Cubs Minor League Diaries (6/28/1966): Robert Eyer

The Chicago Cubs Minor League Encyclopedia is a work in-progress that will document biographies on each player who has worn a Cubs minor league uniform. The inception of minor league teams in the Cubs organization dates back to 1922 with the Wichita Falls Spudders.

Below you will read letters to home written by Cubs minor league player Robert Eyer. Eyer is an interesting baseball prospect because at the same time he was playing Little League he was also appearing on televisions in the early 1960's.

"Bobby" Eyer had credits in a few television shows and movies. Most notably was an appearance playing a character named Kevin in an episode of Leave it to Beaver in 1962. Other credits include: U.S. Marshall (1959), The Man from Blackhawk (1959), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960), and Back Street (1961).

Eyer was a good baseball player and signed with the Chicago Cubs after being selected in the 13th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball amateur draft. His first assignment in the organization was with the Treasure Valley Cubs in 1966. That franchise was based in Caldwell, Idaho, and that's the season in which the below letters were sent back to his family in California.

June 28, 1966

Dear Mother, Dad, and Ricky,

I'm getting ready for bed and thought I would write. Everything up here is pretty good, kind of dead but nice. It is a pretty nice hotel. The plane flights were good and went real fast. El Tappe and George Freese were in Boise to pick me up and were pretty nice.

My curfew is 12:00 every night and the bus for practice leaves every morning at 9:30. We open the season Saturday in Ogden, Utah (8 hours away) not so good but who cares.

I met some pretty good guys already and by the way on the first flight to Salt Lake I sat next to a sailor going to Kanab, Utah. And he knows the Swapp's and was in the background scenes of "Fort Dabb." Also the other man sitting next to me knew Rich (brother Richard Eyer) from motion pictures. He overheard my name and said "is your brother the movie actor."

Well I better go now. If you write or send anything send it to this hotel. Don't forget to send any letters you get to me. Well by for now.

Bob

Robert also sent a postcard once the team reached Ogden, Utah.

On the back he wrote the following.

Dear Mother,

This is something that you would probably enjoy so I thought I would send it. As you can see in the right corner of the picture that is the hotel we are staying at here in Ogden. Also there is more than you can see.

A little bit to the left and further back is the church I went to today. Oh yea, at the bottom of the picture you can see some trees. That is the beginning of the park where I have caught some rays the past two days. It is a pretty big park and takes up all of that square block.

I don't think that there is much more that you can see in the picture. The ball park is in the other direction of the street you see about 1 mile. Bye for now.

Bob