Curt Roberts

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Curtis Benjamin Roberts (August 16, 1929 - November 14, 1969) was a Major League Baseball second baseman. He was signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before the 1951 season, and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1954 to 1956. A native of Pineland, Texas, he stood 5'8" and weighed 165 lbs.

Roberts was obtained by Pittsburgh from Denver of the Western League as part of a minor league working agreement before the 1952 season. When he made his major league debut (April 13, 1954 at Forbes Field), he became the first black player in Pirates history. In his first major league at bat, he tripled against starter Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He played in 134 games during his rookie season, batting .232 with 1 home run and 36 runs batted in. After that, he got into only 37 more games over the course of the next two seasons. He later became a member of the Athletics and Yankees organizations, but never again reached the big league level.

Career totals for 171 games include a .223 batting average (128-for-575), 1 HR, 40 RBI, 54 runs scored, and an on base percentage of .299. In his 164 appearances at second base, he handled 856 out of 883 total chances successfully for a fielding percentage of .969, a little lower than the league average during his era.

Roberts died at the age of 40 in Oakland, California.