[6] In 1940, Van Robays appeared in a career-high 145 major league games, batting .273 with 11 home runs and 116 RBIs.

[3][9] Van Robays missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the United States Army with the 1st Infantry Division in Europe.

[3] In 1946, Van Robays played 59 games for the Pirates, his final major league appearances, batting .212 with one home run and 12 RBIs.

In a 1942 exhibition game, Sewell threw a high, arching lob to the plate, and when the pitch finally arrived, Dick Wakefield swung and missed.

[10] Van Robays died of pneumonia in March 1965,[11][9] aged 50, and was buried in Detroit's Mount Olivet Cemetery.