Davis Aydelotte Robertson (September 25, 1889 – November 5, 1970) 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 was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

over parts of nine seasons with the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Robertson was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He attended North Carolina State University after matriculating at

Maury High School Matthew Fontaine Maury High School also known as Maury High School, is a high school located in the Ghent area of Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Maury's school mascot is the Commodore. The high school is named for Matthew Fontaine Maury. In 2 ...

and

Norfolk Academy Norfolk Academy (NA) is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest private school in Virginia and the eighth oldest school in the United States. In 1966, Norfolk Academy merged with Country D ...

. In 1916 and 1917, he tied for the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

lead in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (with

Cy Williams Frederick "Cy" Williams (December 21, 1887 – April 23, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs (1912–17) and Philadelphia Phillies (1918–30). As Major L ...

and

Gavvy Cravath Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath (March 23, 1881 – May 23, 1963), also nicknamed "Cactus", was an American right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the sport's most ...

, respectively) while playing for New York. The short-distanced right field fence at the Polo Grounds was a frequent target of long drives hit by Robertson and his Giants' teammate,

Benny Kauff Bennie Michael "Benny" Kauff (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1961)Benny Kauff Play ...

. Their hits to right field became so much of an issue that

officials convened following the 1916 baseball season. Baseball officials decided to amend Rule #1, which read ''the shortest distance from a fence or stand on fair territory to the home base should be 235 feet.'' The amendment to the rule changed the shortest distance from a stand or fence to 270 feet."Schupp Leads Pitchers". November 28, 1916. ''New York Times''. 14. Robertson played for the Giants in the

1917 World Series The 1917 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1917 season. The 14th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion New York Giants ...

against 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 ...

, his 11 hits leading the team in the Series in a losing cause. A member of the Giants during the 1922 season, he did not make an appearance in the

1922 World Series The 1922 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1922 season. The 19th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion New York Yankees. ...

. The champion Giants swept all four games of that Series from their crosstown rival

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. In a nine-year major-league career, Robertson posted a .287

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(812-2830) with 366 runs, 47 home runs and 364 RBI in 804 games played. His on-base percentage was .318 and slugging percentage was .409. He surpassed the .300 batting mark three times. On September 14, 1920, he went 5-5 as a member of the Cubs. On August 19, 1921, he had 8 RBI in a game as a member of the Pirates. Eleven days later, on August 30, he hit for the cycle. Robertson died at the age of 81 in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
* National League home run champions 1889 births 1970 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Virginia New York Giants (NL) players Chicago Cubs players Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball left fielders NC State Wolfpack baseball players Minor league baseball managers Mobile Sea Gulls players Richmond Colts players Norfolk Tars players York White Roses players Sportspeople from Portsmouth, Virginia {{Baseball-right-fielder-stub

See also

References

External links