Roy Lester

American football player and coach (1923–2020)
the English rugby league player and coach

E. Roy Lester (October 3, 1923 – May 3, 2020) was an American college and high school football coach. After a successful career at the high school level, he served as the head coach of the University of Maryland football team from 1969 to 1971. Lester was the school's fourth head coach in five years, and compiled a 7–25 record during his tenure. He was fired after the 1971 season when Maryland finished at the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second consecutive year. Lester returned to coach interscholastic football, including as head coach of Richard Montgomery High School where his teams compiled an 86–10–1 record and six undefeated seasons. His high school teams won three Maryland state championships. Lester attended West Virginia University where he was a three sport athlete and earned letters in football, baseball, and basketball. He was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Lester grew up in Spencer, West Virginia and attended college at West Virginia University, where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. Lester was named to the West Virginia 1940–1949 Team. He graduated in 1949 with a degree in political science.

In 1950, Lester began his coaching career at Walton High School in Walton, West Virginia from 1950 to 1951. At the end of his stint at Montgomery in 1968, he held a 25 game winning streak.

In 1969, Lester was hired as Maryland's fourth head coach in five years. His embattled predecessor, Bob Ward, had been forced out in the face of a player rebellion and a combined 2–17 record. Lester had previously twice applied for the Maryland head coach position. Lester reintroduced the split T formation at Maryland, which Jim Tatum had used to great effect there in the 1950s. In the season's penultimate game, Maryland lost to Penn State, 48–0. In 1970, Lester's Terrapins finished with a 2–9 record. After an upset loss in the season opener against Villanova, 21–3, Lester shuffled the roster. He switched the positions of eight players, which included Tom Miller from fullback to linebacker. After losing their first five games, Maryland beat South Carolina on Homecoming weekend, 21–15, which prompted Maryland fans to tear down the goalposts in celebration. Two weeks later, Maryland was beaten by Clemson, which scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to win, 24–11. With the loss, Maryland slid to a 1–7 record, and Lester said he was giving serious consideration to stepping down before the next season. He said, "If I'm not doing the proper job I'm willing to relinquish the job. I took this loss very personally." Lester said he expected a winning season and that "a lot of people may be surprised." However, the Terrapins dropped the season opener to underdog Villanova once again, 28–13. The Star News called it the most stunning of five upsets in the ACC teams' opening weekend, rating it ahead of NC State's loss to Kent State, Virginia's loss to Navy, South Carolina's win against Georgia Tech, and Duke's win against Florida. Kehoe also said, "financial factors are a serious consideration," and that home game attendance had fallen to its lowest point, which threatened the financial well being of the athletic department. who went on to considerable success in the position. One of Lester's lasting contributions was the recruitment of future Maryland and NFL star Randy White. At the end of his tenure, Lester had a combined collegiate coaching record of 7–25.

In 1972, Lester returned to the interscholastic ranks as a head coach at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Maryland, which awarded him a ten year contract. It was Paint Branch's third year of varsity football, and their first two campaigns had ended with 3–7 records. From 1979 to 1993, Lester served as head coach at Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland. In 1984, Lester led Magruder to capture the Class B state championship, and repeated the feat with the Class A state championship in 1986. Lester finished his tenure with a 107–47 record at Magruder. In 2002, Richard Montgomery High School renamed its athletic field Roy Lester Stadium in his honor. In 2008, the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame inducted Lester as a member of its 18th class. Lester resided in Gaithersburg, Maryland and had four children – three sons and a daughter. The cause of death was complications from COVID 19 amid the COVID 19 pandemic in Maryland.