By Ray Hamill — St. Bernard’s Academy honored a school legend over the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, before their boys basketball game against Del Norte, the Crusaders dedicated their court in honor of former SB player and coach Bob Robertson, who passed away in May of last year, naming it Coach Robby Court.

And they did so in front of a packed house of fans, including the late coach’s family, many of whom remembered the Crusaders legend and the impact he had on them and the school.

“Coach piled up championships, but that’s not why we’re dedicating the court to his memory,” St. Bernard’s principal Paul Shanahan told the gathering. “He was a man of service and he never stopped helping when he was at St. Bernard’s, Arcata.

“When he retired, he was always at St. Bernard’s helping with projects, whether it was the locker room, the team room, lighting projects, technology, helping teachers. He just never stopped giving back to the school.”

Born in Weaverville, Robertson became an SB student in 1964 and was a star athlete in three sports, earning all-league honors in football, basketball and baseball as a senior.

He was also the school’s Athlete of the Year that year.

He would go on to play three sports at College of the Redwoods, before attending Humboldt State (now Cal Poly Humboldt), where he played two sports for the Lumberjacks.

He would return to St. Bernard’s to teach and coach for 14 years, before becoming a teacher and coach at Arcata High, leading the Tigers to a NorCal championship appearance in basketball in 1997.

His impact, however, went well beyond all the success and he is fondly remembered by many of his former athletes as “Coach Robby,” including another legendary SB coach, Steve Thrap, who described him as “a fierce competitor.”

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Arcata’s Tahnia Campbell described Robertson as “The kindest human being ever.”

His former assistant coach at St. Bernard’s, John Dimmick, also remembers his influence well.

“I knew in seventh grade I wanted to be a high school coach one day. He gave me that chance,” Dimmick said. “Robby was a terrific coach. He knew how to attack the weakness of another team. You were not going to outsmart that guy.

“And once you became a part of Robby’s life, he never let you go.”

Robertson also played baseball for the Humboldt Eagles and Humboldt Crabs and is a hall of famer at St. Bernard’s, College of the Redwoods and Arcata High School.

Robertson met his future wife, Debbie, while at CR. They would marry in 1979 and had two sons together, Timmy and Scotty.