UD retiree inducted into sports hall of fame

Ronald “Ronnie” M. Robinson

12:21 p.m., April 15, 2005--Ronald “Ronnie” M. Robinson, recently retired UD employee and formerly one of Delaware’s premiere high school pitchers, is being inducted into the Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Robinson, a native of Lewes who worked for 18 years as a maintenance technician in Facilities Operations and Management on the Sharp Campus in Lewes, is among 11 individuals who will be honored during an induction ceremony on Saturday, April 16, at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover.

A graduate of Jason High School and a familiar figure in the Delmarva semipro baseball scene for many years, Robinson, 65, is being honored for his achievements as a player and a coach from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s.

“Getting inducted into the Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame is really something special to me,” Robinson said. “It shows that people still think about you.”

Robinson, who started playing baseball when he was about 11 years old, began playing semipro for the Bridgeville Comets while still in high school.

“An elderly guy from Georgetown named Luther Tingue would travel all over Sussex County picking up ballplayers,” Robinson said. “He would line up teams for us to play in other towns.”

As a pitcher and an outfielder for the Jason High School baseball team, Robinson played against teams from Henry High School in Dover, Bates High School in Annapolis, Md., Howard High in Wilmington and the Louis L. Redding School in Middletown.

“This was during the era of segregation, and these were the dominant black high school baseball teams of that time,” Robinson said. “There was a lot of competition, and everybody wanted to have bragging rights.”

After graduating from high school, Robinson attracted scouts from the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Indians, but injuries he sustained in an automobile accident kept him from landing in the major leagues.

“The Phillies were getting ready to sign me when I had my accident,” Robinson said. “They didn’t want to take a chance on my legs after the accident.”

While the accident may have kept Robinson from getting a shot with a professional baseball organization, it did not stop him from taking basic training at Ft. Knox, Ky., where a legendary figure from the entertainment field also was fulfilling his military obligation.

“Elvis Presley also was on the base at that time,” Robinson said. “He would give shows, but you couldn’t get close enough to see him. They tried to keep him out of sight because women were always trying to find ways to get in to see him.”

After completing his Army Reserve training at Ft. Knox, Robinson returned to the First State, where he and a group of friends formed their own semipro team, the Lewes Cardinals.

“This would have been in the early 1960s,” Robinson said. “We had about 15 guys, including guys that I played baseball with in high school.”

The Cardinals played other semipro teams on the Delmarva Peninsula, from Dover to Harrington and Bridgetown, Robinson said.

“My favorite pitch was the curve ball,” Robinson said. “If I wasn’t pitching, I would bat first in the lineup. I could really lay down a drag bunt.”

Robinson played for the Cardinals for about 15 years before helping to form another team called the Sussex All Stars, a team that drew good crowds and traveled a lot.

“Our attendance would be in the hundreds, and people would pass the hat around for donations,” Robinson said. “We did some barnstorming, and played in places like Bowling Green, Ky., and Atlantic City, N.J.”

Robinson recalled his final time at bat, when he had to ask an umpire to call time so that a pinch-runner could be sent in to take over for him as a base runner on second base.

“We won that game, but those guys would have killed me if we lost because I stayed in and got called out running the bases,” Robinson said. “I really did love the game. The only problem is that the bases just seemed to keep getting farther and farther apart.”

After hanging up his spikes as an active player, Robinson continued in the sport by working for a time with younger players just getting started in the game.

Robinson, who said he also enjoys bowling, said that he looks forward to watching more baseball on television now that he is retired.

In looking back on a long and distinguished semipro baseball career, Robinson said that he considers the Lewes Cardinals to be the best team he ever played for. He also has been a lifelong fan of the Los Angles Dodgers.

“My favorite team is the Dodgers,” Robinson said. “My all-time favorite ballplayer is Jackie Robinson.”

Other individuals with a UD connection entering the Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame this year include:

Theopalis K. Gregory, the senior member of the Wilmington City Council, got his bachelor’s degree from UD in political science and earned his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law.

A graduate of De La Warr High School in New Castle, Gregory was a member of the Fightin’ Blue Hens football team that won national championships in 1971 and 1972.

Gregory also coached in the Naylor Football League from 1990-98 and is the founder of the Greater Wilmington Youth Athletic Association.

Andrew “Andy” Haman was an outfielder for the Fightin’ Blue Hens baseball team in 1971-72 for head coach Bob Hannah. During the 1972 season, Haman earned a letter at UD, playing in 16 games, while scoring eight runs with three runs batted in and three stolen bases. He also played for the UD basketball team during the 1970-71 season.

Haman, who payed for the Crawford All-Stars, enjoyed a 15-year semipro baseball career and was selected to the SemiPro All-Stars in 1972-73.

Joseph V. Purzycki, CHNS '71, CHEP '77M, was a captain and honorable mention All-American football player at UD. In his years of coaching for Delaware State University, Purzycki won or shared several Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football championships, and was named MEAC Coach of the Year in 1983. He also coached Caesar Rodney High School to a 12-0 record and a Division I state football championship in 1975.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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