RECORDS
OF THE OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION,
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
RG# 100
HISTORICAL NOTE
When the athletics program was in its first stages of
development there was no specific administrative structure for what was to become the
Athletic Department or, as far as the records tell, an official publicity department for
athletics. During 1930s William G. Mokray, a clerk in the Physical Education
Department and an avid sports historian and statistician began publishing game statistics
and handling athletic publicity. He is credited as being the first Director of
Athletic Publicity. Tom Doherty took over the post sometime after Mokray left to
take a public relations post with the Boston Celtics organization in 1942. The Department
of Publicity officially became the Sports Publicity Office (1951-1969) and was subsequently
renamed Sports Publicity and Information (1970-1976), Sports Communication
(1977-1992), Sports Information (1993-1997), and Athletic Media Relations (1998-
present). The director's position title changed over the years as well, to Sports
Publicity Officer (1951-1969) and then Assistant Director, Sports Publicity and
Information (1970-1972). When Doherty retired, Jim Norman became Assistant Director of
Sports Publicity and Information in 1972 and Assistant Director, Sports Communication in
1977. He held the position until his retirement in 1992. Charles J. Lamendola held
the position of Assistant Director, Sports Information for the year 1993. It is
unclear who held the position for the year 1994. Michael Ballweg became the
Assistant Director, Sports Information in 1995 and currently holds the position.
The promotion of an athletics program was begun at the Rhode Island College of Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts in 1892 by a group of students. At the time, the College did not have a
gymnasium nor an athletics instructor. These students formed a club known as the Athletic
Association. The purpose of the association was to help raise money
for equipment by implementing a tax on all players. Baseball was the first sport
started under the Association. It would play high school teams and the Brown freshman
squad. Football was added in 1894. The football team did not play a collegiate team
until 1903, losing 3 of the 4 games played. Neither baseball nor football teams were
very successful in winning games due to the lack of organization, sporadic interest by the
student population, and inadequate funding by the College Administration.
Men's basketball was recognized by the Association during
1904 and was coached by P.H. Wessells. In 1905 Marshall Tyler, a chemistry teacher,
became the faculty advisor to the athletic program and was subsequently appointed as
football and baseball coach. Due primarily to Tyler's efforts, the Association expanded
its game scheduling by adding some college freshman teams (junior varsity) as
well. Prior to this, the only competition came from local high school teams.
Women's sports were not recognized by the Athletic
Association. Aside from basketball practice, the women at the College had no official
athletic program. (It wasn't until 1907 that there were even enough women to form any kind
of team. Coach Wessells would give them pointers and acted as coach and referee.
(See
Grist, 1907) This changed in 1910 when Miss Nellie A. Harral became the women's
physical education instructor. Women were then required to take physical training
for one laboratory credit unless "excused by a physician's certificate."
This was subsequently changed to include a freshman and sophomore year
requirement. In 1911, two years after the school was renamed Rhode Island State
College, the Women's Athletic Association was formed by a group of women to promote
athletics among women of the College and help provide financial assistance for women's
athletics (see RG#40 Women's Athletic Association Scrapbooks). The
women had a series of dedicated instructors. One of which was the wife of Frank
Keaney. Winifred Keaney was appointed instructor from 1921- 1934. The first
competitive sport organized under this Association was basketball. Field hockey was
added as a varsity sport in 1931. It was under the Bressler administration (1931- 1940)
and the direction of Josephine Lees as the Director for Women's Athletics (1938-1942) that
women's athletics began to flourish. For a sketch of women's athletics during
the formative 30's, see Rammettes, call number LD4706 P49 R4
In 1909, George R. Cobb, a former athlete from the
University of Massachusetts, was appointed as Physical Instructor and assumed Marshal
Tyler's responsibilities as advisor and coach with Tyler becoming his assistant. Also
during this year, tennis and track were recognized by the Athletic Association. As
Instructor, Cobb made an impact on the association by increasing student and alumni
interests through the creation of a more competitive schedule for all sports. The schedule
for basketball included varsity teams of colleges and universities such as Brown
University, Worcester Polytechnic institute, Boston College, and Connecticut College
(University of Connecticut). But scheduling difficulties and the continuing lack of money
lead to dropping the sport for the years 1913 to 1915. Cobb left in 1916 and
was replaced by James Baldwin. Appointed as Director of Athletics, Baldwin stayed
for two years. The position of Director of Athletics changed leadership frequently until
1920, when Frank Keaney was hired.
As Director, Frank Keaney restructured the athletic program
and took most of the responsibilities out of the hands of the students for both the men's
and women's athletic associations. He assumed responsibility for coaching baseball,
football and basketball. He then hired Fred Tootell, a former Olympic gold medal winner in
the hammer throw in the 1924 Olympics, as an assistant. Keaney made many contributions to
the program. The building of a field house and a football stadium with capacity of
1,500 people occurred during his tenure. The stadium was built in 1924 and was located
where the present football stadium stands. Keaney served as coach of baseball, football,
and basketball, but it was in basketball in which he made his national reputation. In
basketball, the Rams won 402 games and lost 124 during Keaney's 28 years. His
most successful season was in 1946 when the basketball team went to the National
Invitational Tournament finals in Madison Square Garden as an underdog and lost by one
point to the University of Kentucky Wild Cats. For more about Keaney's basketball
years see Keaney, If You Don’t Love to Play, Pivot and Go Home by
William Woodward. An historic event in URI's basketball history occurred when in 1946 the
Rams played the then undefeated Holy Cross College in Boston Garden where 13, 900 fans
cheered the Rams victory, 65 to 58 (see Woodward, p. 221). It was also during
this time that Ernie Calverly shot from back court tied the game and lead to an overtime
victory against Bowling Green (see Woodward, p. 226). Keaney was coach
until 1948. It was under his leadership that "fast break" basketball was first
introduced into the sport (see Woodward, p.126). Frank Keaney retired as the
Director of Athletics in 1956 on his seventieth birthday. After Keaney's retirement, Fred
Tootell took over the position.
Although the fame of the Rams basketball team peaked during
the Keaney era, mention must be made of track star Bob Black. He won many national
championships in cross country in the late forties. Among his many accomplishments
was winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship for two years
straight in 1948 and 1949, breaking the national record in 1948. Inducted into the
first annual University Hall of Fame in 1972, he was honored as being "the finest
distance runner in Rhode Island history".
As track coach, Tootell brought the same success
that Keaney had brought to basketball. Under his coaching, several conference titles were won and two of
his athletes, Michael Dyer and William Rowe, competed in the Olympics. He relinquished his
coaching duties in 1956 after the retirement of Keaney and his own appointment as
Director. With the growing population of the school, more sports were being sponsored by
the athletic program, the Director was no longer required to coach a sport.
In 1950 Harold Kopp was named as head coach of the football
team. Kopp had the same rebuilding spirit as Keaney and brought many successful seasons to
the University of Rhode Island football team. During Kopp's career, the football team won 42
and tied 4 out of 80 contests. In 1955 Kopp brought the football team to its first bowl
game, the "Refrigerator Bowl", in Evansville against Jacksonville State
College of Alabama. (See also the Harold Kopp Memorabilia Collection MSG#134)
Maurice Zarchen replaced Frederick Tootell as Director of
Athletics in 1962. During the nineteen years that Zarchen held the position as Athletic
Director, many of the teams experienced successful seasons including golf, tennis,
wrestling, football, and basketball. During the late 1960's and throughout the 1970's many
teams won Yankee Conference titles. In 1974 the football team shared the Yankee Conference
title with University of Connecticut. Wrestling also won the Yankee Conference title in
1974. The basketball team experienced successful seasons by entering the NCAA Tournament
during the 1975-76 and 1977-78 seasons. Women's sports also experienced successful seasons
in the 1977-78 season, as the gymnastics team posted a 11-1 record. The women's softball
team won consecutive championship titles in 1978 and 1979 and in 1983 went to the NCAA
Softball Championships, losing to UCLA.
Maurice Zarchen retired in 1981 and John Chuckran succeeded him as Director. Chuckran
stayed until 1989, when McKinley Boston was appointed as his successor. During Chuckran's
eight years as director, the football, baseball, and basketball teams experienced some
notable successes. In 1981, the football team shared the Yankee Conference title with the
University of Massachusetts. The Yankee Conference was the regional conference in which
New England colleges and universities competed. Also in 1985, the football team shared the
Yankee Conference title with Boston University and went to the Division 1-AA playoffs.
Some players from those teams were signed to play in the National Football League (NFL),
including Tom Ehrhardt who played for the New York Jets in 1986 and the Cincinnati Bengals
in 1987. He was also the only player in University of Rhode Island football history to
have his number retired. Others include Rick Moser, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers,
and Jeff Williams, who played for the Los Angeles Rams. In the 1987-88 season, under the
coaching of Tom Pender, the basketball team went to the Eastern Regional Finals in the
NCAA Tournament by defeating Syracuse 97 to 94. The Rams lost the Eastern Regional
title to Duke 73 to 72. In 1983 and 1985 the women's soccer team won conference
titles as a club sport.
The current Director, Ronald Petro became Director of
Athletics in 1991, succeeding Mckinley Boston.
Dr. Kevin J. Logan and Stephen Dalpe composed a historical
note in 1997 for this register which has been updated and slightly revised. Sources used
to construct this note were:
A History of Organized Athletics at Rhode Island State
College, 1892-1940, a paper written by Eugene F. Gardner in 1963 located in Archives.
The University of Rhode Island, A History of Land Grant Education in Rhode Island
by Herman F. Eschenbacher, New York: Appelton-Century-Crofts, 1967.
Keaney, If You Don't Love To Play Pivot and Go Home! by William Woodward, Wickford,
RI: Dutch Island Press, 1991.
