Christopher W. Phelps

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An Army sergeant killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq was remembered Sunday as a gifted athlete and natural leader at his Louisville high school.

Sgt. 1st Class Christopher W. Phelps, 39, died last Thursday in Baghdad after an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle, the Pentagon said.

The Gulf War veteran, who spent 19 years in the military, was a member of the Army’s 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Carson, Colo.

Back in his hometown, Phelps was remembered as an all-around athlete at Male High School. He played quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back on the football team, was a point guard in basketball and ran track.

“God, what a tragedy,” his high school football coach, Wally Oyler, said Sunday when learning of his former player’s death.

Phelps, a 1984...