RECORDS
OF THE OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION,
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
RG# 100
SCOPE AND CONTENT
In 1984, Dr. Arthur Sherman, professor of physical
education, discovered a treasure trove of athletic history under the stands in Keaney
Gymnasium. The collection was processed and a register was compiled by graduate
student, Peter Capelotti. The records consisted of photographs, glass slides, game
balls and 16mm game films. In March of 1999, the game balls were transferred back to
the Athletic Department. For a listing of the game balls and 1400 game films refer
to the register compiled in 1984. Some VHS tapes have been produced for selected
game films and are listed in Game
Films (Series VI).
In the spring of 1996, the Sports Information Office of the
University of Rhode Island transferred its records to Special Collections. These records
were recovered from the Mackal Field House in good condition. The records contain a wide
variety of material pertaining to the intercollegiate athletic program at the University.
The types of records include correspondence, score books, programs, and photographs.
The bulk of the material is from the office of the Director of Sports Information, Jim
Norman, who was hired in 1973 and retired in 1993. Also found was scattered material from
coaches before 1973 and after 1993. The photographs contained in this collection were
transferred to the Archives photograph vertical file, where they are kept for ease of
access and filed under the subject of the sporting event. The rest of the collection was
processed into the following series: Coed, Men's, Women's, Publicity/Press releases,
and Yankee Conference. A register was compiled in 1997 by Dr. Kevin Logan and
Stephen Dalpe.
In the summer of 1998, a second set of records
was
transferred to the Archives. When processing began, duplications were noted as well as
gaps in the previously processed records. It was determined that this set of records
covered the same time frame and types of information as those received and processed in
1996. The decision was made to integrate the records. This second accession
also contained approximately 2' of photographs. These were consolidated with those
in Archives vertical file. The format of many of the photographic materials and the added
bulkiness of this series necessitated that the photographs be housed in archival and/ or
photograph storage boxes. To provide continuity, the photographs in the
vertical file were united with the present collection.
After processing the second set of records, it was
determined that the original series divisions were inadequate. The records were then
reorganized and integrated into the following series:
Series I, Sports,
contains
documents relating to the particular sport. The sports are arranged alphabetically into
sub-series as follows: Baseball, Basketball (men's, women's), Crew,
Cross-country (men's, women's), Fencing (women's), Field Hockey, Football, Golf (men's,
women's), Gymnastics, Lacrosse, Rifle, Sailing, Soccer (men's, women's), Softball,
Swimming and Diving (men's, women's), Track and Field (men's, women's), Volleyball,
Wrestling. Each sub-series includes rosters, scoring records (box scores),
schedules, programs and media guides. Where there are double header programs, the
programs were placed in the men's programs by sport.
Series II, Press Releases, contains press releases by the
Athletic Department at the University of Rhode Island. This series also contains the
official publication of the University Rhode Island Athletic Department, Ram Notes, and
newsletters. This series is arranged chronologically by year.
Series III, Photographs,
is
divided into subseries:
Athletic Events consists of team photos,
action shots, and subjects. It is arranged alphabetically by sport and chronologically
within the sport. Non-sport specific photographs are in a subjects file within this
subseries. Some of the photographs were matched with accompanying written captions.
Unmatched captions are in a separate folder.
Headshots consists of 1x2 head shots of
individual players and athletic staff. It is arranged in alphabetical order by
player and by coaching staff
Proofs, negatives and slides consists of proof
sheets, negatives, slides of teams, individuals and action shots. It is arranged
alphabetically by sport.
Glass slides are arranged in alphabetical order
by type of Glass slides from the years 1932 -1935 of basketball
rosters, point totals
and play formations. These 141 slides were removed from their original four-drawer
wooden file box and placed in their original order in photo storage boxes.
Series IV, Yankee Conference,
contains material relating to the regional conference in which the University
of Rhode Island athletic teams competed. The conference was known as the Yankee
Conference. The Yankee Conference consisted of colleges and universities in the New
England area. This series contains committee reports, minutes of meetings, and papers from
the Publicity Director of the Yankee Conference. The majority of the minutes of meetings
are from 1945 -1950, when its secretary was from the University of Rhode Island. The
papers of the Publicity Director contain correspondence and press releases from 1958-1965.
These files are arranged chronologically within the folders. Aside from new
folder numbers, this series remained unchanged from it's original organization.
Series V, Subject Files,
contains non-sports specific information and records peripherally related to the Athletic
Department. The Subject Files also contain the Athletic Association minutes,1902-1912,
its Constitution of 1911, and Athletic Council minutes and financial
statements, 1937-1941. These items were taken from the
Archives vertical file
and placed with the Athletic records to provide continuity and ease of access.
This series also contains all material pertaining to athletic awards, such as
correspondence, nomination forms, programs for receptions and banquet
programs. The University-sponsored awards are the Leboeff, Keaney, Holmes,
Blazer, and Insignia. Also in this series are correspondence, nomination forms,
and programs
for the URI Hall of Fame from 1972-1988.
Also in the Subject Files is the Ram Blue and White Fund 1984-1990 (with gaps). It
was created in 1982 for athletic fundraising activities. That same year, the Ram Blue and
White Fund established the Dr. A. A. Savastano Golf Classic in honor of Dr. A. A.
Savastano, prominent orthopedic surgeon and former President of the Heritage Hall of Fame,
as a means to benefit the Ram Athletic program.
The records from the Athletic Department's Office of Sports Information also
contain
records from sports and service organizations not organic to the University. These
are Providence Grid Iron Club, Words Unlimited, and the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
This was due to Jim Norman's association with these organizations. Jim Norman was
Assistant Director, Sports Communication or its equivalent from 1972 to 1992.
Words Unlimited is an organization of sports writers who sponsor the Words Unlimited
Athletes of the Year Award for outstanding Rhode Island high school and collegiate
athletes. The Words Unlimited Awards files contain correspondence, nomination forms,
programs for the years 1963 (program only, Tom Doherty, president) and 1977 to 1984 when
Jim Norman was its president. Tom Doherty was Sports Publicity Officer and then Assistant
Director, Sports Publicity and Information from 1951 to 1971.
The records of the Providence Grid Iron Club date
from 1974-1975 when Jim Norman was Vice President of the organization and 1982-1984 when
Jim Norman was President.
The records of The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame date
from 1969-1990, when Jim Norman was Vice President and a member of the
Board of Directors. This organization was founded by Frank Lanning in March 1965 to spotlight
contributions made by Rhode Islanders that contribute to the rich intellectual and
cultural heritage of Rhode Island. This Subject File contains biographical information
about many prominent Rhode Islanders, including Ted Knight, Irving R. Levine, Walter
"Salty" Brine, Fritz Eichenberg, and Sister Eileen Murphy, founder of Amos House
(a Providence-based homeless shelter) from the Heritage Hall of Fame records.
Series VI,
Game Films, contains VHS tapes formatted from the 1400 reels of game films from 1930's to
1987 (See first paragraph above). The films were converted to VHS tapes in no
particular order. They are listed in this register in alphabetical order. The
list was created using Microsoft Excel and can be sorted chronologically as well. A
computer disc is available for research with the paper register for this purpose.
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