Luke Urban

Louis John Urban

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 168 lb.
• School Boston College
• Debut July 19, 1927
• Final Game June 21, 1928
• Born March 22, 1897 in Fall River, MA USA
• Died December 7, 1980 in Somerset, MA USA

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Biographical Information

Luke Urban was a multi-sport athlete and coach. He played two seasons in major league baseball and also played three seasons in professional football (for the Buffalo All-Americans). At Durfee High School in Massachusetts, he had been a three-sport athlete, including basketball, and in college at Boston College he was a four-sport athlete, adding hockey to the mix - he played goalie. He was captain of both the baseball and football teams.

His professional baseball career ran from 1921 to 1928. He had his most major league at-bats in 1927, when manager Dave Bancroft used him as one of four catchers who appeared in at least 27 games. Urban and Shanty Hogan were the two catchers with the highest batting averages of the four, with both of them hitting .288.

He also coached at Canisius College, with winning records as coach of both the football and basketball teams. Later in life he became a golf pro at a golf course in Buffalo. In 1940, he went back to Durfee High School to coach three sports, baseball, football, and basketball, winning a state title in baseball and two New England championships in basketball.

He is one of nearly two dozen major league players born in Fall River, MA, a town with a substantial baseball history.

One source: Luke Urban - He Did It All.