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You are here: Home / Sports Card News / Vintage Sports Card News / 5 Brooks Robinson Cards Capture Career of the ‘Human Vacuum Cleaner’

5 Brooks Robinson Cards Capture Career of the ‘Human Vacuum Cleaner’

May 15, 2016 By Bob D'Angelo

When I attended junior high school in early 1971, one of the sports magazines I read contained a clever poem that paid tribute to the 1970 sports season. One verse summed up the defensive skills of Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson.

“Pity the poor Big Red Machine, Brooksie stripped its motor clean.” 

Diving Brooks Robinson photoThe poem might have come from Sport magazine, but I am not 100 percent sure. But here’s something I definitely know: Brooks Robinson was a defensive dervish during the 1970 World Series, just like he was during his 23-season career with the Baltimore Orioles. Doug Wilson, in his 2014 biography of Robinson, wrote that the Cincinnati Reds, who lost the World Series in 1970 in five games to Baltimore, were “continually flummoxed in attempts to drive the ball through the left side of the Orioles’ infield.”

Robinson, who turns 79 on Wednesday, was one of baseball’s truly nice guys. He won 16 Gold Gloves between 1960 and 1975, was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1964 and led A.L. in RBIs that same year. He also was named the World Series MVP in 1970. His fielding percentage was .971 and he made 264 errors during his career, He was slow afoot  but to his opponents, Robinson was “the human vacuum cleaner” thanks to his lightning-quick reflexes.

To honor No. 5, here are five Brooks Robinson cards representing various stages of his career.

1957 Topps Brooks Robinson

1957 Topps No 328

This is Robinson’s rookie card, and boy, does Brooks look young. This is one of the key cards in the 1957 product; from a personal view, it’s the one card I need to finish off my birth-year Topps set. I checked out the prices for Robinson’s debut card in the “Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards” and found this gem: it lists for $1oo in VG condition, $2oo in EX, and $00.00 in NM condition. Hey, that’s the book’s typo, not mine. Actually you can find a good looking Brooks Robinson rookie card on eBay for around $400.  Of course, you’ll pay a lot more for a truly high-end example.

Of the 2,548 Robinson cards submitted for grading to PSA, only one card has earned a gem mint 10 rating. A total of 32 graded out at PSA 9. The highest graded card among the 422 submitted to SGC is a 92, and there are seven of them.

brooksrobinson_68_Prototype

1968 Topps 3-D Prototype

This is an extremely tough card to find. Topps issued 3-D cards as a test in 1968, but before those were released, the company created a prototype featuring Robinson. The card measured 2 1/4 inches by 3 1/4 inches and had square corners. The team name “Orioles” was in red block letters at the top of the card, and the photo showed Robinson at the plate, bat cocked and ready for the pitch.

The design is similar to the 1967 Topps regular-issue set, the only difference being the team name at the top, rather than the bottom. The card back had a rubber-stamped notice that identified it as a Xograph 3-D set. Some prototypes do exist without the stamped back; an unstamped example was sighted at the 2012 National, for example. The “Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards” lists the Robinson at $90,000 in near-mint condition.

brooksrobinson_67DexterPress

1967 Dexter Press Premiums

If you’re collecting on Brooks Robinson baseball cards on a budget, this glossy, 5 ½ inch-by 7-inch card was issued by Dexter Press of New York and is one of the nicer looking cards of the 1960s. Robinson, like all of the players in the 229-card set, was photographed during spring training from the waist up. There is a black facsimile autograph above the photograph, and the card has a quarter-inch, white border that frames the picture. There is a biography on the back of the card.

You can find both the ’67 and ’68 Robinsons for about the cost of a restaurant meal.

Brooks Robinson 1971 Topps World Series card

1971 Topps #331 World Series Game 5

Never mind that the photo Topps used to highlight Game 5 of the 1970 World Series was actually a play from Game 3. Robinson made a diving stop to rob Johnny Bench of a base hit and end the sixth inning in Game 3, but he did it all during the Series and made two more spectacular plays in the Game 5 Series clincher. The caption for the card summed up the third baseman’s overall defense in the Fall Classic: “B. Robinson Commits Robbery!”

“This guy’s in another world,” NBC announcer Curt Gowdy said after Robinson dived to his left to rob Bench for the second time in the game. “I mean, he’s unbelievable.”

Perhaps Robinson’s larceny was inspired by similar robbery in the 1969 World Series. In the ninth inning of Game 4, Ron Swoboda made a skidding, diving catch in right-center field to prevent the Orioles from scoring more than one run. That one run tied the game and the Mets won in 2-1 in 10 innings.  Who was victimized by Swoboda’s catch? Brooks Robinson.

The high-angle solo shot of Robinson coming up with the ball is a classic and one that captured his October brilliance for millions of kids.  You can own a near mint example for around $20-25.

brooksrobinson_75Kelloggs_3D

1975 Kellogg’s No. 18

1975 was Robinson’s last year as an everyday player and while his offensive statistics revealed a dramatic decline in production, he did win the last of his Gold Gloves for the Orioles.
For 14 years during the 1970s and ’80s, Kellogg’s distributed 3-D cards in “specially marked” boxes of its breakfast cereal, or the more impatient collector could order a complete set by mail.  The 1975 offering is one of the scarcer sets to put together, especially since it contained a dozen Hall of Famers. Not as scarce as the 1971 version, but still hard to complete. Like many of the Kellogg’s  issues, the 2 1/8-inch by 3 1/4-inch cards in 1975 were susceptible to cracking.  An uncracked Robinson seems like quite a bargain when you see them for sale at $15-25.

By the way, a complete PSA 8 graded “set” of base Robinson’s Topps cards from 1957-77 sold not long ago for $5,595.

Here’s a list of the current most watched Brooks Robinson cards for sale on eBay.

2022 Leaf Lumber BROOKS ROBINSON Game Used Bat Barrel Prime relic Patch 3/3 1/1 2022 Leaf Lumber BROOKS ROBINSON Game Used Bat Barrel Prime relic Patch 3/3 1/1
20 bids - Price: $57.00 - Watchers: 71
1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson SGC 5 EX Excellent Rookie Card RC HOF Legend 1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson SGC 5 EX Excellent Rookie Card RC HOF Legend
10 bids - Price: $305.00 - Watchers: 52
1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson PSA 4 1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson PSA 4
14 bids - Price: $203.50 - Watchers: 50
2005 Prime Cuts BROOKS ROBINSON Jersey Patch Relic Bat Auto Autograph /5 Orioles 2005 Prime Cuts BROOKS ROBINSON Jersey Patch Relic Bat Auto Autograph /5 Orioles
26 bids - Price: $82.00 - Watchers: 38
1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson Orioles RC Rookie HOF PSA 2 " LOOKS NICER " 1957 Topps #328 Brooks Robinson Orioles RC Rookie HOF PSA 2 " LOOKS NICER "
13 bids - Price: $194.50 - Watchers: 36
1957 Topps - Scarce Series #328 Brooks Robinson (RC) 1957 Topps - Scarce Series #328 Brooks Robinson (RC)
6 bids - Price: $152.50 - Watchers: 35
1964 Topps Stand Ups Set-Break Brooks Robinson NR-MINT *GMCARDS* 1964 Topps Stand Ups Set-Break Brooks Robinson NR-MINT *GMCARDS*
17 bids - Price: $50.99 - Watchers: 34
BROOKS ROBINSON SGC 6 1959 TOPPS BASEBALL #439 ORIOLES HOF 0632 BROOKS ROBINSON SGC 6 1959 TOPPS BASEBALL #439 ORIOLES HOF 0632
18 bids - Price: $51.99 - Watchers: 34
Brooks Robinson 1957 Topps Rookie RC Autograph PSA/DNA Centered Mid Grade Card Brooks Robinson 1957 Topps Rookie RC Autograph PSA/DNA Centered Mid Grade Card
22 bids - Price: $237.50 - Watchers: 34
1959 TOPPS #439 BROOKS ROBINSON ORIOLES HOF PSA 7 NM 1959 TOPPS #439 BROOKS ROBINSON ORIOLES HOF PSA 7 NM
39 bids - Price: $103.50 - Watchers: 30
1970 Topps Set-Break #230 Brooks Robinson PSA 8 NM-MT 1970 Topps Set-Break #230 Brooks Robinson PSA 8 NM-MT
18 bids - Price: $107.50 - Watchers: 30
Brooks Robinson 1967 Topps #600 Orioles Rare Not Graded but Sharp Brooks Robinson 1967 Topps #600 Orioles Rare Not Graded but Sharp
25 bids - Price: $118.50 - Watchers: 30
1958 Topps Brooks Robinson #307 Baltimore Orioles Crease Free HOF RJ 1958 Topps Brooks Robinson #307 Baltimore Orioles Crease Free HOF RJ
12 bids - Price: $22.77 - Watchers: 29
Brooks Robinson Auto 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game Autograph SP Orioles HOF Brooks Robinson Auto 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game Autograph SP Orioles HOF
15 bids - Price: $34.00 - Watchers: 28
1957 Topps Brooks Robinson Rookie Card PSA 2 1957 Topps Brooks Robinson Rookie Card PSA 2
3 bids - Price: $150.00 - Watchers: 28
2005 UD Hall of Fame Brooks Robinson Auto Patch 5/10 1/1 Orioles HOF SP SSP 2005 UD Hall of Fame Brooks Robinson Auto Patch 5/10 1/1 Orioles HOF SP SSP
9 bids - Price: $22.50 - Watchers: 27
1967 Topps Brooks Robinson #600 SGC 6! Hard To Get Rating! 1 Penny Start Bid! 1967 Topps Brooks Robinson #600 SGC 6! Hard To Get Rating! 1 Penny Start Bid!
15 bids - Price: $260.64 - Watchers: 27
1958 Topps #307 Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles HOF PSA 7 NM 1958 Topps #307 Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles HOF PSA 7 NM
8 bids - Price: $51.00 - Watchers: 27
2002 Topps Tribute Brooks Robinson Auto Bat Marks of Excellence Orioles HOF SP? 2002 Topps Tribute Brooks Robinson Auto Bat Marks of Excellence Orioles HOF SP?
4 bids - Price: $20.70 - Watchers: 26
2023 Panini Mosaic Robert Brooks Silver Holo Prizm Auto Green Bay Packers 2023 Panini Mosaic Robert Brooks Silver Holo Prizm Auto Green Bay Packers
5 bids - Price: $15.50 - Watchers: 25
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About Bob D'Angelo

Bob has been a sportswriter and copy editor for more than 35 years and a blogger for a decade. He is celebrating his 50th year of card collecting, and still counts his 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle as his favorite. You can reach him at [email protected].

Filed Under: Popular Stories, Vintage Sports Card News Tagged With: 1950s baseball rookie cards, 1968 Topps 3-D, 1971 Topps Baseball, baltimore orioles, brooks robinson, Kellogg's, Kellogg's 3D

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