Jimmy Robertson (American football)

For other people named Jimmy Robertson, see James Robertson.

James A. "Jimmy" Robertson (March 8, 1901 – 1974) was an American football player and coach.

Playing history

Carnegie Tech

After playing high school football in Allegheny, Pennsylvania,^[1] Robertson was expected to go to West Point.^[2] Instead, he went on to college and played college football at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (now called Carnegie Mellon University).^[3] Under coach Walter Steffen,^[4] the squad played teams such as Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Michigan State, and USC.^[5] Robertson was team captain and proved instrumental to several key victories in school history.^[6] He is considered one of the best players in the history of the school.^[7]

Akron Pros

After college, Robertson played for the Akron Pros of the National Football League (NFL) in 1924 and 1925.^[8] under head coaches Wayne Brenkert^[9] and Scotty Bierce^[10] He played for 16 games for Akron, recording statistics on both offense and defense.^[11]

Coaching career

Robertson was the 16th head football coach at Geneva College located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and he held that position for the 1933 season-the original plan was for him to coach at Geneva for only one year.^[12] His coaching record at Geneva was 6–3. Robertson's first game as head coach was a 47 to 0 victory over the California Teacher's College in Pennsylvania.^[13] After one season, Robertson was expected to be retained as head coach as late as January 1934^[14]

References