Loss of a Good Friend

The University of Maryland Archives mourns the loss of a good friend, John McNamara, in yesterday’s tragic shooting at the offices of the Capital Gazette.  John was a UMD graduate, Class of 1983, and former writer for The Diamondback before he began his career as a professional journalist.

We worked closely with John on the two books he wrote about UMD athletics, University of Maryland Football Vault: The History of the Terrapins (2009) and Cole Classics! (2001). It was an honor and a privilege to collaborate with John on this projects. He spent hours in the Maryland Room gathering the data he needed to make his work completely accurate, and he was deeply appreciative of our support in helping him find information and images and doing a thorough fact-checking of his manuscripts.

Even after John had completed his books, he was always available if we had a question for him or needed his help in making a contact in the world of college athletics.

He was truly a Terp for Life, and we will miss him greatly.

Maryland Done a “Dirty Deal”

According to the diary of 1930’s coed, Ruth Finzel, recently donated to the University of Maryland Archives, the Aggies football team got a “dirty deal” in their loss to the Naval Academy Middies 86 years ago today at Washington’s Griffith Stadium.

The Crab Bowl, as it is presently known, was played on November 22, 1930.  Notable attendees at the game included Charles F. Adams, Secretary of the Navy, Albert E. Ritchie, Maryland Governor, Sir Ronald Lindsay, British Ambassador, and Rear Adm. S.S. Robinson, Naval Academy Superintendent.  By many accounts, the 1930 game proved to be the first competitive contest of the series, with Navy scoring the only points on the second play of the game. The remaining 58 minutes were a defensive struggle

Here’s Ruth’s account of that football showdown:

“Norma, Jake, Morselly, Jane Smith and I went with Ruth Gilbert to the Navy game.  The girls wore chrysanthemums and ribbons to it [sic].  The traffic was terrible and Ruth was driving like wild.  Smacked into someone and nearly upset [sic] another time.  Parked way off.  Lost 6-0 by a dirty deal.  Kennedy came down with me for the last 10 minutes of the game and walked out with me.  He’s so cute.  I told him about my Iota Nu Delta date, so he told me about his.  I’m glad he had a punk time.  Went to bed early.

The dirty deal to which Ruth refers?  Check out the account of the game in The Diamondback: “Byrdmen Beaten by Kirn Plus Ten Men in Annapolis Fracas.  Adverse Decision Turns Possible Triumph into Defeat”

This was the latest installment of an intense football rivalry  between two institutions close in proximity (30 miles) but many miles apart in cultural and institutional differences.  Play began in 1905, ended abruptly 60 years later, but was renewed in 2005.  Losing the first 8 games, Maryland finally won in 1931, the season after Ruth graduated.  One of the highlights of this long series is the September 30, 1951, game at which Byrd Stadium, now known as Maryland Stadium, was dedicated. The Terps topped the Middies, 35-21, that day, and UMD Heisman Trophy runner-up Jack Scarbath scored the first touchdown in the new stadium. A total of 21 games have been played with an overall record of 14 Navy wins to Maryland’s 7.

Scarbath scores!

Historically, the in-state rivalry was fueled by what some young men perceived as the coeds’ attraction to nattily-attired Midshipmen in their handsome uniforms over the more typical casual appearance and behavior of men on the Maryland campus.  There was also an enduring grudge borne out of a single-finger gesture made by a Maryland linebacker after tackling Navy QB Roger Staubach, during a narrow Maryland victory, 27-22, in 1964.  Consequently, the Maryland-Navy competition was suspended for 40 years by Navy.

Here’s a selection of program covers from some of our contests against the Middies:

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We post this today, on the 86th anniversary of this special day in Ruth’s life, and encourage you to check back for future snapshots of this era in UMD history! You can find her account of the 1930 May Day fun with Zingaree and the Gypsies here.

Student Life in the 1870s–new acquisition

“As a general thing we have stale bread, butter & meat (beef) that is hardly fit to eat, for breakfast.” So reported Maryland Agricultural College student Percy Davidson in a March 6, 1871, letter home to his mother, recently donated to the UMD Archives. Some things never change–like college students complaining about the food in the dining hall…

Davidson’s comment and a number of other interesting observations really capture what life was like at the Agricultural College in the early 1870s. He reports on student dress, his daily study routine, and his efforts to avoid “boys that I think would injure my good morals.” Davidson also asks his mother to send some “eatibles,” another necktie for Sundays, and a pair of slippers and comments on previous news from home.

Such early student commentary is rare, so this brief letter is especially valuable, and the UMD Archives is delighted to add this gem to its collections.

Try your hand at reading the letter. If you struggle a bit, the transcription appears below.

You can also stop by the Archives during our open hours and see the letter in person. Hope you will pop in soon.

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Md. Agrl. College

Feb. March 6, 1871

My Dear Mamma

I received your letter a few moments ago I hasten to answer it.

I have two neckties but one is hardly fit for use & I should like very much to have another one for Sundays.

Papa told me when he was out here that I was looking badly & attributes it to want of exercise, but I think the reason is that we never get a change of diet, we have the same thing over & over again, & sometimes dont [sic] get enough of what we do have. It is a very rare thing for the butter or vegetables to pass around. As a general thing we have stale bread, butter & meat (beef) that is hardly fit to eat, for breakfast.

As I do not drink tea or coffee Mrs. Regester gives me a glass of milk for breakfast & supper.

We have supper at 5 o’clock & the bell rings at 6 to study. I study until about 9 1/2 or 10, but I never stay up later unless I have a harder lesson than usual to study, but since Dr. Regester has stopped us from using lamps or candles after the bell rings to go to bed I never stay up later than 10.

Boys hardly ever congregate in my room especially bad boys. I never voluntarily associate with boys that I think would injure my good morals.

I hope I have answered your questions satisfactorily for I have told you nothing but the plain truth, Mamma.

I would like very much to have the eatibles that you mentioned & also some hard-tack & anything at all that would be the most convenient for you to get, but please don’t put yourself to any extra trouble for me, for I expect my visit home will compensate for anything that I dont [sic] get out here.

I would like to have a pair of slippers to put on in the morning when I get up  & at night while I am studying.

Most of the boys out here have got them.

Sister told me in one of her letters that you had a tremendous Newfoundland but she didn’t tell me its name or anything about it. Has sister got her little dog still. Tell Papa I received my suit of clothes a few days ago & they fit me splendidly. I have now got good suits of clothes including my uniform. I am glad to hear that Frankie talks & maybe he will send me a message soon.

I hope when you move you will be able to get a better house than the one which you now occupy for I know you are tired of being all cramped up.

Hoping to be with you soon & anticipating a happy meeting I remain your devoted son

Percy Davidson

 

 

 

Terps vs. the Ivies

If you asked the first 100 fans you meet in Maryland Stadium “Did the Terps ever take on an Ivy League team on the gridiron,” probably the vast majority would respond, “No.” They would be surprised to learn that Maryland did indeed face off with Yale, Princeton, and Penn a total of 18 times, beginning in 1919 with a game against the Yale Bulldogs.

Terps’ losses far outnumbered their wins–vs. Yale (2-8-1), Princeton (0-2) and Pennsylvania (1-4). Their most lopsided loss came against Penn, 51-0, in the 1940 match-up.  The last time Maryland played against an Ivy League team was in 1941, losing again to Penn, 55-6. Terps have never taken on Columbia, Brown, Cornell or Dartmouth.

MD vs. Princeton, 1920

MD vs. Penn, 1923 – a narrow victory

Celebrating 100 years of women’s education at UMD

September 14 is a landmark day in University of Maryland history! One hundred years ago today, a young woman named Elizabeth Gambrill Hook entered the Maryland State College of Agriculture, as the University of Maryland was then known, setting the stage for the over 17,000 female students currently on campus.  The 20-year-old Hook indicated an interest in experimental work in her entrance register entry and fulfilled her dream by earning her degree in entomology in 1920, becoming the first woman to take all of her classes on campus and receive a four-year degree.

Elizabeth Hook, entrance register, Sept. 14, 1916

Elizabeth Hook in Entomology lab.

Charlotte Ann Vaux joined Elizabeth Hook on campus a few weeks later. Vaux took a two-year course in agriculture and received her degree in 1918.

Charlotte Vaux’s entry in the 1918 Reveille yearbook.

These two pioneers and other early women at Maryland are featured in a new University Archives exhibit on the first and second floors of McKeldin Library. The display chronicles the academic, athletic, and social activities of early co-eds, and also features information on the rules of behavior that female students were expected to follow. Visitors can learn more about Misses Hook and Vaux, the first sorority and women’s sports teams at Maryland, the May Day tradition, and restrictions on women’s movements around campus, guests in the dormitory, and even use of musical instruments and typewriters. The exhibit also contains examples of academic expectations for the pioneering co-eds and the story of early early rebel, Vivian Simpson.

“We Take our Hats off to you, Miss(es) Co-eds: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Education at Maryland” will remain on display outside of the Footnotes Café on the first floor and in the Portico Lounge on the second floor of McKeldin through mid-January 2017. Stop by and learn more about these amazing women from 100 years ago!

This is a post in our series on Terrapin Tales called UMD123! Similar to our “ABC’s of UMD” series in fall 2015, posts in this series will take a look at the university’s history “by the numbers.” New posts will come out twice a month throughout the fall; on the Terrapin Tales blog, search “UMD123” or use the UMD123 tag. You can also check out Twitter#UMD123. If you want to learn more about campus history, you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

 

 

UMD123: 5

Thousands of athletes have graced this campus and led UMD athletics to new heights throughout the years. Among these thousands, 46 individuals proudly represented not only the University of Maryland, but their home countries in the Olympic Games. Out of those 46, FIVE athletes achieved the prized gold medal!

In 1948, the kingpin rifle shooter of the world was none other than Arthur E. Cook, Class of 1950, better known as “Cookie.” As the “baby” of the shooting team representing the U.S. at the Olympics in London, Cookie was found astonishing for his age and his performance was a great upset to the competition. He won the 50-meter competition with an unbelievable score of 599 out of a possible 600, earning him the gold medal!  He was the rifle team captain while attending the University of Maryland’s College of Engineering.

A dominate force on the basketball court, Steve “Bear” Sheppard jumped at the opportunity to play with the USA men’s basketball team in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Sheppard would help Team USA go undefeated through the tournament and crush Yugoslavia, 95-74, for the gold medal! Returning to UMD, Sheppard finished out his collegiate career with many highlights before becoming the second round pick for the Chicago Bulls in 1977-78.

As a tremendous, aggressive defensive star, Victoria “Vicky” Bullett was the youngest member (age 20) of the U.S women’s basketball team at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.  Vicky scored four points to help Team USA defeat Yugoslavia (77-70) for the gold medal! On her return from South Korea, Vicky stated that, “I’m in a daze, it still hasn’t really hit me yet. It was a great experience, very exciting.”¹ Vicky Bullett graduated from Maryland in 1989 with a degree in General Studies.

The current head coach of Maryland Track and Field, Andrew Valmon, is no stranger to the Olympics. As a young runner, Andrew attended the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. In his first appearance at the Olympics, he assisted in winning the gold medal for the Men’s 4 x 400 meter relay with a final time of 2:56.17 just missing the 1968 Olympic and World Record.  At the next Summer Games (1992), Andrew once again assisted the Men’s 4 x 400 meter relay in capturing the gold and setting a new world record of 22:55.74.  In 2003, Andrew was named head coach of Maryland’s Track and Field team. He reached the highest level of his coaching career when he was named the head coach of the U.S Track & Field Team for the 2012 London Olympics.

At the young age of six, Dominique Dawes began a long and successful career as a gymnast.  Twelve years later after numerous competitions and already an Olympic veteran (competing in the 1992 Olympics), she once again proved her ability by gaining a position on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team for the 1996  Summer Olympics in Atlanta. By the end of the games, the team earned the nickname “Magnificent Seven” and became the first U.S. women’s gymnastics team in Olympic history to win a gold medal. Dawes would later graduate from University of Maryland (though never a member of UMD Gymnastics) in 2002 and is currently a co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition while working for Yahoo Weekend News.²

This is a post in our on-going series on Terrapin Tales called UMD123! Similar to our “ABC’s of UMD” series in the fall 2015 semester, posts in this series will take a look at the university’s history “by the numbers.” New posts will come out twice a month; on the Terrapin Tales blog search “UMD123” or use the UMD123 tag. You can also check out Twitter #UMD123. If you want to learn more about campus history, you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

¹ Quote taken from UMD Diamondback article in September 1988 issue.

² Information sourced from Dominique Dawes Wikipedia page. Photo used from Bio section on President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition website.

 

Prodigies at UMD

Were you ready for college at age 14? Age 16?

One of the university’s youngest graduates, William Bridges Smith, enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1958 at age 14. He graduated in 1962 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at age 18– the age when many students start college! His photograph in  Biographical Photographs – Print File Collection is nearly identical to his yearbook portrait, enabling us to identify him.

William Bridges Smith in the University Archives Biographical Print File Collection

William enrolled alongside his 16-year-old brother, Harry Leroy Smith, Jr., who graduated in 3.5 semesters at age 20. Both William and Harry made their marks on the university in spite of concerns over their relative youth. The 1962 Terrapin Yearbook lists William under Who’s Who among Students in American Colleges and Universities in the United States. He is pictured next to Harry under the Omicron Delta Kappa national men’s honor society and among the members of Aiee-Ire (Joint Student Branch of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and Institute of Radio Engineers). The Terrapin also records the two young students’ membership in Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society for the upper ten percent of the graduating class and from all schools at the university.

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The Baltimore Sun, interested in the story of one of Maryland’s youngest graduates, printed a brief biography of William “Bill” Smith on June 10, 1962. William, who graduated with a 3.02 GPA, was advised by elders (other than his parents) not to start college too early. He commented on their advice, “You’re supposed to get socially maladjusted or something.” Clearly, he did not take their recommendations to heart, as he became involved in Aiee-Ire, AFROTC, the chess team, and the chess club, dated college freshmen, and took 20-23 credits per semester. In his second semester, he dropped out of a social fraternity because he earned B’s instead of A’s. Answering questions about his extensive extracurricular involvements and high academic achievements, he responded, “Some kids will sharpen pencils or play the radio, and wonder at the end of an hour why they haven’t accomplished anything.” Upon graduation, William planned to work at the Bell Labs location in Holmdel, NJ, to pursue his master’s and Ph.D. research.  [1]

UMD123: 35

Thirty-five represents the number of years that Steny Hoyer, ’63, has served Maryland in the House of Representatives

In today’s UMD123 post, we are highlighting the service of the Maryland alumnus who has risen the highest in the U.S. Congress, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland’s 5th District. Hoyer was first elected to Congress in a special election in 1981 to fill Gladys Noon Spellman’s seat after she was incapacitated following a stroke and has served continuously ever since. Representative Hoyer has been the second highest member of the House Democratic Caucus since 2007, when he became House Majority Leader under Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. After the Republicans retook the House in 2011, his title changed to House Minority Whip.

Hoyer as Whip of the Free State Party. From the 1963 Terrapin

Steny Hoyer’s years at the University of Maryland were very much a harbinger of his bright future. A Political Science major, he was a member of the Sigma Chi, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Omicron Delta Kappa fraternities. He worked on the Diamondback newspaper and was an important member of the Student Government Association, serving as vice president and as a member of the legislative council and finance and judiciary committees, as well as whip of the ruling Free State Party. Hoyer was also a member of the Young Democrats and served on the Central Student Court. His deep involvement in university life also undoubtedly helped earn him a spot on the exclusive “Who’s Who” list of students his senior year. All Hoyer’s activities chronicled in the 1963 Terrapin yearbook proved prescient, as only three years after graduating, Hoyer was elected to the Maryland State Senate, where he would eventually rise to president, before beginning his long stay in Congress.

Steny Hoyer may be the longest-serving Maryland alumnus in the House of Representatives, but he is hardly the only Terrapin to join that body. Here is a list of Maryland’s Congressional alumni:

All-time Terps in the Super Bowl

Getting psyched for Super Bowl 50 on February 7? UMD football fans will be more than a little interested in the game, since two former Terps are on the Denver Broncos’ roster–Vernon Davis and Darius Kilgo. Hoping for game-changing plays from both of them!

To warm up for the golden anniversary of the big game, we decided to do some digging to find all of the University of Maryland football players to ever participate in football’s biggest game. Below is the list of University of Maryland players to participate in the Super Bowl, both those who have won and those who have lost.

ABC’s of UMD: Letter O

O is for the ODK FOUNTAIN!

Like the “M” Circle, featured in our post on October 12, the ODK Fountain is one of the most iconic features of the UMD campus. Installed in the heart of McKeldin Mall and dedicated in April 1997, the fountain consists of five tiers that represent the areas of leadership from which Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) seeks in its members–Scholarship; Athletics; Campus or Community Service, Social, and Religious Activities, and Campus Government; Journalism, Speech, and the Mass Media; the Creative and Performing Arts.

The Sigma Circle of ODK, the UMD chapter, was founded on February 2, 1927, by faculty members and administrators Harry Clifton Byrd, Ray Carpenter, Ernest N. Cory, Raymond A. Pearson, Willard S. Small, Reginald V. Truitt. This six men immediately began tapping undergraduates for membership.

Initial members of ODK, from the 1927 Reveille yearbook

Through the years, over 4,000 men, and now women, have been tapped for membership into this honorary fraternity, which celebrates leadership, scholarship, outstanding character, and student involvement. The names of the inductees from 1927 to 2015, including honorary members such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Steny Hoyer, and the Earl of Halifax, have been carved in the granite panels that line the fountain.

This is the 15th post in our series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Check back on Friday, October 23, for Letter P!