Taking Robin Roberts fishing.

As a youngster growing up in Phila. around 1950, and an aspiring pitcher, it was only natural that Robin Roberts should become my boyhood idol. The Phillies were my team, and he was their star pitcher. I followed his career closely over the years, and eventually our paths converged when he became the baseball coach at the Univ. of South Florida in 1977. I had been on the faculty since 1966 as a Professor in the Psychology Dept. We met several years later when we both attended a function of the USF Women's Club with our respective wives. When I learned that Robin Roberts was there I couldn't pass up the opportunity, so I went to where he was seated and introduced myself. After chatting briefly about baseball, he asked about my activities. When I told Robin that I moonlighted as a commercial grouper fisherman, he said that he would like to go along on a trip "just to observe." Several weeks later we made a day trip on my 25 ft Delta. After several unproductive stops I decked a couple of nice gag grouper. At this point point Robin said "hey Bob can I try one of your spare rods." After a little coaching( most inexperienced anglers hold the rod under their armpit, but you need to stick it in your gut to get enough leverage to keep grouper out of the rocks) he was able to land several decent fish. Robin went on several more trips with me and brought along some of his family. On one trip he hooked a nice fish which was giving him a particularly hard time. I snidely asked him if it felt like he had Willie McCovey on the line? Robin said "I hope not, I had enough of that fellow." Those were truly memorable fishing trips for me. Few people get to meet their idols, let alone take them fishing. And Robin Roberts was congenial and unpretentious just as advertised.