Alfred Valentine (Val) Robinson played seven games for the Washington Olympics in 1872.  That team didn’t make it to Memorial Day and folded after just nine games; Robinson’s career returned to the local amateur leagues for whatever was left of his baseball life.  His real life ended in 1898 just a few weeks shy of his 50th birthday.

Arriving August 31, 1848 in Washington DC, Val was the last of nine children born to John Gavin and Eliza (Charles) Robinson. John, a captain in the US Army and a veteran of the War of 1812, was a carpenter and later a lumber inspector for the District. In fact, John Robinson served at the Battle of Bladensburg, a military disaster for the United States in that by losing that battle the British Army was able to capture and burn the US Capital. Eliza raised a very busy family, passing away in 1862 when Alfred was but 14.

When the Great War for Slavery ended, a vast number of amateur and professional baseball clubs gained prominence in the capital city. Robinson, still a teen, joined the Union club in 1866, moved to the National club in 1867, then became a member of the Olympics, his baseball home for most of the next five seasons. Robinson played all three outfield positions, but suring his brief professional days he primarily played left field. The Olympics had joined the National Association in 1871 and rejoined for the 1872 season. However, it pulled out of that association in late May after just nine games. Robinson’s good fortune as a ball player was to have been able to play with and against some of the nation’s strongest teams. His Olympics regularly played the great travelling teams of that era, such as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the Excelsiors of Chicago, and the like. The strong rivalry between the Olympics and Nationals in Washington meant well-attended games when those teams faced each other.

Like so many of the baseball players in Washington (see Henry Berthrong and Seymour Studley), Robinson was a government clerk. He spent his professional life working for the US Treasury with the second auditing department.

When he passed away on August 2, 1898 at his home in Washington DC, his obituary noted that he lived with family but had no wife or children of his own. His earthly remains are buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC near his parents.

Notes:

1850,1860, 1870 US Census
Washington DC City Directories (1870 to 1898)
US Civil and Military Service Directories

Baseball-Reference
FindaGrave.com

“City News,” Washington Daily National Intelligencer, October 19, 1866: 3.
“Local News,” Washington Evening-Star, August 3, 1867: 1.
“Enterprise vs. Olympic,” Washington National Republic, July 1, 1868: 3.
“Base Ball,” Washington Chronicle, July 31, 1869: 4.
“Base Ball,” Washington Chronicle, June 7, 1870: 4.
“Death of an Old Citizen,” Washington D.C. Evening Star, January 31, 1876: 4.
“Died,” Washington D.C. Evening Star, August 3, 1876: 7.