In response to Alan’s wonderful shot of the three (maybe four) sportsters, may I present this quartet of runners – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) varsity relay team of 1907!
That sturdy fellow second from the left is my grandfather (and Team Captain) Gardner
Here are some excerpts from that week’s issue of The Tech, the MIT newspaper...
“Victory was the result of the relay team’s trip to the Penn games. Close in every relay, with a fast total time, the best quartette of quarter-milers in years carried off first honors in a mile relay against Wesleyan last Saturday, at Franklin Field, Philadelphia
“The Tech men found the track very slow and much dug up after the many relays. They were also bothered with the high wind on the stretch which slowed down the times in all the events...Tech had a mighty good team, one that every Tech man ought to be proud of.”
“...one that every Tech men ought to be proud of?”
Tsk, tsk...
“Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” -- Winston Churchill
Hi Deb,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great picture and article. Your Grandpa is cute. He sure had a lot of hair.
Kathy M.
It is always so wonderful to find not only a newspaper article relating to an ancestor, but also a photograph.
ReplyDeletePictures of people involved in sports in 1907 must be rare. Can't imagine my grandfather running on a track in those days.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the article about the race, the theme from Chariots of Fire kept running through my head.
ReplyDeleteGreat post about your grandfather.
Nancy
Its nice that the paper has been preserved so long and you are able to read about your grandfather as if the race just happened.
ReplyDeleteNow Nancy's comment has me thinking of Chariots of Fire too. This is a great photo. I love the commentary too, and prepositions at the end of sentences are something I am particularly fond of.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have this article and photo of your grandfather from 105 years ago. This is truly a family treasure. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteAll four of them look pretty sturdy don't they? This is a treasure of a cutting that deserves to be shared here.
ReplyDeleteAbout that preposition - MIT was/IS the training ground for physicists and engineers, not Liberal Arts majors. So we just need to excuse that lapse in grammatical precision ;-) But I agree with the others that the photo and news article are wonderful treasures. It's always fun to get to know our ancestors in their youth and not just as our doting grandfather.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you have this photo and article about your grandfather! I knew someone who went to MIT about 10 years ago so it is interesting to think about the differences a century apart.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for such wonderful comments!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that struck me was how "uncovered" they all are -- this is 1907, for cryin' out loud, and both men and women wore lots of clothes that covered up every possible glimpse of skin from the neck down...so these four MIT boys are relatively unclothed!
And I don't know about Wendy's excuse for the preposition gaffe: these were SMART physicists and engineers, and probably should have known better; I remember my grandfather correcting our grammar all the time...
Your grandpa has such a sly/cute turn of his smile going on in this photo! What a great group, and story. I love all the few bits and pieces I have about my grandparents too. They are treasures to have!
ReplyDeleteYou know, Karen, he had that little smile even in his old age! Was a sweet man, fabulous cribbage player, wonderful with children...he had four different Boston Terriers and named ALL of them "Tech," so you know he had a sense of humor to match that grin. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteA bit of MIT as well as family history here. Liked the report and probably wouldn't have noticed the preposition.
ReplyDeleteYour grandfather is the only one who looks happy! I don't imagine the running kit was conducive to running compared to modern kit and trainers :-) Jo
ReplyDeleteWhat a great photo of your grandfather and his teammates! And what a treasure to have the newspaper article write-up about him too! Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, the old Chariots of Fire suits. That's how I always think of these.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, they DO look like "Chariots of Fire" guys, don't they? I've now got that theme music stuck in my head...have been humming it for two days now. And, Jo, it took me a minute to figure out "kit" and "trainers;" but since I read a lot of British mysteries, it all clicked into place!
DeleteAs you mentioned in a previous comment, your grandpa had a sense of humor, and so do you!! Nice quote at the end. While I really don't have a shoe fetish, these here is what draw my attention and I can only wonder what these folks would think of modern running shoes.
ReplyDelete"a lead of 20 yards"... A commendable feat!!
No wonder he was captain if he could pull off something like that.
Thanx 4 sharing!!
:)~
HUGZ