Larkin Royal Alston (c. 1888 – date of death unknown) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He served as the head football coach Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

—in 1910. A native of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, he was born to Lafayette Volney and Mary (née Cotton) Alston. He attended Lake Charles High School, where he played on the football team for three years. He attended college at the

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

where he studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

.''The Cherry Tree''
p. 332, Published by the Students at George Washington University, 1908.''The Cherry Tree'', p. 75. He played as a tackle on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and served as team captain in 1909. In 1910, the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

hired Alston as its head coach. After a 4–0–1 start to the season, Alston held half of the Aggies' starting

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

s out of the game against the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

, with the intention of resting them for the following week's game against St. John's. The plan backfired, however, and Maryland lost both games, 8–0 and 6–0, respectively. The Aggies finished the season with a loss to

Western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland Panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garret ...

and a 4–3–1 record. Alston did not return to Maryland for a second season as head coach.Morris Allison Bealle, ''King of American Football: The Story of Football at Maryland Agricultural College, Maryland State College and the University of Maryland: 1890–1952'', pp. 64–66, Columbia Publishing Co., Washington, D.C., 1952.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Royal 1880s births Year of death unknown American football tackles George Washington Colonials football players Maryland Terrapins football coaches Sportspeople from Lake Charles, Louisiana