About the Honoree - Brooks!

Brooks Robinson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent in 1955. His professional career began that year with the York (PA) White Roses, a Piedmont League affiliate of the Orioles. He made his major league baseball debut on September 17, 1955 with the Orioles. After over 2,800 games, over 10,000 at-bats, and over 9,000 total chances in the field, he retired from the Orioles on August 13, 1977, having never played for another major league team. 

Brooks established a standard of excellence for modern-day third basemen. He played 23 seasons for the Orioles, setting Major League career records for games, putouts, assists, chances, double plays and fielding percentage. A clutch hitter, Robinson totaled 268 career home runs, at one time an American League record for third basemen. He earned the league's MVP Award in 1964 and the World Series MVP in 1970, when he hit .429 and made a collection of defensive gems. Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 after receiving 344 votes of 374 ballots cast (91.98%). Highly regarded for his defensive ability, he was named as the third baseman for the Rawlings 50th Anniversary All-Time Gold Glove Team. Over his career, Robinson won 16 Gold Gloves.

In 1970, Brooks was named the S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year, granted to the top professional athlete in all United States sports. The award included a "Hickok Belt" of alligator skin with a gold gem-studded belt buckle. Brooks was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Brooks and his wife Connie have been a part of the fabric of the Baltimore community since their arrival in 1955. Brooks has supported educational and charitable organizations in every corner of the metropolitan area – from the Arthritis Foundation to the Zoo. He has assisted organizations as diverse as the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Catholic Charities, Little Sisters of the Poor, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

Brooks is a partner in Opening Day Partners, a group that owns several minor league baseball franchises, including the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, the Camden (NJ) Riversharks, the Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers, the York (PA) Revolution and the Sugarland (TX) Skeeters. He also serves as President of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and is on the Board at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Find out more about Brooks on the web at the independently-operated sites below. These sites are not affiliated with the Brooks Robinson statue.

http://baseballhall.org/hof/robinson-brooks (Official website of the National Baseball Hall of Fame)

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robinbr01.shtml

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=robinbr01

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Robinson

The Honoree -- Brooks Robinson