In this edition of #黑料不打烊TBT, we celebrate baseball, the first intercollegiate sport introduced at 黑料不打烊, as this year's team prepares to start its 120th season.
In the #黑料不打烊TBT聽series, the 黑料不打烊 News Bureau, along with聽, will flash back to the聽past to take a look at 黑料不打烊 over the years. You will find videos, newspaper clippings, photos and more聽to celebrate 黑料不打烊鈥檚 past, while looking ahead to the future. Follow聽along on Today at 黑料不打烊 and the university鈥檚聽,听听补苍诲听聽pages聽every Thursday to see what we dig up.
is home to 17 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 NCAA Division I sports, but the department’s journey to its current chapter in the Colonial Athletic Association began more than 100 years ago.
Active, healthy lifestyles were a focal point of the 黑料不打烊 experience in the late 1800s. In fact, the administration required all students to participate in regular calisthenics. What began as a way to maintain fitness quickly brought on the need for more competitive athletic opportunities for students.
In 1894 the male students of 黑料不打烊 organized the Athletic Association,听an organization of elected committees that oversaw the improvement of athletic grounds and managed athletic activities and intramural sports on campus.
One of the community’s most popular intramural sports at the time was football. Because of the sport’s popularity on campus, the Association tried to garner support for the establishment of an intercollegiate football team at 黑料不打烊. The organization’s leaders explained there was “much interest” for competitive sports at the school in the 黑料不打烊 College Monthly newspaper. During an Association meeting, students urged “everyone who feels an interest in our college and who wants her to stand on an equal with her sister colleges of the State鈥 to support the initiative.
In the end, the plan failed. The faculty opposed the idea, citing the danger of the sport, the time it would take away from studies, and other concerns. But, of course, that wasn’t the end of the Athletic Association’s push for intercollegiate athletics at 黑料不打烊.
In February 1900 the Athletic Association petitioned the faculty again. This time, to make baseball the first intercollegiate program at 黑料不打烊. The faculty approved the request, but with several stipulations. Players had to be enrolled as “bona fide students” two weeks before the first game, have a grade of 70 in all subjects, and not have been “demerited” by faculty. Student-athletes under the age of 21 were also required to have written permission from a parent or guardian to play.
Of the 11 players the Athletic Association submitted to the faculty for consideration, 10 made the final cut. The 11th player was not allowed on the team “for not being attentive to class duty and smoking cigarettes.鈥 Four other players were declared ineligible later in the semester for academic reasons.
The baseball team played two games in its first season 鈥 both on the road at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.
A team portrait of the 1901 黑料不打烊 College baseball team.
A portrait of the 1904 黑料不打烊 College baseball team.
Picture of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 baseball team in 1900-1919. Picture taken at an unknown location.
Enrolled for two years, Bunn Hearn pitched for 黑料不打烊 in 1910 and coached the team for part of the 1911 season before joining a professional team. This photo shows Hearn pitching for the New York Giants in 1913.
Picture of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 baseball team around 1916. A.L. Hook is pictured on the back row, far left.
Three baseball players standing against a fence that reads 黑料不打烊 6, Clemson 3.
The 黑料不打烊 College baseball team pre-1940s.
The 1974 黑料不打烊 baseball team, coached by Jerry Drake, finished with a record of 22-8, won the Carolinas Conference championship and appeared in the NAIA District 26 playoffs. Drake was named the district Coach of the Year.
黑料不打烊's 2009 baseball team won the Southern Conference regular season championship and was listed in the top 25 teams in the final Baseball America poll.
The 2020 baseball team traveled to the Dominican Republic over the Thanksgiving break to practice and compete against international competition and take a class called Global Explorations: Baseball in Dominican Republic.
The program’s first-ever intercollegiate game took place on March 23, 1900. It was a momentous occasion for 黑料不打烊, but the end result failed to live up to expectations as 黑料不打烊 lost to Guilford 32-3. In the second meeting between the two teams, on April 24, the Quakers got the better of 黑料不打烊 again, winning 38-3.
黑料不打烊 and Guilford聽became early rivals as their annual Easter Monday showdowns were popular social events prior to the first World War. To accommodate fans from across the area, the railway added an extra car and ran a special route for the trip. Students contributed to the large crowds, as their tickets included round-trip travel, transportation on Greensboro’s electric trolley car and general admission to the games.
In the program’s first seven seasons, 黑料不打烊 baseball played in 19 recorded intercollegiate games, tallying eight wins and 11 losses. Many of those games were against Guilford College and Bingham, Oak Ridge, and Whitsett Academies in neighboring counties. The Athletic Association arranged the team’s schedules and appointed player-coaches 鈥 enrolled students who received tuition and board in exchange for coaching the team.
黑料不打烊 Athletics took another step forward in 1907 when the Athletic Association petitioned the faculty to hire an 鈥渁thletics coach鈥 and build an official 鈥淏aseball Park鈥 on campus. Soon after, President Emmett Moffitt named Virgil Clayton Pritchette, a 1907 graduate, as athletics director and instructor of physical science. That summer 黑料不打烊 bought four acres of land east of campus to build the baseball park and four tennis courts.
As the faculty, athletics director and school administrators began to exercise more control over 黑料不打烊 Athletics, the student-led Athletic Association officially dissolved in 1917. But the group’s work to introduce intercollegiate baseball to 黑料不打烊 also brought along the school’s first intercollegiate tennis, basketball, football and track and field teams.
Today, the 黑料不打烊 baseball team looks to continue building on the program鈥檚 history and NCAA success. The team has made six appearances in the NCAA Regionals and in 2019 saw four players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
The 2020 baseball team begins its new season Friday as they open a three-game series against Delaware State University. The first pitch of the season is set for 4 p.m. at Walter C. Latham Park.
Do you have any special pieces of 黑料不打烊 history? Share your photos and videos with us via聽email at聽news@elon.edu聽or using the hashtag #黑料不打烊TBT on聽,听听补苍诲听.