Wayne State dipped
into its record books
in honoring Bob Luby.

A tough back on offense and defense.

Hall Of Faller

DIANE POMISH
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ne of Wayne State
University's star ath-
letes of the late
1930s was recently
inducted into its ath-
letic Hall of Fame.
At Detroit's Cen-
tral High School, and
Wayne, Robert Luby
ran track and played
football. His high
school track career
included the indoor
and outdoor- two-mile
relay team which won the
city championship during
his junior and senior
years. He was also a hur-
dler and sprinter for
Central.

In football, he played
wingback on offense and
safety on defense.
Entering Wayne Uni-
versity in the fall of 1936,
Luby majored in health
and physical education.
He ran track and played
football throughout his
four years of undergradu-
ate school.
His track career, as a
short and middle distance
runner, included leading
the 1940 Wayne mile
relay squad to first place
finishes in the Michigan
State, Penn, Illinois and
Butler relays.
That same season, he

After a career in Detroit,
Luby headed north.

led the indoor 880 relay
team to a time of 1:32.2,
then Wayne's second-best
time. He also broke
Wayne's 56-second record
in the 440 sprint, set by
John Lewis, later Olym-
pic champion. Luby ran

the seven laps on the
short indoor track in
Wayne's Old Main Build-
ing in 55.9.
As in high school, track
was only half of the story
in Luby's college athletic
career. He excelled on
Wayne's football team,
playing wingback and
tailback on offense and
safety and cornerback on
defense.
Just as he had broken
records in track, he did as
well in football. As a
sophomore in 1937, he
recorded the best return
yards in a game in
Wayne's history, scoring
three touchdowns against
Hillsdale College. He did
this with two punt
returns and a pass inter-
ception, taking them back
80, 46 and 47 yards.
It helped Wayne to a
65-0 victory, the most
points ever scored by a
Tartar football team.
In 1938, Luby had a 62-
yard carry against
Buffalo, the second
longest carry in Wayne's
history.
In the 1939 season,
during a game between
Wayne and Orange Bowl-

HALL OF FAMER page 46