Alfred J. Robertson

Alfred James "Robbie" Robertson (May 19, 1891 – October 30, 1948) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He spent most of his coaching career at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he was the athletic director and head coach in football, basketball, and baseball from 1920 to 1948. Robertson Memorial Field House, the former home basketball venue at Bradley, was named in his honor.

Playing career
A native of South Haven, Minnesota, Robertson lettered in football, basketball, and track at Carleton College. In 1912, he captained the football team and was named All-State quarterback. He played as a forward on Carleton's basketball team and as a third baseman in baseball. Robertson spent the 1913–14 academic year at the University of Minnesota, where he played on the freshman football and basketball squads. He transferred to the University of Montana in 1914, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and track. At Montana, he again played quarterback before graduating in 1916.

Coaching career
Robertson began his coaching career in 1917 at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, Kentucky. From January to June 1919, he coached basketball, baseball, and track at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. Robertson spent the 1919–20 academic year at Fort Hays Kansas State Normal School—now known as Fort Hays State University—as athletic director and coach of all sports. He led the 1919 Fort Hays football team to a record of 3–6.

Illness and death
Robertson was hospitalized in October 1948 in Peoria, Illinois and had surgery for a "rare liver aliment" at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota later that month. He died on October 30, at the Saint Mary's Hospital in Rochester, at the age of 57.

Legacy
Robertson Memorial Field House was dedicated to Robertson's memory on December 17, 1949. In 2008, Robertson was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. A bronze statue, sculted by Fisher Stolz, of Robertson on Bradley University's West Campus was unveiled on December 2012.