Curt Roberts Field to be dedicated on Pineland Day 2007

The Pineland Dixie League Youth Baseball Association Directors and the Pineland Day Steering Committee have announced that a recently renovated baseball field in Pineland has been named Curt Roberts Field to honor one of Sabine Count's legendary athletes.

Two baseball fields located adjacent to each other on Hickory Street near downtown Pineland will be formally dedicated with ceremonies planned for the afternoon of Pineland Day, October 6, 2007. The other field will be named Roy Weatherly Field.

Curt Roberts, who was born and raised in Pineland, played baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues from 1947-1950, where he was the every day starter at second base, playing beside future Hall-of-Fame shortstop Ernie Banks. The Monarchs were the "Yankees" of the Negro Leagues and sported a lineup filled with future Hall of Famers and legends including Ernie Banks, Satchel Paige, Buck O’Neil, Hilton Smith and Elston Howard.

He broke into integrated baseball in the Minor Leagues with the Denver Bears, the AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, in 1951. He was the first African-American on the American Association team in Denver, Colorado.

He is most often remembered as the breaker of the color barrier with the Pittsburgh Pirates, after being signed by Branch Rickey, the Pirates’ General Manager who had previously brought Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey handpicked Curt Roberts for this monumental and somewhat daunting task because of his baseball skills, demeanor and attitude. Curt didn't disappoint Branch Rickey.

Curt Roberts became the first African-American to take the field for the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball Club on Tuesday, April 13, 1954 in front of a sell-out crowd of over 32,000 fans at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

Starting at second base and batting second in the lineup for the Pirates, Curt made a big splash in his first at-bat in the first inning of the game, when he hit a triple down the right field line off of future Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies, who was considered the best pitcher in baseball at that time. The Pirates won 4-2 in their first Opening Day game in Forbes Field in 61 years.

The5' 8", 165-pound infielder went on to hit safely in five of his first six games to nail down the second base position, which he held until injuries sidelined him and future Hall-of-Famer Bill Mazeroski arrived in Pittsburgh in July, 1956. Roberto Clemente, the next Black Pirate debuted in 1955, and remained with the Pittsburgh club throughout his Hall-of-Fame career. Clemente and Curt remained close friends until Roberts’ death.

Curt Roberts played professional baseball from 1947-1963, finishing out his career with the Hollywood Stars, Williamsport Grays, Columbus Jets, Denver Bears, Richmond Royals, Montreal Royals, Spokane Indians, Omaha Dodgers, and Lynchburg White Sox.

Some of Curt Roberts’ baseball highlights include hitting four homeruns in a row on August 27, 1956 and being the starting second baseman for the 1960 Spokane Indians, one of the greatest minor league teams of all time. The Kansas City Monarchs won the Negro American League pennants in 1948 and 1950, with Curt starting at second base.

Following his retirement from baseball he worked for the University of California Police Department at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. On November 15, 1969, while changing a flat tire alongside the MacArthur Freeway in Oakland, California, he was struck and killed by a drunk driver. He was 40 years old.

Curt Roberts was born August 16, 1929 in Pineland to Arthur and Leatrice Roberts. His father was an employee of Southern Pine Lumber Company (now Temple-Inland) and the family lived in Pineland until Curt was about 14 years old. He sharpened his first baseball skills on the ballfield located at the present site of Pineland’s First United

Methodist Church and on sandlots at the Bryant School in Pineland. Childhood friends and teammates included Clarence Weatherspoon and Charles Weatherspoon, both of whom also went on to play professional

baseball.

A large number of his family members and baseball teammates, coaches and managers are being invited to be in attendance at Pineland On Parade to take part in the dedication ceremonies for Curt Roberts Field. Signs will be erected to mark the field and plans include erecting a permanent memorial plaque, when funds become available, to perpetuate the memory of Curt Roberts, one of Pineland's greatest athletes.

It is expected that a large contingent of legendary baseball players, including several hall-of-famers that are counted among the greatest in

the history of the game, will be on hand for this dedication ceremony and other dedication ceremonies which will be announced in the near future. It is hoped that Ernie Banks ("Mr. Cub"), Bobby Bragan ("Mr. Baseball") and many others will be in attendance and involved in the ceremony.

Pineland Day 2007 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first Pineland On Parade, which was held in 1957. Over the past fifty years, Pineland On Parade fundraising has provided for the Katherine Sage Temple Park, Arthur Temple Sr. Memorial Library, Sabine Area Career Center, Pineland Early Learning Center, Pineland Dixie League Youth Baseball, the West Sabine High School Band, Libraries, Athletic Department, FFA, Gifted-Talented Program and Student Council, and the Pineland, Bronson and Rosevine Volunteer Fire Departments.

The Pineland Service Club also distributes Pineland Day revenues to countless other community non-profit organizations and community

services. In the past ten years alone, $1,368,603.90 has been distributed for the betterment of the community.

Pineland On Parade 2007 will also feature a Parade at 10:00 a.m., drawings for our Grand Prizes (2007 Ford Mustang, a 65-inch big screen

television and a 12-gauge shotgun), crowning of Miss Pineland 2007, recognition of all former Miss Pineland winners and candidates, an Open

Car Show, a Carnival, lots of Arts & Crafts booths, Live Musical Entertainment, Food and Drink vendors and much, much more.

West Sabine's homecoming football game on Friday night against Joaquin, which will be followed by a fireworks show, will officially kick off the 50th Anniversary Pineland On Parade festivities for the weekend.

For more information call: Ronald Barlow at 409-381-1900.