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Rare 1931 Wilbert Robinson Signed Handwritten Letter to Max Carey (PSA MINT 9 Auto)
<p>Displayed is a very rare handwritten letter, dated Feb. 4th, 1931, from Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson. What makes this letter so special is that it is written to another Hall of Famer, Max Carey, and the letter contains baseball content. The one-page letter is written in blue ink from a fountain pen. Robinson was a catcher who played in the Major Leagues from 1986 until 1902. He hit .273 lifetime, with a career high of .353 in 1894, and he was the first catcher to play full-time directly behind the batter - as before him catchers generally played further back behind hitters until the batter had two strikes. Robinson caught for the Philadelphia Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Baltimore Orioles - in three leagues: the American Association, the National League and the American League. Later, he managed the Baltimore Orioles (1902), and the Brooklyn Robins (1914-1931). In fact, the Brooklyn team was called the Robins at that time to honor him, a very popular manager. Robinson was a protégé, and later a bitter rival, of Hall of Fame manager John McGraw. Uncle Robbie was the manager for Brooklyn's first "modern" pennant, in 1916, and he managed Brooklyn to another pennant in 1920. A famous moment in the Robinson legend occurred in the Brooklyn spring training at Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1915. Robinson was part of a publicity stunt in which he was to catch a baseball dropped 525 feet from an airplane. In an attempted practical joke, the pilot dropped a grapefruit instead. It exploded all over Robinson as he was catching it, and not realizing it was only a grapefruit, he initially thought that he was seriously injured. Max Carey was a Hall of Fame third baseman who spent much of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1910-26) and finished with the Brooklyn Robins (1926-29). Carey at one time held the National League stolen base record with 738. Apparently, Carey, who coached with Pittsburgh kin 1930, had asked Robinson about a coaching spot on his staff. On stationery from Dover Hall, his hunting camp in Brunswick, Georgia, Robinson replied, "I am damned sorry, for I would have liked to have you with me. I hope you catch on with some other club." A Brooklyn Robins' owner is referred to by Robinson as "Old McKeever". Robinson mentions that he is "waiting to go to Clearwater [Florida] to start in" [for spring training]. Ironically, Carey sat out the 1931 season, and before the next season, after Brooklyn finished in fourth place at 79-73-1, Robinson, while hunting at his camp in Brunswick, received word that he was being replaced as the Brooklyn manager - by Max Carey. The letter is <span style="font-size: 13px;">signed "Robbie". The signature is graded 9 by PSA and comes with a full PSA/DNA Letter of Authenticity. Other than typical mailing folds, the letter is NRMT.</span></p>
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