meted out
penalties for various infractions such as yawing on the bench (Brooks got
accused of this) or talking to female fans in the crowd (Don Buford was the
guilty party, assessed a fine of a dollar per lady, totaling three dollars, but
he protested that he had actually been talking to five.). The Orioles’ players
loved it, and it created a bond between them that carried over to the diamond.
At the center of it all is Brooks
Robinson, “Mr. Impossible,” the consummate professional. Wilson portrays him as
a fine human being, without trying to manufacture controversy simply in order
to lend his tale more voyeuristic spice. At the same time, Wilson gives an
honest treatment to what Robinson himself described as his darkest days as a
player: The short-lived players’ strike of 1972. He was the Orioles’ player
representative, and came to be viewed by some fans as an agitator in the whole
affair. Wilson describes Robinson being booed at Memorial Stadium once the
strike was over and play resumed. But the fans’ anger soon subsided, and
Robinson was back in their good graces. If you are looking for revelations of a
sordid past whitewashed behind a veneer of respectability, you won’t find it
here. Instead, you’ll discover an authentic Brooks Robinson, a trustworthy and
loyal friend, a hard-working teammate, and a loving husband and father. The touching
story of Brooks and Connie Robinson, who have been married for over 50 years,
is one of the book’s strengths.
Leave it to Earl Weaver to sum up how
a lot of people feel about Brooks Robinson: “(He) is one of the greatest people
I have ever met. He gets along with people better than anyone I’ve ever known.
The whole room brightens when he walks in. He goes out of his way to do things
for people. I don’t believe I ever saw him mad and we were together on the
field for almost 10 years. He never had trouble with a teammate. How can you
have trouble with Brooks?”
You don’t have to be a Baltimore
Orioles fan to enjoy Doug Wilson’s Brooks.
All you need is a love for the game as it was once played, when it was truly
the national pastime, and when character and decency in professional athletes counted
for something. Wilson, who grew up a Cincinnati Reds fan, confesses that he was
no particular fan of Robinson’s in his youth. But as an adult, he appreciates
Robinson’s greatness and importance, especially today, when athletes are too
often surly, unapproachable, and apparently disdainful of their
responsibilities as heroes. Brooks Robinson is the real deal, and so is Doug
Wilson’s book.
Scott Ferkovich (August 4, 2014)