Mel Roberts

Melvin Henry Roberts was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. Primarily an outfielder during his playing days, all spent in the minor leagues, Roberts spent four seasons in Major League Baseball as the first-base coach of the Philadelphia Phillies, including service on the Phillies' 1993 National League pennant-winning team. Roberts was born in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, graduated from Abington Senior High School, and attended both Temple University and Spartanburg Technical College. A right-handed batter and thrower who stood 6 feet tall and weighed 180 pounds, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961 and played in their farm system for four seasons. After spending 1965 out of pro baseball, Roberts signed with the Phillies' system, playing for the 1966 Spartanburg Phillies as a teammate of Larry Bowa and Denny Doyle on a club that won a Western Carolinas League record 29 consecutive games and the league championship. With lengthy service as a player, coach and manager, Roberts became a longtime resident of Spartanburg, South Carolina.