Throughout his career, and later as an umpiring coach and administrator, Robinson was a first-hand witness to some of Australian rules football's most memorable on-field incidents in one of the most tumultuous periods of the sport's history, and his achievements have been recognised with induction in both the Australian Football Hall of Fame and the AFL Umpires Association Hall of Fame.
[1] In August 1970, Robinson made it onto the back pages of The Age when it was reported that he had fallen ill while umpiring the reserves match between St Kilda and Melbourne at VFL Park.
Robinson was also the umpire who awarded the mark in the dying seconds of the game to Ross Dunne, enabling him to level the scores.
It was a busy one, too, with Robinson officiating in every round of the home-and-away season and also serving as president of the VFL Umpires Association.
In the last quarter, Melbourne had several clear-cut chances to seal the game but was unable to capitalise, while Hawthorn had kicked three goals to bring the margin back to four points.
The Demons' young ruckman Jim Stynes then conceded a 15-metre penalty in the dying seconds of the game by running through the mark, allowing Hawks forward Gary Buckenara to kick the winning goal after the siren and send Hawthorn through to the grand final the following week.
Clayton was subsequently demoted to umpiring in the Ovens and Murray Football League before returning to VFL duty later in the season, and Grinter eventually was suspended for six weeks.
When the Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996 to celebrate the centenary of the VFL/AFL, Robinson was listed, along with ten other umpires, among its inaugural inductees.