Bobby Tolan

Robert Tolan (born November 19, 1945) is an American former professional baseball center fielder / right fielder, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (–), Cincinnati Reds (–), San Diego Padres (–, ), Philadelphia Phillies (–), and Pittsburgh Pirates ; he also played one season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), for the Nankai Hawks . Tolan batted and threw left-handed.

Career Tolan served during the Vietnam War in the 478th Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army based at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. His unit included several of his teammates including Johnny Bench, Pete Rose and Darrel Chaney. He was a coach for the Seattle Mariners in 1987. Tolan also was player-manager of the St. Petersburg Pelicans, a team in the Senior Professional Baseball Association, in the two years of the league's operation, –.

In his major league career, Tolan batted .265 with 86 home runs and 497 runs batted in, in 1,282 games played.

Personal life Tolan and his wife have a son, Robbie Tolan, who played professional baseball in the Washington Nationals organization. On December 31, 2008, Robbie was shot by a Bellaire, Texas policeman allegedly investigating reports of a stolen car after a confrontation in the Tolan driveway. The younger Tolan was unarmed and driving his own vehicle. The bullet lodged in Tolan's liver; the injury may have ended his professional baseball career. An investigation into the shooting was ongoing .

Tolan's cousin, Eddie Tolan, was a sprinter who won two gold medals in the 1932 Summer Olympics.