Roby, Douglas F. (Douglas Fergusson), 1898-1992.

Douglas Fergusson Roby was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1952-1985 and president of the United States Olympic Committee from 1965 to 1969.

He was elected president of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States in 1951. Roby made several attempts to bring the Olympic games to Detroit from 1944 to the 1972 Olympiads.

From the description of Douglas F. Roby papers, 1916-1992. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 80617795

Douglas Fergusson Roby was born on March 24, 1898 in Port Tobacco, Maryland. In 1903 the family moved to Chicago, Ill. Roby attended Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago and the Michigan Military Academy in Brighton where he excelled at football and was recruited by Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma in 1917. After attending Phillips, Roby transferred to the University of Michigan in February 1920, where he became a member of the Pi Delta Theta fraternity. In 1921 and 1922 he played on the university baseball team as a leftfielder and on the football team as a fullback. In 1923 he was inducted into Michigamua. Roby graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Business Administration in 1923.

After graduation, in 1923, Roby played football as a tailback for Cleveland Indians. He also played squash for the city of Detroit in 1928-1936, winning the national championship in 1932.

In 1934, he joined American Metal Products Company, an automobile parts supplier. Roby was elected president of the company in 1954, and retired as board chairman in 1963. In the course of his career he was on the board of other companies including, First Federal Savings and Loan of Detroit and Kelsey Hayes Wheel Company.

In addition to his business connections in Detroit, he was actively involved in the civic life of the city. Most notable are his efforts to bring the Olympics to Detroit. The city made several attempts, from 1944 to 1972, to get the games. Roby was prominent in each of these attempts. He also served as a member of the Detroit Arts Commission, a member of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Zoological Society and a trustee of Harper-Grace Hospitals.

Roby was very active in amateur athletic associations. From 1951 to 1953, he was elected president of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) of the United States. He served as president of the Pan Am Games from 1955 to 1960. Roby was vice president of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) from 1953 to 1965 and served as its president from 1965 to 1968. At the 1952 Olympic Games, Roby was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to be one of two IOC American members. He resigned from IOC in 1985 and from USOC in 1986.

Roby was in the center of several controversies during his tenure as the U.S. Olympics official. During the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, as the USOC president, he ordered removal of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two African-American athletes, from the U.S. Olympic team. The punishment came after Smith and Carlos raised black-gloved fists and bowed their heads while the national anthem of the United States was played during a medal ceremony. In 1979 Roby voted against the People's Republic of China's readmission to the Olympics (China was readmitted). In 1984 he unsuccessfully advocated for readmission of South Africa.

Roby died in April 1992 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

From the guide to the Douglas F. Roby papers, 1914-2003, bulk 1965-1985, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)