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Edwin Roberts was
a three-sport athlete for the Bellevue Redmen, earning a
total of eight letters in the sports of football, basketball
and track and field. Following high school graduation in
1954, Edwin went on to very successful college and Armed
Forces careers.
While at Bellevue High School, Edwin earned three letters in
football, gaining Second Team All Northern Ohio League
honors as a defensive end his junior year of 1952. That same
season he was also named Second Team Toledo Blade All Star
Junior Team. As a senior in 1953, Edwin went one better in
being named to the First Team in both the Northern Ohio
League and the Toledo Blade All Star Senior Team. Even
though Edwin was primarily used as a defensive tackle and
offensive end, he did have the opportunity to play offensive
back in a game against Bucyrus, scoring two touchdowns in a
21-19 victory.
In basketball, Edwin played on the junior varsity team as a
sophomore and was a member of the varsity team as a junior.
He earned a varsity letter during the 1953-54 season, coming
off the bench for the team that finished 16-2 overall and
won the Northern Ohio League title.
In the sport of track and field, Edwin earned four letters,
helping Bellevue to win its first two Northern Ohio League
championships in 1953 and 1954. He competed in the 440-yard
run, low hurdles, high jump, 880-yard relay team, and the
mile relay team. He ran on the mile relay team that broke
the school record in 1954 at the Upper Sandusky Relays. The
mile relay team qualified for the state meet in both 1953
and 1954, finishing fifth overall in ’54 after also winning
the Mansfield Relay title in the same event.
Following high school, Edwin took his talents to Michigan
State University on a football scholarship for Head Coach
Duffy Daugherty and Ends Coach Bob DeVaney. He earned his
numerals as a freshman in 1954 (freshmen at the time could
not earn a varsity letter). He competed his sophomore year
with the team that won the Big Ten title and defeated UCLA
in the Rose Bowl by a 17-14 score. That victory assured the
Spartans of the National Championship. For years Edwin and
several members of the National Championship team were made
to wait for their championship ring. Finally, at a ceremony
on Dec. 1, 2007, Edwin and his teammates received their
National Championship rings during festivities at an MSU
basketball game.
Edwin was called to duty in 1957, leaving MSU for the U.S.
Marines. While attending Electronics School he found the
time to play football with the Navy Team at the Memphis
Naval Air Station, playing both offensive and defensive end,
linebacker, and punter. In 1959 during Navy Flight School,
Edwin played outside linebacker and offensive end on the 8-2
National Service Team champions.
Edwin and his wife, Janet, reside in Lake Placid, FL. They
are parents of three children and three grandchildren. |