The James H. Roberts Athletic Scholarship Fund was established by the Roberts family in 2007 in memory of James Roberts, who passed away in 2006. This scholarship will be awarded each year to a graduating senior of Wirt County High School that is planning to attend a four-year program of study at a college within the State of West Virginia. The scholarship is open to all student athletes, male and female, who have a GPA of 2.0 or above. Recipients of this scholarship will be selected on the basis of their commitment to athletics, sufficiency of GPA, and adequacy of ACT/SAT scores.
James Roberts, who was born in 1925, was a graduate of Wirt County High School, where he was an outstanding athlete. During his high school football days, he averaged over 53 yards per punt, made the All-Conference team twice and was a two-time All-State Gridiron performer. In 1942, he was the highest scoring player in the state. He received a football scholarship to Ohio State University, where he graduated with a B.S. degree in 1948. His roommate at the time was Lee Tressel, father of Jim Tressel, current Ohio State University head football coach. In fact, the elder Mr. Tressel and Mr. Roberts were so close, Jim Tressel was named after Mr. Roberts, and the two kept in contact over the years.
He also played football for two years at Baldwin-Wallace College, where he served with the Navy V-12 Unit during World War II. He received his M.A. degree from the University of Michigan in 1949, and returned to Elizabeth, WV, where he owned and operated the Roberts Store for many years. He was also the former president of Wirt County Bank, a Chairman of the Board of WesBanco in Elizabeth, and a member of the Board of Directors for WesBanco in Parkersburg. He was also an avid golfer, participating in all Mountaineer Athletic Club events and was a club champion at Worthington Golf Course. He also loved Mingo Bottom Golf Course in Wirt County. He was inducted into the Mid Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
Mrs. Pat Roberts, who established this fund in memory of her late husband, lives in Elizabeth and is a very active participant in the community. She is involved with the Woman’s Club of Elizabeth and is a member of the Elizabeth United Methodist Church. She established this fund to honor her husband’s wish to provide a scholarship to a deserving Wirt County High School student. Her three daughters also support the establishment of this scholarship.