BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

CHARLOTTE — A lefty named Phil Robbins won 37 ballgames and pitched three no-hitters for East Rowan High in the 1960s, but the no-hitter he threw on May 12, 1964, is the one the old-timers still rave about.

You probably remember the American Legion game that Rowan’s Daniel Moore pitched against Kannapolis last summer. No one hit a fair ball off Moore that night until he gave up a single when he was one out away from finishing off a no-hitter.

But Robbins did seal the deal that day in ‘64. Monroe High never did manage a fair ball. Robbins recorded 19 of his 21 outs by strikeout. He walked the first batter of the game, then picked him off. One batter managed to foul out to the first baseman. Someone probably offered that fellow a contract.

The story of the “no fair” game made the UPI and AP wire services and had ESPN been in existence, Robbins may have been featured there, too.

But time marched on. The Granite Quarry ballpark where Robbins pitched his gem became known as Staton Field. Robbins wound up pitching at Gardner-Webb and did well. But the pro scouts who came to eyeball him weren’t all that excited about a 5-foot-11, 160-pounder. He wasn’t drafted, so Robbins finished school, did a tour in the Navy, got married, went to work for an auto dealership and unluckily for East baseball settled in the Charlotte area.

Unluckily for Mustang baseball, because Robbins had a son, Jacob, who was a lot bigger and even more talented than his old man.

The scouts first came to see Jacob when he was primarily a shortstop at Myers Park High. one scout watched Robbins throw and then got up to leave.

“You need to stay and watch him hit,” someone said.

“I’ve seen all I need to see,” the scout replied. “I don’t care if he can hit it over the NCNB Building. I want that arm. He’s a pitcher.”

Robbins got a scholarship offer from N.C. State despite knee surgery, but signed with the Yankees after being drafted in the 11th round in 1994.

The younger Robbins’ career mirrored that of many hard-throwing young starting pitchers over the next five years. Moments of success, followed by times of frustration.

“Jake would throw four good innings, then one bad inning,” said his Dad. “Or eight good innings and then one bad inning.”

Finally, last summer, the Yankees figured out that the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Robbins,who consistently throws his fastball 95 mph, occasionally hits 97 on the radar gun and reminds a lot of people of long-time Braves’ star John Smoltz, might make an ideal reliever.

The results were startling. Working as a setup man at Double A Norwich, Robbins had his best year. He won three games, struck out 53 and compiled a 2.78 ERA in 71 innings. And in today’s world, people who compile 2.78 ERAs are on their way to becoming millionaires.

Robbins’ encore was some more impressive work in the Arizona Instructional League last fall. That got the attention of a large number of pitching-starved big league teams.

The bad news for New York was that Robbins found himself and his proper role at precisely the time he had put in six years in the Yanks’ system. After six years, a team must place a player on its 40-man roster or risk losing him to free agency.

The Yanks didn’t put Robbins on its “40-man” but did tender an offer at a substantial increase in pay. Robbins’ agent said he heard from nearly every organization. The Rockies made the best offer, but their ballparks in Triple A (Colorado Springs) and the majors have a tendency to raise the blood pressure of pitchers.

Eventually, Robbins settled on an offer from the Atlanta Braves that fell somewhere in between that of the Yankees and Rockies. Paul Falk, the man who originally signed Robbins for the Yankees, now works for the Braves. Most likely, he was the one who talked the Braves into spending a little money.

And now, the 24-year-old Robbins, who throws a split-finger and a curve when he’s not flinging fastballs, just might be hurling in Turner Field for the Braves this season.

Robbins will head to Spring Training with the Braves in a dozen days. He has an outside chance to make the big league club, but will most likely be sent to Triple A Richmond to start the season. From there, the call to Atlanta could come at any time.

“Jacob’s right there at the door,” says his proud dad.

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Ed Dupree contributed to this story.