Champaign’s ‘Glove Whisperer’ comes to the rescue | People

OMAHA, Neb. — Champaign’s Delroy Robinson has fixed a lot of baseball gloves over the years — but never on a stage so big.

During Tuesday’s College World Series game between Louisville and Oregon State, ESPN cameras focused on Robinson re-lacing the glove of Cardinals first baseman Tague Davis.

The NCAA took to social media to show Robinson at work, posting on X: “Any place. Father of bullpen assistant coach Cam Robinson, re-lacing Davis’s glove mid game.”

While walking into the stadium, Robinson received a call from his son — a former Louisville player now on staff — requesting emergency glove help. Delroy returned to his car, where he keeps a fix-it kit. From his front row seat alongside wife Micki, Delroy needed an inning to solve the problem.

Louisville went on to win 7-6 and to stay in contention for an NCAA title.

“It was quite a unique situation,” he said. 

Nicknamed “Glove Whisperer,” Robinson has been in the re-lacing business for decades — helping players from Little League to Louisville. To this day, gloves are dropped off in the mailbox of his house on Healey Street for him to mend – free of charge.

“It’s a hobby of mine,” he said, somewhat embarrassed by the attention he’s received since Tuesday. 

The Cardinals, led by Champaign Central product Jake Munroe, must beat Coastal Carolina today and Thursday to advance to this weekend’s championship series.

“This is Cam and Jake’s stage, Louisville’s stage,” he said. “I had no intention of being in the spotlight. This is their moment. I was just giving back.”