In the autumn of 1966, The University of Dayton Alumnus magazine summoned the words of Socrates, remarking how the Ancient Greek philosopher so aptly expressed the sentiment of “what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable” (11). This issue of the Alumnus was concerned with — among other subjects — the 1964 reorganization of the Department of Physical and Health Education, a branch of the School of Education. The article brings sports that can help students avoid the “disgraceful state” — among them bowling, tennis, golf, badminton, volleyball, billiards and archery.
Nowadays, it isn’t unusual to see students bowling or enjoying a casual game of billiards in the Hangar, and UD’s volleyball team is routinely among the top 25 in the country. However, the chief concern of this blog post is not any of those, nor is it golf, tennis or badminton. This publication will discuss one sport now confined not to the shooting range, but to the University Archives in Albert Emanuel Hall: archery.
First shot
Flashback to 1928. The yearbook mentions that if UD “had an archery team Sam [V. K. Hipa] would have made it.” UD did not have an archery team, however, so Hipa was limited to lettering in football, basketball, baseball and track.
Flash forward 10 years to 1938, and you’ll find the first mentions of organized archery at UD. Daytonian 1938 reports that the “sophomores smashed another precedent by becoming the first ‘letterwomen’ on the campus. All members of the championship team sported sweaters with the W.A.A. [Women’s Athletic Association] insignia. … A golf team attracted many, as did archery, tennis, and handball” (65).
The first mention of archery comes in the February issue of The University of Dayton Alumnus: “Right after Easter vacation when the campus starts to come forth in all its green splendor Lou Tschudi begins his program of spring intramural sports. This year Tschudi plans to offer playground baseball for men students, and tennis, golf, and archery for both men and women” (4). However, archery as an intramural sport was short-lived. As the United States was dragged into World War II in 1941, the demands of the war forced the University to limit the “ever popular intramural program … to bowling and basketball for both men and women,” as reported by the 1943 yearbook (153).
By the early 1950s, however, archery made a comeback, especially among women students. The yearbooks do not mention a team, but photos of women students with arrows nocked on their bowstrings would continue to pop up in sources such as the Daytonian and the University of Dayton Flyer News until the mid-1960s.
In April 1976, University of Dayton Flyer News put out a survey prompted by Title IX inquiring into students’ interest in competing in various intercollegiate sports, and archery was on the list of options. However, it didn’t make the cut.
Flyer Arrows Archery Club
Although intercollegiate archery teams for both men and women would not be realized through the Title IX survey, toxophilites — or archery aficionados — Gary Terborg and Ray Ellis formed the Flyer Arrows Archery Club through an organizational meeting in March 1977. The Feb. 7, 1978 issue of the Flyer News reports, “According to Ray Ellis, vice president of the new Flyer Arrows Archery Club, there was once an archery club at UD, but it disbanded because members lost interest. Ellis and the club’s president Gary Terborg, decided that there is still an interest in archery, and took it upon themselves to organize the club” (3).
After that, literature on the UD archery club becomes scarce. The Daytonian yearbook from 1999 states that the club “often welcomed Cub Scouts to their practices to teach them the skill of archery” (178). Beyond the 20th century, UD news releases tell of the continuance of the archery club up until at least 2000, with the club hosting its first state archery competition in the Collins Gym in February that year.
Alas, that appears to be where the documentary record ends in University Archives and Special Collections. We do not know where the arrows of the UD archery club landed — we only know that their arrows are nocked no longer.
More milestones and memories
The University of Dayton is celebrating its 175th anniversary with two exhibits in Roesch Library. Plan your visit to Honoring Our History: UD at 175 (first floor) and Forever Marianist in the Marian Library Gallery (seventh floor).
— Ava Merriman is a senior English major and student employee in the University Archives.
