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Roberts, Eugene L. (Eugene Lusk), 1880-1953

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1880 - 1953

Biographical History

Eugene L. Roberts (1880-1953) was an athletics coach at Brigham Young University.

Eugene Lusk Roberts was born May 13, 1880 in Provo, Utah. While spending his childhood and young adulthood in Utah Valley, he married Sytha Brown in 1906. Soon thereafter they served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany.

After his return he attended the University of Utah, studying under William Gilbert Anderson. He spent 1909-1910 serving as an assistant instructor at Yale University only to return to Utah County to serve as the Coach of Athletics at Brigham Young University between 1909 and 1910, and coached the university's basketball team between 1911 and 1928. As coach, he led BYU to place second in the National Amateur Athletic Union tournament in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. During this time, he also served as a member of the National Basketball Rules Committee Advisory Board between 1925 and 1927. In 1949, he was awarded the Helms Athletic Foundation medal for his service as BYU's basketball coach. While coaching basketball, he also coached track--which led to him helping Olympic athletes like Alma Richard and Clinton Larsen winning records in 1912 and 1932.

Roberts passed away in Provo, Utah on July 9, 1953.

Citation:
Ancestry.com, viewed May 29, 2010

FindAGrave.com, viewed January 4, 2017

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

The march of the Mormon Battalion

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197232490232]
Identifier: MSS 627
Scope and Contents

Typewritten draft with handwritten corrections, 73 pages in length. Also included are 9 pages of handwritten research notes. The article was originally published in "A Century of Mormon Activities in California" vol. 1, edited by Leo J. Muir. Roberts relates the background and history of the "Mormon Battalion" in the war with Mexico (1846-1848), including its activities in California, and tells about the monuments and markers that have been built to honor the members of that unit.

Dates: approximately 1950