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It is hardly practicable to present a complete and at the same time an interesting history of field and track sports at Michigan. On the Monday before Commencement in 1876 an "Athletic Tournament " was held on the Fair Grounds under the auspices of the Boating Association. According to the college paper of the
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day the affair was a success; sundry records made elsewhere were beaten; and the sum of $100 was netted for the Boat Club. The chief honors were carried off by J. H. Fiske, W. R. Roberts, E. J. Snover, and J. E. Turtle, all of '77, and by R. W. Corwin, '78 m, and W. S. Jenkins, '78. The first "Field Day," so-called, at Michigan, was held June 23, 1879, and was an athletic as well as a financial success. Many of the events were captured by W. W. Hannan and W. M. Thompson, both of '80, the former winning the 100 yards' dash, the 220 yards' dash, and the baseball throw, while the latter won the ten-mile walk and the fencing contest. I. K. Pond, '79, won the standing long-jump. All of the records made that day have been broken, and need not be repeated here. May 15, 1880, an "Athletic Tour- nament" was held, and there was another Field-Day, June 29, 1880. In 1881 two Field-Days, the one in the spring, the other in the au- tumn, were held. After a time the Baseball Association took charge of the first, and the Rugby Asso- ciation managed the second field meeting.
In 1885, on account of F. N. Bonine, '86 m, a fast, " sprinter," Michigan secured a membership in the Intercollegiate Athletic As- POWER HOUSE. sociation, and he won the 100 yards' dash at New York. Several times in recent years our Uni- versity has had representatives at intercollegiate meetings in the East.
For lack of systematic management interest in track and field sports waned after 1886 until 1888, when the presence in Ann Ar- bor of several amateur athletes from Detroit brought about a revival. Again there was a period of repose, but interest was aroused once more by the organization of the Northwestern Inter- collegiate Athletic Association, composed of Michigan, North- western, Wisconsin, and Minnesota Universities. At the Field Day of this combination, held in Chicago, June 4, 1893, Michigan made 52 points, Wisconsin 45, and Northwestern 15. The honors for Michigan were won by A. M. Ashley, '93 7, I. C. Belden, '93,
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G. L. Reed, '94 l, G. H. Chapman, '96, and W. F. Geary, '96. When the spring of 1894 arrived the Northwestern Athletic Association was a thing of the past. In its stead an arrangement for holding Western intercollegiate games at Chicago was made, but Michigan decided to ignore the western contests, and to send to the American Intercollegiate contests at New York any men who qualified. This determination excited so much unfavorable com- ment that it was reversed, and entries were sent to Chicago only ten days before the games. The result was disastrous, Michi- gan's representatives scoring only five points and coming out sixth in a series of contests in which eleven colleges took part. Illinois scored 37, Wisconsin 22, Iowa State 16, Chicago 10, and Iowa College 10.
From 1879 to 1883 considerable interest was manifested in fencing, and spasmodic revivals of that sport have occurred in recent years. Of course there have been walking clubs, bicycle clubs, hunting clubs, and fishing clubs, but interest in these has been neither wide-spread nor permanent. The chief out- door games among us are and probably always will De baseball, football, and tennis.
Organization has been found to be as necessary in the matter of sports and games as in other departments of college life. Some mention of baseball and football clubs has been made in the preced- ing pages; but a fuller account will now be attempted.
From 1872 until 1878 the interests of baseball were in the hands of a general organization at first called informally the "Baseball Clubs", but named in 1876 the Baseball Association. This gave way in 1878-79 to the Athletic Association. Upon the demise of the latter it was revived; and it was continued until the forma- tion of a new Athletic Association in 1890. The Presidents were these:
1872-73, C. B. Keeler, '73, 1883-85, H. F. Forbes, '84, 1873-75, E. D. Root, '75, 1885-86, D. C. Corbett, '85, 1875-76, F. E. Bliss, '73, '79 4, 1886-88, P. R. B. dePont, 1876-77, E. J. Snover, '77, 1888-89, F. W. Hawks, '89.
1877-78, W. C. Johnson, '78, 1889-90, C. A. Higley, '90 l.
As early as 1873-74 an association to manage football affairs was formed. This was maintained with little or no interruption until 1878, when a general "Athletic Association " was established. The Presidents of the old organization were:
1873-74, C. J. Thomas, '74, 1876-78, D. N. DeTar, '78,
1874-75, G. E. Pantlind, '75, 1878-79, F. S. Bell, '79.
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In 1884 it was thought that football interests had been neglect- ed by the Athletic Association, and so the "Rugby Association " was formed, which in 1890 was merged in the present Athletic Association. The Presidents of the Rugby were:
1883-84, T. W. Gilmore, '94, 1887-88, J. L. Duffy, '88,
1884-85, E. A. Rosenthal, 'S5 7, 1888-89, J. E. Duffy, '90,
1885-86, E. L. Dorn, '86, 1889-90, T. H. Hinchman, Jr., '9I.
1886-87, F. F. Bumps, '87.
An institution called the "University Athletic Club" was formed in 1874 for the purpose of encouraging boxing and other gymnastic exercises. As it had nothing to do with baseball or football, its scope was much less extensive than its title suggests. Albert L. Arey, '75, was the first President, and his successor was F. L. Sizer, '78.
October 26, 1878, the Football Association was reorganized as the "Athletic Association of the University". A few months later the new society became incorporated, and by one of its articles a trust fund to be known as the "Gymnasium Fund" was established, with President Angell, Judge Cooley, Professor Tyler, and two others as trustees. Augmented by subscriptions, by the receipts from entertainments and by the contributed earnings of various student enterprises, the fund gradually increased to more than $6, 000, and was used, thirteen years after its foundation, in equipping the Waterman Gymnasium.
For a time the new Athletic Association flourished. In 1881 a memorable contest took place over the presidency of it, and according to the college paper the votes of impecunious members found a ready market at prices ranging from one to three dollars, while the friends of the candidates readily paid the back dues of old members and the entrance fees of new men in order to secure votes. Two years later the offices sought the men, and in 1884 the association collapsed "the victim of the football and baseball teams which it sought to control". In 1890 all the athletic inter- ests of the University were wisely, and, it is hoped, permanently, reunited in one management, the "University of Michigan Ath- letic Association", by which a new and carefully-drawn constitu- tion was adopted. Following is the list of Presidents from 1879 to 1884, and since 1890:
1879-80, C. S. Mitchell, 'So, 1891-92, S. C. Spitzer, '94,
1880-81, F. G. Allen, '81, 1892-94, E. C. Shields, '94, 1881-82, H. S. Mahon, '82, 1895-96, J. H. Prentiss, '96, 1882-83, A. T. Packard, '83, 1897-98, J. DeF. Richards, '98, 1883-84, S. F. Hawley, '85, 1898-99, H. I. Weinstein, '99.
1890-91, H. G. Field, '91,
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The University Boating Association did not get fairly under way until 1875, and its Presidents were:
Ben T. Cable, '76, H. C. Moore, '77,
C. E. Beecher, '78.
A separate association was maintained by tennis players until the formation, in 1890, of the general Athletic Association. The Presidents and their respective terms have been as follows:
1883-84, J. L. Hamill, '85 l. I887-88, W. H. Muir, '88,
1884-85, H. B. Wilson, '86 h, I888-89, C. P. Taylor, '89,
1885-87, S. K. Pittman, '87, 1889-90, J. R. Angell, '90.
For all of their regular athletic exercises except tennis the students now use the ten-acre tract on the west side of South State street, half a mile from the campus, bought by the Regents in 1890. The price paid was $3,000, and the sum of $4,500 was ex- pended in fitting up the grounds, which could not be used until the spring of 1892. The batting of balls on the campus is now pro- hibited. For tennis, fine courts have been laid in the campus, south of the Gymnasium. With the acquisition of the State street grounds, and with the opening of the Gymnasium, a new era in Michigan "athletics" began, although it is as yet too early to realize fully the benefits which are certain to result from these privileges.
Since 1893 athletic sports among the students of Michigan have been subject to the supervision of a Board of Control com- posed of five professors or instructors selected by the University Senate, and of four undergraduates chosen by the Athletic Asso- ciation. There is also an Advisory Board made up of professors and graduates.
In-door amusements have not received the attention given to field sports. The Palladium for 1860-61 mentions the "University Chess Club", fourteen members, Ira Olds, '62, President, and the "Lloyd Chess Club", of which Fred- erick Arn, '61, was President, and which had thirteen members. Then in 1861-62, there was the " Paulsen Chess Club ", composed of sixteen men, with J. E. Eastman, '62, for President. The class of '68 supported in its senior year, perhaps earlier, a chess club with ten members. Nothing more is recorded of chess until 1877- 78, when we read about the " University Chess Club", whereof C. C. Whitacre, '80, was President, and to which twenty-five men paid dues. Of a chess club which flourished with thirty-five mem- bers in 1885-87, C. P. Beckwith, '87, was the presiding officer.
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Two years ago a club for the playing of chess was formed, and of it Allan Campbell, '99, and R. B. Griffith, 'oo m, have been the Presidents.
Whist clubs at Ann Arbor have been numerous. Of them may be mentioned the " Whist Club" of 1872-73, the "University Whist Club " of 1876-76, the "Odd Trick Whist Club " (law de- partment) of 1878-79, and the present " Whist Club", formed in 1897, of which Butler Lamb, 'oo, is the President. It is possible that other games of cards have had their devotees among us, but records of them have not been preserved.
In 1860-61 there was a "Shakespearian Club" of which W. S. Harroun, '63, was the President. It had thirteen members. A "Shakespeare Club" flourished with thirteen members in 1872-73, and another " Shakesperian Club" existed in 1878-79. More en- during and more successful than any of the foregoing was the " Dramatic Club" which lived from 1886 to 1890. Of it F. W. Mehlhop, '88, was the President during the first year, and after that C. T. Alexander, '90, had charge. This organization pre- sented very successfully several plays in public. What may have been a continuation of the same club existed in 1890-91 with A. C. Lewerenz, '91, as President. "The U. of M. Comedy Club ", now one of the most notable of our student organizations, was formed in 1894. From the start E. P. dePont, '94, has been the stage-manager. In 1896-97, A. M. Smith, '97, was the President, and T. J. Weadock, '98 7, is now the official head of the club.
CHAPTER XI ACADEMIC FRATERNITIES
For the origin of the Greek-letter fraternity system at Mich- igan and elsewhere one must look to the venerable Phi Beta Kappa, founded one hundred and twenty-two years ago by under- graduates of the old Virginian and Episcopalian College of Wil- liam and Mary. It used to be said that this Society was a branch of the Bavarian Illuminati, but nothing in the records or in the Conduct of the order war- rants the statement. On the other hand one of the founders declared that Phi Beta was instituted to "riv- alise" an earlier society, the name of which, long December's since forgotten, was ex- 17.76 pressed by Latin initials. In this connection it is worth while to note that ORIGINAL BADGE OF PHI BETA KAPPA. Phi Beta Kappa also bore a Latin name, the Roman letters "S. P." on the reverse of its badge standing for "Societas Philosophica ". Doubtless the founders of the original Greek-letter society had recourse to the Hellenic tongue that they might go their rivals one better.
It was on the 5th day of December, 1776, that John Heath, Thomas Smith, Richard Booker, Armisted Smith, and John Jones, inspired, as their record runs, "by a happy spirit and resolution of attaining the important ends of Society ", resolved to establish a Greek-letter fraternity. To their numbers were soon added Daniel Fitzhugh, John Stuart, Theodore Fitzhugh, aud John Starke; and on the 5th of January, 1777, the members took and instituted the following oath which, but slightly modified, was afterwards transmitted to the Northern branches:
"I, A. B., do swear on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, or other- wise, as calling the Divine Being to attest this my oath, declaring that I will, with all my possible efforts, endeavor to prove true, just and deeply attached to this, our growing fraternity, in keeping, holding, and preserving all secrets that pertain to my duty and for the promotion and advancement of its internal welfare."
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Originally the order was an undergraduate literary and social fraternity. There were meetings weekly or fortnightly, with declamations, essays, and debates. Those who failed to fill an appointment to literary duty were heavily fined. That the social side of college life might not be neglected, every anniversary of the foundation was celebrated by a feast in the Apollo Hall of the old Raleigh Tavern at Williamstown. The records tell us of "a very elegant entertainment " given to the Society, at the Raleigh, April 19, 1779, by Mr. Bowdoin, who was about to depart for Europe. After many toasts suitable to the occasion, the evening was spent by the members in a manner which indicated the high- est esteem for their departed friend, mixed with sorrow for his intended absence, and joy for his future prospects in life ".
Membership was confined at first to collegians who had "arrived at the age of sixteen ", but two years after the founda- tion of the fraternity this rule was abrogated, evidently in favor of young officers of the patriot army stationed in the vicinity. Not much later Captain John Marshall, afterwards Chief Justice of the United States, was admitted. The report, long current, that Thomas Jefferson was one of the founders, and that he imported the society from France, was as baseless as the alleged German origin of the order. William Short, afterwards distinguished as a diplomat, was the last surviving founder of Phi Beta Kappa.
In 1879 it was determined to issue charters to members apply- ing for them, giving authority to establish branches-" meetings " they were called-in other cities and towns of Virginia. The new branches were named in the order of the Greek alphabet, and had a distinct relation to the mother "Alpha " at William and Mary. Whether these chapters, five in number, were actually established, we do not know. It seems, however, that the " Beta" was really organized at Hampden-Sidney. If in fact instituted · none of them survived the parent chapter.
December 5, 1780, Elisha Parmele, sometime an undergrad- uate at Yale, and a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1778, hav- ing become a member of Phi Beta Kappa during a term of teaching at Williamstown (probably as a tutor in the college), was granted a charter for the establishment of an "Epsilon" at Harvard; and four days later a charter for a "Zeta" at Yale was also granted to him. However, the charters, when prepared, designated the new "meetings" as the Alpha of Massachusetts Bay, and the Alpha of Connecticut. The first of these documents began in these words:
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" The members of the Phi Beta Kappa of William and Mary College, Vir- ginia, to their well and truly beloved brother, Elisha Parmele, greeting :-
" Whereas it is repugnant to the liberal principles of Societies that they be ' confined to any particular place, men, or description of men; and (whereas it is expedient) that the same should be extended to the wise and virtuous of every degree and of whatever country,-
" We the members and Brothers of the ¢BK, an Institution founded on liter- ary principles, being willing and desirous to propagate the same, have at the instance and petition of our good brother, Elisha Parmele, of the University of Cambridge, in the State of Massachusetts Bay, and from the confidence we repose in the Integrity, Discretion, and good Conduct of our said Brother, unanimously agreed and resolved to give and delegate, and we do therefore by these our present letters of Party Charter give and delegate by unanimous consent to you the said Elisha Parmele the following rights, privileges, authority, and power, that is to. say,-
" Ist. That at the University of Cambridge to establish a Fraternity of the ¢BK to consist of not less than three Persons of Honor, Probity, and good demeanor, which shall be denominated the Adpa of Massachusetts Bay, and as. soon as such number of those shall be chosen you shall proceed to hold a meeting to be called your Foundation Meeting, and appoint your officers agreeably to Law.
2dly. That the form of Initiation and oath of Secrecy shall be, as well in the first, as in every other instance, those prescribed by Law, and none other ".
The charter continues in ten articles. Like it was the one. for the Adpa of Connecticut, and like it also, mutatis mutandis, were all the other early charters. But for these instruments con- fided to Parmele Phi Beta Kappa must have perished; for soon A after they were granted the approaching tide of war caused the. death of the Alpha of Virginia. During the year 1780 the attend- ance at the meetings of the society greatly decreased, as many of the students had en- tered the army or for other reasons had left college. On the fourth anniversary, December 5, 1780, only five members as- IN sembled at the Raleigh. A month later COLLEGII VIRG these five met to provide for the preserva- tion of their records; they decided to make IN the College Steward the depository of them GUL SIG. C "to remain with him until the desirable Event of the Society its Resurrection", and SEAL OF COLLEGE OF WIL- LIAM AND MARY. further stating that they made the deposit "in the sure and certain hope that the fraternity will one day rise (in) life everlasting and glory immortal". The seal was taken by Archibald Stuart, the Vice-President, and after his death it was found in a secret drawer in his house, in 1832. The records were discovered in 1849, and through William Short (then living in Philadelphia), steps were taken which resulted in the reorganization of the parent Alpha in 1855. But the Civil War again killed the chapter. By the estab-
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lishment, ten years ago, in connection with the ancient foundation at Williamstown, of the State Normal College of Virginia, the per- petuity of William and Mary has been assured; and in the year 1895 Phi Beta Kappa for the third time was organized at Williamtown.
In 1781, Mr. Parmele, armed with the charters which have been mentioned, and with the "Code of Laws" of the parent chapter, proceeded to fulfil the obligations imposed upon him. In April he initiated at Goshen, Connecticut,-his birthplace-Ezra Stiles, Jr., Samuel Newell, Reuben Parmelie, and Linde Lorde, five students of Yale, who in the following November admitted at New Haven a number of "Bachelor seniors and juniors". Pro- ceeding to Cambridge this connecting link between the dead and the living Phi Beta Kappa, between the South and the North, agreed with four members of the Harvard class of '82 to receive them into the fraternity. Their foundation meeting seems to have been in July, 1781, and their first regular meeting was held Sep- tember 5, following, when five more men of '82 were chosen "to be sounded for admission in Phi Beta Kappa ".
As the mother Alpha was dead, and as Mr. Parmele had passed away soon after he organized the two New England Alphas, the latter were left to provide for the extension and perpetuity of the order. In each charter there was a provision investing the chapter with the privilege of establishing other branches in the state, and provision was made for correspondence between the different "meetings" on matters pertaining to the general inter- ests of the fraternity. Under these provisions arose a custom, which prevailed for a hundred years, whereby each Alpha was allowed to charter new branches in its own state, the consent of all the Alphas being, however, required before a college in a new state could receive a charter.
In 1787 the two Alphas united in awarding a charter to Aaron Kinsman, a Dartmouth senior, who, with four of his classmates, founded a chapter at his college on the 20th of August. Three years later a charter was refused to Brown University because that institution had admitted as "Sophimores " persons who would not rank as freshmen at Cambridge.
For nearly thirty years the fraternity was composed of the Alphas of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The three chapters were senior societies of a literary and social kind. Meetings for literary work were held quite regularly, and every Commencement there was a reunion. The connection between
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the Alphas was slight, and the inter-chapter correspondence, some- what forced at the best, flagged after 1789.
In 1817, the established policy of non-extension was set aside in favor of Union College. By the concurring resolves of the Alphas of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, the charter of the Alpha of New York was granted, May I, to Chan- cellor Kent and two others, thus permitting the organization of a branch which, besides becoming the mother of seven chapters, really is entitled to the credit of suggesting the present Greek- letter fraternities; for the oldest of the latter was instituted at Union eight years after the establishment there of Phi Beta LPHA Kappa. In 1825 a branch of Phi Beta . was started at Bowdoin, and in 1830 Brown was added to the roll. Not until TBK 1845, when Trinity and Wesleyan re- ceived charters, did other admissions occur. T.
Toward the close of the first third of the present century the order was con- SEAL OF PHI BETA KAPPA AT YALE. fronted with a grave crisis. As early as 1789 at Harvard the society narrowly escaped investigation for tend- ing "to make a discrimination among the students "; and at Yale undergraduate jealousy led to the rifling of the chapter's archives. Both at Harvard and at Dartmouth the charter provisions. in regard to secrecy caused trouble at an early date. In 1826 the New Hampshire Alpha abolished the obligation concerning secrecy-save as to the symbols on the medal. Five years later the Harvard Chapter was subjected to an anti-secret crusade led by John Quincy Adams, and was involved in the general agitation against all secret societies which resulted from the "Morgan mystery". About this time Avery Allyn, himself a member of Phi Beta Kappa, published the " Ritual of Freemasonry", in which appears a "Key to the Phi Beta Kappa". For this perjury he assigns the secret nature of the fraternity and its "infidel motto". He declares that the society, like Freemasonry, is of foreign man- ufacture, and discloses both the motto (Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης) and its meaning (Philosophy, Guide of Life). "Philosophy", he says, "has been the watchword of infidels in every age". Ad- mitting that the members as far as he knows are "all highminded and honorable, employing their talents for the public good in the
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various departments of civil and religious society, he demands that the order abandon its "secrecies" and "assume an American name", or disband. Bowing to the storm the Alpha of Massa- chusetts gave up its secrets. The Alphas at Yale, Union, Bow- doin, and Brown held the fort bravely, and for many years continued to style themselves secret societies. Even as late as 1870-71 the society annual at Brown ridiculed members of the anti-secret fraternity for joining this "secret" association. A few years ago the Senate of Phi Beta Kappa declared secrecy to be unnecessary, and recent charters impose no obligation of that sort.
ANG HARI NAE IN With secrecy departed all the charm and nearly all the pres- E R 1 CHRISTO ECCLESIA ACADEMIA T NOV M SEAL OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY. tige of the order. Excepting perhaps for a brief period at Yale the Northern Phi Beta Kappa never was a fraternity in the old Virginian or in the modern sense; and grad- ually the society became an honorary organization with an "active" mem- bership composed of about one-third of each senior class elected accord- ing to scholarship as indicated by the books of the Faculty. In most colleges elections are conferred at the close of junior year, and often there is a second " drawing" in sen- ior year. One-fourth is now the usual proportion selected, and at Yale and Harvard the total number chosen from each class is less than one-sixth. For many years chapter meetings nearly everywhere have been confined to those held for the election of members, and to the annual reunion at Commencement.
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