[Brooklyn vs. St. Louis 8/10/1889] “Corkhill was robbed of two apparently safe drives by Duffee and McCarthy… St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 11, 1889 [Richard Hershberger]
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1ST USE. 1905. “[Nixey] Callahan robbed [Elmer] Flick of a clean triple in the fifth by a grand catch…spearing the ball close to his shoetops while at top speed” (Chicago Tribune, May 4; Peter Morris).
