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A Strong Mind in a Strong Body
While many of his peers viewed athletics as a waste of time, Launcelot Blackford, EHS Principal 1870-1913, recognized their value in building character and expending youthful energy.
When school boys organized sports in the early years of American boarding schools, the response from administrators was often outright opposition or, at best, begrudging tolerance. At Episcopal High School, though, things were different, in Launcelot Blackford, EHS Principal 1870-1913, students found an enthusiastic supporter of organized sports.
While many of his peers viewed athletics as a waste of time, Blackford recognized their value in building character and expending youthful energy. His vision launched the interscholastic athletics program we so closely identify with student life at Episcopal today.
Blackford’s introduction of interscholastic athletics was not merely an exercise in sport for sport’s sake, but rather a tool to teach students the values of fair play, discipline, order, and especially teamwork. For this last virtue, what method would better serve this purpose than team sports? EHS baseball and football were born and revered.
Athletics thrived at Episcopal in the post-Civil War era because Blackford provided necessary institutional support, both financial and organizational. In his diary, Blackford observed, “Football has been quite the rage.” The students purchased their own uniforms, while Blackford invested $7 to purchase a rugby ball for football play. The rule book cost 10 cents.
The rule book is significant, because it demonstrates the move toward interscholastic sports. A group of Episcopal students playing against each other could make up their own rules and did so. A school team competing against another school would necessitate adherence to established rules for the game. From these beginnings, the EHS football program has inspired the School community.
Because American boarding schools traditionally viewed athletics with suspicion, Blackford looked to their British counterparts for inspiration, notably the Rugby School’s long athletics tradition. He was inspired by what he saw at Rugby and determined to secure proper athletics facilities for Episcopal.
Blackford’s lobbying was rewarded with the construction of the School’s first gym in 1877. The total cost to construct and equip the building was approximately $1,000.
The 1913 construction of Stewart Gym, at the conclusion of Blackford’s tenure, serves as a testament to his dedication to athletics. The Rt. Rev. Lucien Lee Kinsolving, Bishop of Brazil, concluded the dedication ceremony with the following words as the new gym was presented to the students:
“Take the gymnasium, boys, it’s yours. Take it and make it a training place for muscle; a place in which you may develop your bodies while you are also developing what we call school spirit and that other greatest thing of all – Honor.”
We can rest assured that Episcopal’s beloved Blackford would wholeheartedly endorse the School’s current investment in its athletics facilities and programs. It was Blackford’s vision that understood the role of athletics in the development of the whole student: mind, body, and spirit.
