Don William Robinson (March 1, 1922 – January 24, 2009) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. He played at the halfback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

positions for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1941 to 1942 and, after serving as a heavy bomber pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, from 1945 to 1946. He also played and served as captain of the Michigan Wolverines baseball team. From 1948 to 1957, he was an assistant football coach at Michigan.

Football player and military service

Robinson was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in 1922. He played football for the Michigan Wolverines football teams as a halfback in 1941, 1942, and 1946. He graduated from the

in 1947. On October 11, 1941, Robinson scored a touchdown in a 40-0 victory over the

Pitt Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

on his first carry as a college football player. The ''

Michiganensian The ''Michiganensian'', also known as the ''Ensian'', is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan. Its first issue was published in April 1896, as a consolidation of three campus publications, The Res Gestae, the Palladium, and the Cast ...

'' reported: "In this game the spectators got their initial glimpse of triple-threat Don Robinson who in his first running attempt in collegiate competition shook off two would-be tacklers and scored the fifth Michigan marker of the afternoon." In a 1942 victory over Notre Dame, Robinson was the holder on a fake field goal attempt. After the snap, "Robinson arose from his crouch and swirled around his left attend for a touchdown." On February 22, 1943, Robinson enlisted in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

for the duration of

. He was a B-25 Liberator heavy bomber pilot during the war, receiving two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Robinson missed the 1943 and 1944 football seasons while serving in the military, but he returned to Michigan in time for the 1945 and 1946 football seasons. Robinson was used increasingly as a passer in 1945. In a 26-0 victory over Minnesota, Robinson threw passes of 44 and 12 yards for Michigan's final touchdown. In a 1946 victory over Michigan State, Robinson recovered the ball after a Michigan extra point attempt was blocked and passed the ball to

Len Ford Leonard Guy Ford Jr. (February 18, 1926 – March 14, 1972) was an American football player who played at the offensive and defensive end positions from 1948 to 1958. He played college football for the University of Michigan and professional f ...

for the conversion. Robinson also played shortstop for Michigan's baseball team in 1943 and 1946 and served as the team's captain. He was also a member of the

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...

fraternity and the Sphinx Junior Honor Society at Michigan.

Football coach

In March 1948, Robinson was named the junior varsity football coach at Michigan. In March 1953, Robinson was promoted to the varsity coaching staff and was assigned responsibility as the team's backfield coach. Amid speculation that head coach

Bennie Oosterbaan Benjamin Oosterbaan ( ; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was a three-time first team College Football All-America Team, All-American American football, football End (gridiron football), end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-tim ...

might be fired after the 1956 season, Robinson resigned as Michigan's backfield coach in February 1957. Robinson reportedly left his position on the coaching staff to pursue a position in business.

Later years

Robinson remained active in the University of Michigan Alumni Association and served as president of the Michigan Alumni Clubs of Ann Arbor and Detroit. He was a leader in raising approximately $15 million in funds for Schembechler Hall and the University of Michigan Golf Course. He also served on the board of National Bank and Trust Company and as president of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce and of the Barton Hills Country Club. In the 1980s, Robinson began spending his winters in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

. He became a full-time resident of Vero Beach in 2006 and died there in January 2009 at age 86. Robinson and his wife Marjorie had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Don 1922 births 2009 deaths American football halfbacks Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan Wolverines football coaches Players of American football from Detroit United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II Michigan Wolverines baseball players People from Vero Beach, Florida Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)