Louis John "Luke" Urban (March 22, 1898 – December 7, 1980) was an American multi-sport athlete and coach. He played four seasons of professional football in the National Football League and two years of Major League Baseball with the Boston Braves. Urban was also a college football coach, a college and high school basketball coach, and a minor league baseball manager.
 Urban pictured in Sub Turri 1921, Boston College yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1898 Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1980 (aged 82) Somerset, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1916–1917 | Boston College |
| 1919–1920 | Boston College |
| 1921–1923 | Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons |
| Basketball | |
| c. 1920 | Boston College |
| Baseball | |
| c. 1920 | Boston College |
| 1922–1923 | Buffalo Bisons |
| 1924–1925 | Columbus Senators |
| 1926–1927 | Toledo Mud Hens |
| 1927–1928 | Boston Braves |
| 1928–1929 | Buffalo Bisons |
| 1931 | Springfield Ponies |
| Ice hockey | |
| c. 1920 | Boston College |
| Position(s) | End (football) Catcher (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1921–1930 | Canisius |
| Basketball | |
| 1918–1921 | Boston College |
| 1921–1924 | Canisius |
| 1925–1931 | Canisius |
| 1940–1960 | Durfee HS (MA) |
| Baseball | |
| 1948–1950 | Fall River Indians |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 46–27–7 (college football) 84–57 (college basketball) 247–91 (high school basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Basketball 4 Eastern Massachusetts Basketball (1947, 1948, 1952, 1956) 2 New England Basketball (1948, 1956) | |
| Awards | |
| Football Consensus All-American (1920) All-APFA (1920) 2× All-NFL (1922–1923) Boston College Eagles Jersey retired | |
| Luke Urban | |
|---|---|
| Catcher | |
| Born: March 22, 1898 Fall River, Massachusetts | |
| Died: December 7, 1980 (aged 82) Somerset, Massachusetts | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 19, 1927, for the Boston Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 21, 1928, for the Boston Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .273 |
| Hits | 35 |
| RBIs | 12 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Playing career
editCollege
editUrban played football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles. He was a captain for the football, basketball and baseball teams. He was a member of the 1920 College Football All-America Team.[1]
Football
editUrban played end for the Buffalo All-Americans from 1921 to 1924. He was named to the Buffalo Evening News All-APFA Team in 1921, George Halas' All-NFL Team in 1922, and the Collyers Eye Magazine and Canton Daily News All-NFL Team in 1923.[2]
Baseball
editUrban signed with the New York Yankees and played for their minor league teams in Buffalo and Columbus. He made the Major Leagues in 1927 with the Boston Braves. He appeared in 35 games for the Braves that season.[3] Urban refused to report to spring training in 1928 as part of a contract holdout. He eventually reported to camp late.[4] On June 22, 1928, he was traded with Jimmy Cooney and Johnny Werts for Bonnie Hollingsworth.[3] He played for Buffalo from 1928 to 1930 and the Springfield Ponies in 1931, and the Hartford Senators from 1931 to 1932.
Basketball
editUrban played basketball for Worcester Five of the Inter-State Basketball League in 1921.[5]
Coaching career
editUrban served as Boston College's head basketball coach during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Following his graduation, Urban was offered the position of head football coach at Creighton University, but turned down the offer in order to play professional football.[6] From 1921 to 1930, he was the head basketball and football coach at Canisius College. His football teams had a record of 46–27–7 record, with of his eight clubs having a record of .500 or better. He was the school's winningest football coach until he was passed by Tom Hersey in 1990.
Urban was the head basketball coach at Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts from 1940 to 1960. He had a 247–91 record with the Hilltoppers and won two New England championships.[7]
Urban was the manager of the Fall River Indians of the New England League from 1948 to 1950.
Honors
editUrban was inducted into the MBCA Hall of Fame in 1965, the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Canisius College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976.[1][8] Durfee High's gymnasium was named the Luke Urban Field House in honor of Urban.
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canisius Golden Griffins (Independent) (1921–1925) | |||||||||
| 1921 | Canisius | 4–3–2 | |||||||
| 1922 | Canisius | 5–2–1 | |||||||
| 1923 | Canisius | 8–1 | |||||||
| 1924 | Canisius | 4–3 | |||||||
| 1925 | Canisius | 4–4 | |||||||
| Canisius Golden Griffins (Western New York Little Three Conference) (1926–1930) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Canisius | 2–5–1 | |||||||
| 1927 | Canisius | 7–1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Canisius | 5–1–1 | |||||||
| 1929 | Canisius | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| 1930 | Canisius | 4–3–1 | |||||||
| Canisius: | 46–27–7 | ||||||||
| Total: | 46–27–7 | ||||||||
College basketball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College Eagles () (1918–1921) | |||||||||
| 1918–19 | Boston College | 4–1 | |||||||
| 1919–20 | Boston College | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1920–21 | Boston College | 7–6 | |||||||
| Boston College: | 16–10 | ||||||||
| Canisius Golden Griffins () (1921–1924) | |||||||||
| 1921–22 | Canisius | 6–4 | |||||||
| 1922–23 | Canisius | 10–4 | |||||||
| 1923–24 | Canisius | 8–1 | |||||||
| Canisius Golden Griffins () (1925–1931) | |||||||||
| 1925–26 | Canisius | 5–8 | |||||||
| 1926–27 | Canisius | 9–5 | |||||||
| 1927–28 | Canisius | 8–5 | |||||||
| 1928–29 | Canisius | 7–5 | |||||||
| 1929–30 | Canisius | 5–12 | |||||||
| 1930–31 | Canisius | 10–5 | |||||||
| Canisius: | 68–47 | ||||||||
| Total: | 84–57 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Louis Urban". Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ "Louis Urban". Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ a b "Luke Urban Player Page". Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ "Practice Games To Keep Yankees". The Evening Independent. March 5, 1928. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ "Well-Known Stars Of Court Here Saturday". The Hartford Courant. November 29, 1921. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ "Urban Asked to Coach". The New York Times. December 7, 1920. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ Doug Chapman (April 10, 1988). "The doors to the Hall of Fame to be opened early for Karam". Providence Journal. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ "Canisius College Athletics Hall of Fame". Retrieved December 11, 2009.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Luke Urban at Find a Grave