Al Robertson

Allan Robertson

• Born September 28, 1939 in Moosomin, SK Canada

Biographical Information

Al Robertson was a star for the first Canadian national team.

He debuted in 1958 with the Hamiota Red Sox in Canada's Mid-Western Baseball League. He moved to the Souris Cardinals for 1960 then returned to Hamiota the next year. His .392 average in 1962 ranked 4th in the Manitoba Senior Baseball League, where Hamiota was then playing. He was 10th at .336 in 1964. He fell to .277 in '65.

In 1966, he hit .355, 3rd in the MSBL. He won the batting title at .395 in 1967, .029 ahead of Don Smith. His 27 RBI were 3 behind leader Smith. He made Canada's team for the 1967 Pan American Games, the first iteration of Team Canada. He put on quite a show, hitting .467, including a 4-for-5 game against Cuba. He led the Pan Am Games in both average and hits, thus becoming the first Canadian team member to lead a major international tournament in an offensive category.

Robertson hit .315 in 1968 to place 7th in the MSBL while he led the league with 24 runs. He became Hamiota's player-manager in 1969 and hit .301, failing to make the top 10 for the first time in four years. In 1970, he hit .305. The long-time second baseman moved to first base in 1971 and took a year off from managing. He was also the second President of Baseball Manitoba,

He again starred in the Pan American Games, as his .400 average led Canada in the 1971 Pan American Games while the team improved from 1-9 to 4-4. By 1972, he was a bench player and was back to managing. He still hit well at 5-for-10. He wound down in 1973 and 1974, managing in '74. He returned solely as a coach or manager from 1979-1989. He guided Hamiota to two Silver Medals in the Canadian Summer Games.

Al was a 12-time All-Star. He made the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sources

• Western Canada Baseball History
• Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame
• Baseball Manitoba
• Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

Source: Western Canada Baseball