The story of Will Robinson, perhaps Detroit's greatest athletic coach of all time

Author/activist Dr. John Telford has written a spellbinding book about his coaching colleague at Pershing High–the late, legendary Will Robinson.  Both men were All-Americans–Telford as a sprinter at WSU in the 1950s and Robinson as a quarterback at West Virginia State in the 1930s.  As the first African-American coach in Detroit Public Schools, Robinson led his basketball teams at Miller High in the 1940s to four consecutive city titles with stars Sammy Gee and Charlie Primas–two high-school All-Americans and later Harlem Globetrotters–with Primas making All-American at Wayne University as well.  When Miller was phased out as a high school in 1957, Robinson went to Cass Tech, where he developed future UD and pro star Dorie Murrey.
At Pershing in the late 1960s, Will Robinson’s teams won state titles with future collegiate and pro stars  Spencer Haywood and Ralph Simpson–and later Bubbles Hawkins.  In 1970, Robinson became the first African-American coach to skipper an NCAA Division One cage team when he went to Illinois State. He had five winning seasons there before returning to Detroit to scout for the Pistons and subsequently become their assistant general manager, a prestigious job he held well into his nineties.   Prior to scouting full-time for the Pistons, he scouted part-time for the Lions for several  years, bringing in Lem Barney, “Night Train”Lane, Charlie Sanders, and other standouts.  His Piston recruits included Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, and others who helped win back-to-back NBA titles in Motown.
Robinson cared deeply about his players.  He sent  300 of them to college on scholarship and 30 to the professional ranks.  Said Charley Primas:  “Rob was the greatest man I ever met.”  Mayor Michael Duggan calls this book a civil rights story of national significance.  Colorfully written with many anecdotes by a master storyteller, “Will the FIRST–The Saga of Sport/Civil-Rights Pioneer WILL ROBINSON” is a panoramic history of the great champions who came out of Detroit in the 20th century–not only in basketball, but in football, boxing, and track and field as well.
The book is available on Amazon.