Lawson "Robbie" N. Robertson (September 23, 1883 – January 22, 1951) was considered one of the more accomplished American track coaches of the first half of the twentieth century.

Versatile as a Track athlete, he was particularly proficient in the dashes, pole vault, high jump, shot put, half-mile and quarter-mile races.

[6] Later, in April 1909, he held the record of 11 seconds for the 100 yard three-legged race with his friend, fellow 1904 Track Olympian and Brooklynite Harry Hillman.

"[7] In the 100 metres competition at the 1908 Olympics, Robertson won his first round heat with a time of 11.4 seconds to advance to the semifinals.

On November 28, 1909, Robertson was badly burned in an accident at Celtic Park, in Queens, New York when a ladle of hot lead exploded in his face.

After Robertson was rushed to a doctor, the Irish Whales of the Irish American Athletic Club proceeded with the competition, and Martin Sheridan set a world's record with the very same weight, putting the shot 27 ft 0.5 in (8.24 m), three and half inches further than the long-standing record of fellow Irishman James Mitchell.

[2] He remained as coach of the Irish-American club of Queens, NY until February 1916 when he accepted an appointment at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

[4] His more exceptional Penn Track athletes included 1912 Olympic Gold Medalist runner Ted Meredith, 1932 Olympic Gold medalist in the 400 metre run and relay Bill Carr, and the 1936 1500 meter World Record sprinter Gene Venzke.

Other record holders included 1912 Hammer Throw Olympic Gold medalist Matt McGrath who belonged to the Irish-American and New York Athletic Clubs, Dan Ahern, and Italian runner Emilio Lunghi who ran briefly with the Irish-American Club around 1909.

Robertson once said,"speed is born in a runner and endurance can be developed", and he stressed the importance of a quality diet and sufficient rest.

"[13] Robertson became embroiled in controversy in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the last year he was head coach, when his last-minute decision to pull Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman, the only two Jews on the U.S. track team, led to widespread speculation that U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Avery Brundage had ordered the move to avoid further embarrassment to Adolf Hitler should two American Jews win gold medals.

At least two of his three sons became WWII era veterans, Charles A., a Navy dive-bomber pilot who was shot down over the Philippine Sea, Lawson Jr., a Sergeant in the Army Engineers, and George who was in Naval Radar School in Maryland in September 1945 shortly after the war.

Another son, Charles Alexander, a post-humous Navy Cross recipient, died in WWII when the Japanese shot down his dive bomber in the Philippine Sea in 1944.