Sports Archives 25th Anniversary Open House

Women run in the Field Day track race

We are pleased to invite everyone to our celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Penn State Sports Archives, a collection in The Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Established in 1988, the collection consists of athlete files, audio-visual materials, media guides, press kits and memorabilia.

Activities  will include:
Noon to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library — “Early Women’s Athletics,” a short film premiere and panel discussion, in conjunction with Women’s History Month, featuring never-before-seen films, including physical education instructor Marie Haidt and Penn State women students from the 1930s and 1940s, followed by a discussion marking the 50th anniversary of Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics at Penn State, led by Ellen Perry, former associate athletics director; Janet Atwood, associate professor emerita sports science; Martha Adams, professor emerita health, physical education and recreation; Charlene Morett, head coach for women's field hockey; and others.

1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2, Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library — “Sports Archives Open House,” including photo ops with the Nittany Lion Mascot (2:30 to 3:15 p.m.) and viewing of selected segments of the collections, including media guides, athlete photographs, rarely seen memorabilia, and team schedules and rosters.

For more information about the Penn State Sports Archives or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Paul Dzyak at pjd106@psu.edu or 814-865-2123.

Archive Adventure: Let the Games Begin

Archives frequently get the stereotype of being staunch places filled with ancient tomes and stuffy staff with absolute intolerance for any noise. So far in our adventures, we've explored cookbooks, Christmas toys, student-decorated apparel, and quite a few other things that should help to dispel that myth. Today we skate into the not-too-distant past...

It's perfect timing for us, considering that this year our Sports Archive is celebrating its 25th anniversary (more on that in the weeks to come!). We're all revved up, and the Winter Olympics are just what we need to get us through to the Open House and our next big exhibit.

Dr. John Lucas

One of our biggest collections that focuses on the Olympics is the John Lucas papers. Dr. Lucas (1927-2012) was a professor emeritus and coach at PSU, an avid runner (with over 150,000 miles under his belt!), and an Olympic official from 1968 thru 2006. He was given the honor of the "Olympic Order" by IOC President Jan Samaranch in 1996 and the title of "Official International Olympic Committee Lecturer" in 1992. Besides being honored in the International community, Lucas was beloved at PSU and brought great pride to the College of Health & Human Development with his excellent articles, books, and classes.

Just a small glimpse of the HUGE collection we have thanks to Dr. Lucas.

Dr. Lucas' collection includes over 4,000 books (9 written by the man himself), 50 cubic feet of archival material, and 20 cubic feet of journals about the Games.* Probably one of my favorite excerpts about him details his absolute joy for sport and his tenacity: at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, John was carried off the track by police after he jumped the railing to congratulate his friend Rafer Johnson, who had just finished running in the decathalon. Dr. Lucas was certainly filled with the epitome of Olympic Spirit, and we're proud to house such an extensive and unique collection for future researchers!

We also have the Elizabeth Hanley Olympic Collection in our archives.Hanley taught as an associate professor of exercise science and worked as director of the Penn State International Dance Ensemble. In 1996, she had the honor of carrying the torch in Greece with other members of the International Olympic Academy Alumni Association. Hanley was invited to participate in the International Olympic Academy as a lecturer, social meeting director, and dance workshop coordinator since 1977. Her collection includes Olympic memorabilia, books on international dance, and her academic papers and records from her time teaching.

Some examples of the books on International Dance you can find in Hanley's collection

 And if you just can't get enough of the Olympics, we here at Special Collections highly recommend visiting our Flickr album (okay...it's not winter sports, but still!) about PSU Olympians or visiting our friends over in the All-Sports Museum for their exhibit on the Winter Olympics.

Until the next time, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
-A


*Have questions about our sports collections, such as the Lucas or Hanley papers? Ask Paul D. (pjd107@psu.edu) or Paul K.(ppk106@psu.edu), our very own sports experts in the archives!