Fort Worth ISD Graduates Compete in London Olympic Games 64 Years Apart
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Robinson won multiple NCAA national championships while earning his bachelor’s degree at Texas Christian University. He received his master’s from California State University, Los Angeles. Robinson lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and serves as an assistant coach at UNLV.
Another Fort Worth ISD graduate will be in London for the games – a second time. Robert “Jack” Robinson (Paschal, 1945) was a member of the U.S. men’s basketball team that won a gold medal in London in the 1948 Olympics. Now, the 85-year-old retired minister will return as a spectator, accompanied by his wife and their two daughters. They have tickets for the opening ceremony, an extravaganza that will underscore just how different the games were 64 years ago.
They were known as the “Austerity Games.” Britain, still suffering the effects of World War II, was short on food, clothing and even buildings for housing the athletes. But the games went on, and Robinson and his team went on to win gold. About ten years ago, the British Broadcasting Corporation interviewed Robinson and other Olympians about their experiences in London. Listen to Robinson’s account of visiting Buckingham Palace, where the proud Texan made quite an impression cracking up King George!
Robinson plans to revisit the RAF barracks where he and other athletes bunked. He will also be on the program at the London Rotary Club, which was instrumental in getting Robinson’s gold medal replaced several years ago after it was stolen from his office.
Robinson is one of the newest faces on the Fort Worth ISD Wall of Fame. Visit the display at the Fort Worth ISD Administration Building at 100 N. University Drive, Fort Worth.
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