A Fourth of July Gift from the Bird Tapes

Celebrate the day with a dose of the baseball star Norman Rockwell painted. A chunk of my vintage interview with Mr. Oriole, Brooks Robinson, is unlocked and available to all subscribers.

When I decided to begin publishing my vintage interviews with Baltimore Orioles legends here at the Bird Tapes, there was never any doubt where I’d start — with Mr. Oriole himself, Brooks Robinson.

I sat down with him twice a quarter-century ago when I was putting together From 33rd Street to Camden Yards, my oral history of the team, published in 2001. From those conversations, I wound up with two hours on tape — two hours of Brooks talking about his “controversial” signing with Baltimore, his development, his approach to the game, his reflections on the team’s highs and lows in his era, his relationship with the city — pretty much anything you’d want to hear Brooks discuss.

As with all of the vintage interviews posted at the Bird Tapes, I made it available only to paid subscribers to help offset the costs associated with getting this large trove of baseball history transferred from a shoebox full of outdated plastic miscrocassettes (my recording tool of yesteryear) to an updated digital format that’s easily consumable in 2024.

Since my interview with Brooks was posted in April, the Bird Tapes community has swelled considerably as more Orioles fans discover what’s happening here on Substack. To celebrate that and show my appreciation, I’m bringing a chunk of my interview with Brooks out from behind the paywall.

The fourth of July seems like the right time to do it. The finest of baseball stars, Brooks was quintessentially American, literally a subject Norman Rockwell depicted.

In this post, more than an hour of my vintage interview with him is unlocked and available to all. (The recording is split into five shorter parts below.)

If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you — please know that your support is greatly appreciated. If you’re a free subscriber, this hour with Brooks is just a small slice of what’s available with a paid subscription to the Bird Tapes.

For those interested, you can upgrade by clicking on this link.

Either way, the sun is shining, the Orioles are in first place, and here’s hoping a dose of Brooks makes your Fourth celebration that much better.

Here is Part 1:

Here is Part 2:

Here is Part 3:

Here is Part 4:

Here is Part 5: