CLAIM TO FAME: Robinson became Boca Ciega boys basketball coach in 1977 and turned the program into one of the state's best. In 10 years, Robinson compiled a 213-80 record, including two Pinellas County titles, four district championships, three regional championships, a section victory and the 1985-86 Class 3A state title, the first for a county school in 17 years. He won 25 straight games before a playoff loss in his final year.
Robinson, a graduate of Gibbs High and Florida A&M University, also was active in the once-popular Wildwood Community Center. The NCAA sanctioned the summer pro league, where Robinson served as one of the directors, as well as coaching and officiating when the rec center was short-handed. He also was an AAU coach for many years.
In 2002 the gymnasium at Boca Ciega was named in his honor, a show of appreciation for the many lives Robinson touched in his years as a coach and mentor.
"Any time you're dealing with young people and have a chance to turn one of 100 kids that you dealt with around, it's always gratifying and was for Ken," said Elbert Crumb, a classmate of Robinson's. "Ken was one who reached out to the kids from a coaching standpoint and a teaching standpoint. He was able to communicate with the kids and able to understand some of the things they were going through just by being out there in the war, on the front lines."
DID YOU KNOW?: Robinson didn't play high school basketball. He was a team manager with the 1967 Gibbs state champion and as a result emulated coaching legend Freddie Dyles. Robinson was a track standout as a Gladiator, however. He won the half-mile state championship in 1966 and held dozens of county track records, from 110 meters to the mile run, before earning an athletic scholarship to FAMU.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: Robinson died June 24, 2002, at the age of 54.
WORDS TO LIVE BY: "Everyone wants to go out a winner. I've accomplished enough good things here that I'll be remembered for what I did rather than what I didn't do." - Robinson after retiring from coaching at Boca Ciega in 1987.
