ST. MICHAEL’S at ROBRTSON FOOTBALL

Too bad W.J. Robertson passed away at a fairly early age. He was 53 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on November 26, Thanksgiving day in 1956, which was two years before the high school named for him opened its brand new doors.

Robertson had been a popular figure in New Mexico’s Las Vegas. He had been the superintendent of the Las Vegas city schools since year 1941, the year of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, and before that he was the principal for several years at Las Vegas High School.

He had noting to do with the present Robertson colors of red and white or the mascot/nickname of Cardinal. He had died awhile after the old Las Vegas High burned down, and he proposed a new building and maybe even a new pubic high school.

Work got underway about six months after that, and with Robertson no longer alive, it was unanimously announced by the school board that there will b a new 4-year school and it will be named W.J. Robertson or, for that matter, (Las Vegas) Robertson High School.

So Robertson opened on the same site where the other school burned down, And so ground was broken and the reconstruction of the old site was underway, and up it went with a town celebration in September of 1958 at the brand new area.

It was 5th Street and Friedman Avenue where Las Vegas High School stood, and it remained 5th Street and Friedman. The present enrollment is

In the eventful year of 1969 (Man on the Moon, Woodstock, the amazin’ New York Mets winning the World Series), the Cardinals won their first state championship, and it was in boys cross country.

They’re won 34 more after that.

Wrestling brought eight state titles, there have been six each won in boys tennis and the same number in girls tennis. There have been three in spirit/cheerleading, two in girls cross country, and just that first in boys XC in 1969, and one each in (girls) volleyball, boys and girls track and field, and baseball, and to save what could be considered the best one, which is three in football, which rates as sports No. 1 in the area.

In Saturday afternoon‘s clash for the state 3A football championship (kickoff 1 p.m.), it will be district rival St. Michael’s visiting Robertson. Other schools to compete in District 2 are West Las Vegas, Raton, Santa Fe Indian School and Santa Fe Prep.

Temperatures expected for Saturday are a game-time 55 degrees with just a slight wind and no sign of rain or snow. Don’t worry about a possible low of 30, that’s at night.