Phillips Exeter Football Team w/ McClung , Rhodes and Morison c.1886 and Phillips Andover Football Team c.1886

Oversized albumin of the Phillips Exeter football team. Exeter was a feeder school for Yale and pictured are several notable players that went on to star for the University. Of particular interest are Thomas Lee McClung, William Castle Rhodes and Sanford Newel Morison.

 

 A young Thomas "Bum" McClung, mentioned a number of times previously in this blog.
McClung was a two time All-American at Yale, class of 1892 and played football in '88,'89,'90 and '91, captaining the team in his last year. He is generally considered one of the top twenty players of the 19th century. He coached football at the University of California in 1892 and went on to become the Treasurer of the United States.

 

William Rhodes, Yale class of 1891 played for Yale in '87,'88,'89 and 1890, captaining the team in 1890. Rhodes was also an All-American. After graduation he played for the Cleveland Athletic Club and then returned to Yale to coach the football team in 1893 and 1894.

 

 

Sanford Morison followed up his time at Exeter also playing for Yale, in '89,'90 and '91

 

 

A good shot of the ball

 

 

Oversized albumin of the Phillips Andover Academy football team and chief rivals of those portrayed in the preceding Exeter team photographs.  See also blog entries for Aug 4, 2014 and Aug 13, 2015.

 

Pratt Gym Indian Clubs c.1880s

 

We very rarely pick up Indian Clubs, a popular form of exercise in the US starting in the 1860s and dying out in popularity in the 1920s. We did however pick up this pair as they were marked (other than manufacturer), which is very unusual, and related to an earlier posting on this blog.

The pictured pair of clubs, standing 21” in height are stamped “PRATT GYM”. If you refer back to our blog entry of August 17, 2013, The Beginnings of Amherst Football , you will note that Amherst College’s first donated building from an alumni was Pratt Gym, erected in 1883, donated by Charles Millard Pratt.  Pratt, class of ’79 was a member of the 79 Eleven in 1878. This association made adding these clubs to our collection an easy decision.