Baseball booster filled Lang's shoes

The harmonious team of "Robbie'' Robison and Al Lang flourished for decades, then soured. After Lang died, Robison stepped up to the plate.

By SCOTT TAYLOR HARTZELL

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Inside the Al Lang Stadium clubhouse in the spring of 1978, New York Mets executive M. Donald Grant pointed at longtime St. Petersburg promoter "Robbie" Robison: "The man on your right is the reason any of us are here today."

Robison lured the Mets here in 1962. He later battled Arizona to keep St. Petersburg the mecca of spring training. To many, he was "Mr. Baseball" -- a title he shunned.

"When Al Lang died, he assumed the role," the St. Petersburg Times said of Robison, who also was an entrepreneur and civic cornerstone.

Named for a photo processing chemical (his father was an innovator in the field), Elon C. Robison was born in Detroit in 1898.

After serving with the Marines during World War I, Robison joined his father's photo processing business. Robison arrived here in 1922 and opened a branch on Third Street N. He was 24 years old.

"He was Robbie to his employees and to everybody who met him on the street," the Independent recorded.

Robison subsequently teamed with Clete and Howard Mohr to create Robison-Mohr Photo Finishing. Later, as Ro-Mo Color Lab Inc., the business became one of the largest independent companies in western Florida.

Robison served two years on the City Council as vice mayor. The Evening Independent said Robison served on the city planning board and led or belonged to every Chamber of Commerce committee.

He singlehandedly organized and presided over the Community Blood Bank. "He was a very civic-minded person," said Bill Davenport, 73, former Chamber of Commerce baseball committee member.

A meeting with Al Lang would ignite decades together as baseball boosters. "I like the way you do things," Lang told Robison.

"They worked together as Currier did with Ives, Sears did with Roebuck, Huntley with Brinkley and Ruth with Gehrig," the Independent reported.

During the 1940s, Robison fought to replace St. Petersburg Athletic Park. His council resolution named the new structure Al Lang Stadium when it opened in 1947.

In 1959, however, the baseball marriage soured. "He has continuously ignored me," Lang said of Robison. "He seemed to think I was his assistant."

Lang demanded and received Robison's resignation from the local Chamber of Commerce baseball committee. "I do not feel," Robison said, "the overall baseball program will be hurt."

Robison, also chairman of the state Chamber of Commerce baseball committee, continued to trumpet the national pastime and St. Petersburg. After Lang's death in 1960, Robison returned to the local Chamber of Commerce baseball committee as chairman.

"He was the liaison between each team and the city," said Bill Mills, 89, who served on the committee.

We are "the baseball training center of the world," Robison said.

Robison's grandson, Tom, 39, recalled being part of that world: "We'd walk right in and take our seats behind home plate."

Mary Robison Wolfe, 43, remembered the stadium popcorn and organ music: "Going to the game with Grandpa was wonderful."

In the 1960s, Robison stifled Arizona when it tried to steal spring training. "Arizona would have to climb over his back," sports writer Bob Chick wrote. "It couldn't. It didn't."

When the New York Yankees left for Fort Lauderdale after the 1961 season, Robison immediately replaced them with the New York Mets.

When others called him "Mr. Baseball," Robison balked. That title, he believed, was Lang's.

Throughout the 1970s, Robison lobbied for a baseball museum at the Al Lang Clubhouse at 201 Bayshore Drive SE. "This could be the beacon to bring people to the city," Robison said.

The city said no to the museum in 1977, though Robison had raised $37,000. "Had I been 10 years younger, I might have attempted to fight the decision," he said.

On March 13, 1978, Robison died of a heart attack at age 79 at his Brightwaters Boulevard home. The council renamed the Al Lang Clubhouse the E.C. "Robbie" Robison Building three days later.

When the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were born, Wolfe thought of him: "Grandfather's dream had arrived, and he wasn't here to enjoy it."

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