Neil Robinson
Neil Robinson was born on July 31, 1907. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About Neil Robinson
Cornelius Randall Robinson (July 31, 1907 – July 23, 1983), known professionally as Neil Robinson, was a major league baseball player in the segregated Negro leagues. Also known by the nicknames Neal and Shadow, he primarily played as a center fielder in the 1930s and 1940s, but as a semipro player he alternated between the outfield, shortstop, and third baseman. For the majority of his twenty-three year career, Robinson played for the Memphis Red Sox. Prior to being acquired by Memphis, he played one season for the Homestead Grays and three seasons with the Cincinnati Tigers. Throughout his career, he was known as a power hitter and ranks as the greatest hitter in the history of Memphis Red Sox franchise. Robinson won back-to-back Negro American League home run titles in 1939 and 1940 and appeared in nine Negro League East-West All Star Games. In the history of the East-West All Star Game, Robinson ranks as one of the Midsummer Classic's greatest hitters rivaling Mule Suttles, Josh Gibson, and Ted Strong. Robinson also played several exhibition games against white Major League Baseball players throughout his career. Although his number of plate appearances were limited, Robinson's ability to put the baseball in play against his white counterparts exceeded his career statistics against that of Negro league opponents. In 2006, he was selected as one of ninety-six candidates to be considered for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame by The Committee on African American Baseball. Despite not being selected, elite hitting and longevity made Robinson one of the great Negro league players with an extended career in the Deep South.