Charles Culbertson Robertson (January 31, 1896 – August 23, 1984) was an American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
player. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
as a
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
, and is best remembered for throwing a
perfect game
Perfect game may refer to:
Sports
* Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners
* Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game
* Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...
in 1922. He was the last surviving player who played at least one game for the 1919 Chicago White Sox, having died in 1984.
Robertson was born in Dexter,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, grew up in
Nocona, Texas
Nocona is a city along U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 175 in Montague County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,033 at the 2010 census. The city, its lake, and its resurgence as a regional travel destination were featured in thJune ...
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas. from 1917 until 1919. He began his career with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
in 1919 at the age of 23. Robertson was an average player for most of his career, having a career record of 49–80 and never winning more than he lost during a single season. His main pitch throughout his career was a slow curveball which he often threw on the first pitch to a batter on any side of the plate, followed by a
fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
up in the zone.
Perfect game
On April 30, 1922, in just his fourth career start, he pitched the fifth
perfect game
Perfect game may refer to:
Sports
* Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners
* Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game
* Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...
Navin Field
Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbu ...
(later known as Tiger Stadium) in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
. He became the first pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game on the road. The Detroit lineup featured such Hall of Famers as
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...
and
Harry Heilmann
Harry Edwin Heilmann (August 3, 1894 – July 9, 1951), nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with ...
, who both complained that he was doctoring the ball throughout the game. A spectacular diving catch by Johnny Mostil on a liner to left by
Bobby Veach
Robert Hayes Veach (June 29, 1888 – August 7, 1945) was an American baseball player from 1910 to 1930 including 14 seasons in the major leagues. He was the starting left fielder for the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1923 and also played for the B ...
in the second inning preserved the historic feat. The Tigers submitted several game balls to
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
President
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL).
Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the mino ...
after the game to check for irregularities, but Johnson dismissed the charge. No pitcher would equal the feat after Robertson for another 34 years, until Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series; the next regular season perfect game would not come until
Jim Bunning's perfect game
On Sunday, June 21, 1964, Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched the seventh perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the New York Mets 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium. A father of seven children ...
in 1964.
After the victory, he suffered arm troubles for the rest of his career. He pitched one season for the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
and two years with the Boston Braves and retired in .
Post professional life
Robertson was a contestant on ''
What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'' on October 14, 1956. His occupation at the time of his television appearance was a buyer and seller of pecans. His appearance was six days after
Don Larsen's perfect game
On October 8, 1956, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, pitcher Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. It was the only no-hitter in World Series history until the Houston Astr ...
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...