UNION CITY — James Logan High School is known for churning out champion debaters, award-winning band and color guard performers, and star athletes (including at least three Olympians and a dozen professional athletes).

While its reputation as a powerhouse school is common knowledge, far fewer people know about the man for whom the school is named.

Logan, born in Ireland in 1866, came to the U.S. in 1887 and settled in Alvarado, where he farmed and was a member of the Alvarado Presbyterian Church, Odd Fellows and Masons, local historian Timothy Swenson said.

Logan and his wife, Rebecca Kerr, had 12 children.

In 1931, around age 65, Logan was elected to the board of trustees of the then-Washington Union High School District, which served area students, including the area that later became Union City.

Several months later, he died in a car accident in Hayward while en route to a Washington football game, said Kenita (Garcia) Ferguson of Logan's new alumni association. The late trustee was known as an advocate of school sports.

Reach Linh Tat at 510-353-7010. Follow her at Twitter.com/Linh_Tat and read her blog posts at www.ibabuzz.com/tricitybeat.