Floyd Robinson

Who is Floyd Robinson?

Floyd Andrew Robinson is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

He attended San Diego High School in San Diego, California, where he starred in both baseball and football. He was offered a football scholarship to the University of Arizona as a quarterback, but chose to sign a professional baseball contract.

Robinson made his major league debut at age 24 on August 10, 1960 in a 6-0 White Sox home loss to the New York Yankees, starting in right field and going 0-for-3 against Art Ditmar. After batting in double-digit games over a five-week span without a hit, he notched his first career hit on September 18, 1960 in an 8-4 road win over the Detroit Tigers with a sixth-inning single off Jim Bunning. In his next at-bat, he got his first career run-batted-in with a single off Dave Sisler that plated Ted Kluszewski.

Robinson was managed by Hall of Famer Al Lopez, a man he respected a great deal, for his entire seven-year White Sox career.

His first full year in the majors, 1961, was an outstanding one as he finished tied for third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. He posted a .310 batting average with 11 home runs, 59 runs batted in, 134 hits and 52 bases on balls.