From its first year, ECTTS organized athletics as a means of promoting good health, good sportsmanship, good character, “the spirit of democracy,” as well as basic skills good teachers would need in their schools. The value of physical exercise and even team competition was recognized fully, without question. During the early years, however, competition was almost always intramural.
One exception occurred shortly after the school’s opening. The First Annual Catalogue, 1909-1910, relates that “the young men organized a baseball club and played several games during the year, making for the school a very satisfactory record.” That observation appeared under the heading, “Athletic Association,” suggesting that such an organization had already crystalized at the school. The entry identified the student officers as J. L. Rawles, manager, and E. D. Dodd, captain. The same catalogue mentioned that the campus was equipped with “a ball ground and four tennis courts.” Students were “encouraged to take a sufficient amount of outdoor exercise to ensure good health.” Recognizing the need for more athletic options, the First Annual Catalogue related that “walks will be laid off” around the campus. Each student was “requested to spend at least one hour each day in the open air.”
However, in the Second Annual Catalogue published the following year, the athletic facilities were described differently. Rather than a “ball ground,” the school reportedly had “a basket ball ground.” No mention of the baseball club appears. Apparently it was disbanded, perhaps due to the relatively few men on campus. Mention is made of “tennis and basketball clubs” and “friendly contests” on campus. In addition to “character-building,” the catalogue notes wisely that “on the athletic field the student gains the power of self-control – a most valuable asset to every person who expects to become a teacher.” Later catalogues consistently affirmed that “the attitude of the school toward organizations is to encourage those that are intended to preserve health, develop character, and the spirit of democracy.”
The first volume of The Training School Quarterly published in the spring of 1914 relates a new development. It notes that “the Athletic Association organized on November 10, 1913, now numbers 97. The League, with the help of a faculty advisory committee of three, has made possible and developed various phases of athletics, in spite of the lack of a physical instructor.” In describing the “purpose” of “the League,” The Training School Quarterly observes that it was meant to “train girls to carry on independent athletic activities.” This exclusive reference to “girls” signals that the 1913 expression of the Athletic Association, unlike the earlier one, was geared toward the predominant student population, female rather than male.
Baseball was not mentioned. Instead, basketball, tennis, and cross-country walking were recognized as the three branches of campus athletics. Competitions were intramural. Also, while the need for a gymnasium was recognized, The Training School Quarterly declared that the first priority was a physical instructor able to devote “her whole time to the work.” Thus, after a first start at organizing athletics with male students leading the way, the latter soon fizzled with low male enrollment and a recognition by faculty and students that athletics appropriate to the largely female student body needed to be developed. With that in mind, tennis, basketball, and cross-country walking prevailed in intramural competition. The earliest lasting expression of an Athletic Association was thus distinctly female, like the student body itself.
Sources
- First Annual Catalogue of the East Carolina Teachers’ Training School, Greenville, North Carolina, 1909-1910. Raleigh: Edwards & Broughton Printing Company, 1910.
- Second Annual Catalogue of the East Carolina Teachers’ Training School, Greenville, North Carolina, 1910-1911. Greenville: The Reflector Co., Printers, 1911.
- Third Annual Catalogue of the East Carolina Teachers’ Training School, Greenville, North Carolina, 1911-1912. Greenville: The Reflector Co., Printers, 1912.
- The Training School Quarterly. April, May, June 1914. Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards & Broughton Printing Co.
Citation Information
Title: Athletic Leagues Formed
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/31/2018