LH grad Robinson to be enshrined in Pa. Sports HOF
The accolades keep coming for former Laurel Highlands basketball star Wil Robinson, who is slated to be inducted into his fifth Hall of Fame on Oct. 28 when he will be enshrined in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
“I tell people that and they can’t believe it,” Robinson stated. “They don’t believe that I am five Halls of Fame, this will be my fifth one.”
Robinson ranks as one the finest high school basketball players produced by the state of Pennsylvania. Robinson was a high school All-American and All State selection. He led Laurel Highlands to the 1968 Pennsylvania state championship. He tallied 1,841 points in high school. He played in the 1968 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic, and scored 20 points as the Pennsylvania stars fell to the United States All-Stars, 103-90.
“It was a special career,” Robinson reflected. “It could have been better in the pros. I just didn’t get the opportunity that I wanted. Things didn’t go my way in the pros.”
Looking back, the Laurel Highlands state championship still stands out for Robinson.
“That’s a highlight that you can’t forget,” Robinson remembered. “It is hard to beat as far as being the No. 1 thing in your career unless you take a NBA championship or NCAA championship. The run to the state championship was something I’ll never forget.”
What made it so special was the way the community was caught up in the championship run and the great rivalry with Uniontown High School. A whole town was hoop crazy.
“You don’t see that too much anymore,” Robinson explained. “The whole town was caught up in it and for us to take the championship — you look back and you say, ‘Did we really do that?’ We went all the way and we won everything, and that’s something that’s hard to do.”
Robinson agrees with his former head coach, the late Harold “Horse” Taylor, that the 1966-67 Laurel Highlands team in the first year of the North Union-South Union merger may have been a better team than the 1967-68 team that won the WPIAL and PIAA championships.
“We should have taken the state championship two years in a row,” Robinson said. “We should have went back-to-back. But they fouled us out in the 82-75 triple overtime loss to Mount Lebanon in the WPIAL semifinals. I fouled out along with Jeff Collier and Ray Yauger. Jon Kruper and Jim Hobgood held on to force the first overtime, and Hobgood hit a unbelievable shot from half court to send the game into its second overtime. If we had the three point line we would have won the game on that shot. That was a great team.”
The Mustangs bounced back to win it all in 1968.
“We had some fun in high school,” Robinson said. “It was all about taking care of business, and then having some fun. I’ll never forget what we went through in high school. We had a bunch of guys that just jelled together and we never had any problems, we all got along always.
Looking back on his career and his life, Coach Taylor holds a special place for Robinson.
“He was like a father,” Robinson explained. “He took me in when I first moved to Uniontown from Pittsburgh. He introduced me to all the guys. He took me in and I was welcome at his house. He was just like a father, he was so down to earth. But if I got lazy on him he would let me know. He was concerned about my academics and helped prepare me for college. He cared in every way, he really did.”
When he ponders his career at West Virginia, Robinson sees unfulfilled promise. The 1971-72 squad got off to a 6-0 start before a terrible traffic accident involving players Larry Harris and Sam Oglesby ended their hopes for a great season.
We could have down some damage down there if those guys hadn’t been in that car accident,” Robinson lamented. “We also lost a player to academics. We lost three starters.”
In 1972, Robinson had the highest season scoring average in WVU history (29.4), breaking a record set by Jerry West. Robinson scored 1,850 points at WVU, trailing West (2,309), Rod Hundley (2,180) and Da’Sean Butler (2,095). He holds the WVU Coliseum record for points in a game by a Mountaineer player (45 vs. Penn State in 1971). He was named All-America by Basketball Weekly, United Savings and Helms Foundation.
“I was the last first team All-American that ever played at WVU,” Robinson offered. “As far as the All-Time scoring list, West, Hundley and I played three years, and Butler played four seasons.
“I know a lot of good people in West Virginia and they never forgot me down there. I still have a lot of friends down there.”
Following his college career, Robinson was selected in the fourth round of the NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, and the fourth round of the ABA Draft by the Pittsburgh Condors. He played one year in the ABA (1974) with Memphis and Utah.
“It was a disappointment because politics played a role in my pro career,” Robinson lamented. “That caused me to end my career short. When I was with Houston, I had actually made that team, but due to political reasons they wanted to keep an older player — they kept him as a player/coach for pension reasons and that took my spot. The season was getting ready to start the next day and all the rosters were filled, and I couldn’t get picked up.
“I had to leave basketball, and once I did that, it was an uphill battle just to get back to the ABA. Once I got back into the ABA and things were going good, the leagues merged and I was starting in Memphis. That summer they merged and I had to make a decision. Was I going to keep on going? I just didn’t have it in me and I decided to go back to school. I made a decision on what I wanted to do in life — am I going to be a basketball-traveling bum or am I going to try and get my education and do something with it.”
Robinson returned to WVU to complete his bachelor’s degree in 1975, and finished his master’s degree in safety in 1984.
Robinson, 67, and his wife, Pam, were married in 1987 and they have one son, Lance. Robinson is working for a company called The Shoe Show, and is the district manager for 19 stores in western New York.
Robinson been inducted into the WVU, Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame and the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame. On Oct. 28 at the Genetti Hotel & Conference Center in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Robinson will be part of the 2017 class of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
“The Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame was really special because it is home,” Robinson said. “This one coming up is special and different from Fayette County because this is the big one. This is the state of Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. I am grateful and I am humbled and honored to be in this class. This is putting the bow on everything, this is my biggest and proudest honor.”
George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” column appears in the Monday editions of the Herald-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.