Louis John "Luke" Urban (March 22, 1898 – December 7, 1980) was an American multi-sport athlete and coach. He played four seasons of professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and two years of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

with the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

. Urban was also a college football coach, a college and high school basketball coach, and a minor league baseball manager.

Playing career

College

Urban played football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles. He was a captain for the football, basketball and baseball teams. He was a member of the

1920 College Football All-America Team The 1920 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1920. The four selectors recognized by the ...

Football

Urban played end for the Buffalo All-Americans from 1921 to 1924. He was named to the

Buffalo Evening News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, the ...

All-APFA Team in 1921,

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

' All-NFL Team in 1922, and the ''Collyers Eye Magazine'' and ''Canton Daily News'' All-NFL Team in 1923.

Baseball

Urban signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and played for their minor league teams in Buffalo and Columbus. He made the Major Leagues in 1927 with the

. He appeared in 35 games for the Braves that season. Urban refused to report to spring training in 1928 as part of a contract holdout. He eventually reported to camp late. On June 22, 1928, he was traded with Jimmy Cooney and Johnny Werts for Bonnie Hollingsworth. He played for Buffalo from 1928 to 1930 and the Springfield Ponies in 1931, and the Hartford Senators from 1931 to 1932.

Basketball

Urban played basketball for Worcester Five of the Inter-State Basketball League in 1921.

Coaching career

Urban served as Boston College's head basketball coach during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Following his graduation, Urban was offered the position of head football coach at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

, but turned down the offer in order to play professional football. From 1921 to 1930, he was the head basketball and football coach at

Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...

. His football teams had a record of 46–27–7 record, with of his eight clubs having a record of .500 or better. He was the school's winningest football coach until he was passed by Tom Hersey in 1990. Urban was the head basketball coach at Durfee High School in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

from 1940 to 1960. He had a 247–91 record with the Hilltoppers and won two New England championships. Urban was the manager of the Fall River Indians of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

from 1948 to 1950.

Honors

Urban was inducted into the MBCA Hall of Fame in 1965, the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Canisius College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976. Durfee High's gymnasium was named the Luke Urban Field House in honor of Urban.

Head coaching record

College football

College basketball

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Luke 1898 births 1980 deaths All-American college football players American football ends American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American men's ice hockey goaltenders Baseball players from Fall River, Massachusetts Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Basketball players from Massachusetts Boston Braves players Boston College Eagles football players Boston College Eagles baseball players Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Buffalo All-Americans players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Buffalo Bisons (NFL) players Canisius Golden Griffins football coaches Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball coaches Coaches of American football from Massachusetts College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Columbus Senators players High school basketball coaches in Massachusetts Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball managers Players of American football from Fall River, Massachusetts Springfield Ponies players Toledo Mud Hens players