The Jimmy Lee athletic fields at St. Paul's Oxford Community Center will be renamed Saturday for Stacy Robinson, the former Central High School star and NFL receiver who died last year of cancer.
St. Paul athletic fields to be renamed in honor of Stacy Robinson
Ceremony to be held at noon today to honor the late Stacy Robinson.
June 15, 2013 at 1:52AM
City leaders, former Minnesota Vikings players, coaches and family members will gather at noon at the community center, 270 N. Lexington Pkwy., to honor Robinson, who played there while growing up in St. Paul and had raised money to improve the fields.
Robinson played football, basketball and track at Central High before attending North Dakota State University in Fargo, where he was a standout receiver.
He was drafted in the second round by the New York Giants and spent six years as a wide receiver, including two Super Bowl championship seasons.
Robinson later became director of player development for the NFL Players Association. He was 50 when he died in May 2012.
Among the former Vikings scheduled to attend Saturday's ceremony are Leo Lewis, Randall McDaniel and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page. The day's events will begin at 10 a.m. with an autograph session, followed by a panel discussion on sports careers, book giveaways, lunch and family activities.
Robinson will be the third St. Paul African-American to have his name attached to sports facilities in the neighborhood. The recreation center will continue to be called Jimmy Lee, after Minnesota's first black referee and umpire. The Central High stadium is named for James Griffin, a former St. Paul police officer who officiated at high school events.
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