ATHLETICS
The Havard School was a charter member of the Cook County League in 1888 with public schools from the city, but eventually left in 1891 and helped from the Interprepatory (aka Preparatory) League in 1895. The school was without a conference affiliation from 1907 until 1935 when it joined the Private School League. Harvard was competitive in a number of sports and helped introduce golf to its fellow conference members during its days in the Interpreparatory League. Outside of golf, the school offered football, track, baseball, basketball, and swimming to its male athletes.
FOOTBALL
Starting out in 1888, the Cook County League offered gridiron action as Harvard was ready to put its best against the rest of the schools in the county, winning the titles at 6-1 (according to historian Robert Pruter). The Harvardians continued their success in the Inter-Prepatory and Private School leagues, with 12 conference titles thru 1960, thanks to information we’ve received from another one of fine contributors, Tom Sikorski. Here’s a look at those teams:
1888 6-1 Cook County League Champs coach unknown
1897 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
1899 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
1902 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
1924 2-3-2 Coach R.P. Williams
1925 5-0-1 (good record!) Coach C.C. Wood
1926 2-2-2 Coach C.C. Wood
1927 5-1 (good record!) Coach L.E. Olmstead
1928 3-3-1 Coach L.E. Olmstead
1929 1-3-2 Coach J.L. Hanson
1930 5-0 (excellent record, unscored upon!) Coach J.L. Hanson
1932 0-5 Coach C. Marshall Fish
1933 5-2 Coach C. Marshall Fish
1936 4-2 Private School League Champs coach unknown
1937 Private School League Champs coach unknown
1938 5-1-1 Private School League Champs Coach Les Dohr
1947 7-0 Private School League Co-Champs Coach Les Dohr
1948 6-0 Private School League Champs Coach Les Dohr
1950 7-1 Coach Les Dohr
1954 3-1-1 PSL White Division Champs Coach Les Dohr
Lost to Wheaton Academy in PSL Championship Game
1957 5-1 PSL White Division Champs Coach Les Dohr
1960 5-1 PSL White Division Champs Coach Les Dohr
Last win in school history was a 13-6 victory over Winnetka North Shore Country Day
GOLF
Harvard put a team onto the links as early as 1899 when it played Chicago University School in the first-known interscholastic golf match between two Illinois secondary schools. The school may have lost by a score of 19-4, but it came back and played Chicago Manual the next year. From there, it won three conference titles during the first half of the 20th Century, led by two of the top amateur golfers in the country, Mason Phelps and Warren K. Wood (see below).
1901 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
1902 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
1938 Private School League Champs coach unknown
BOYS’ TRACK
Harvard was a founding member of the Inter-prepatory League, as it participated in the first-ever sporting event of the new alliance in June of 1895. While it was in that conference, it won one league title and also produced an Olympian in Walter Dray, who would compete in the pole vault at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics (see below).
1899 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
BASEBALL
The school’s talent pool was deep enough to snare two Interprepatory League championships around the turn of the 20th Century as Harvard won on the prep diamonds of Chicago. Names of coaches and players are missing.
1899 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
1905 Inter-Prepatory League Champs coach unknown
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Harvard added a pair of hoop titles to its trophy case in the late 1930’s of the seven it collected between 1935-39 in the Private School League, competing against the likes of Luther Institute, North Park Academy, and Woodstock Todd Seminary. Here’s a check at some of the results:
1923-24 11- 5 Coach R.P. Williams
1924-25 10- 4 Coach C.C. Wood
1926-27 2-15 Coach C.C. Wood
1927-28 9- 7 Coach L.B. Olmstead
1928-29 7- 7 Coach L.B. Olmstead
1929-30 14- 5 Coach J.L. Hanson
1930-31 12- 1 (great record!) Coach J.L. Hanson
1932-33 3-11 Coach C. Marshall Fish
1933-34 9- 9 Coach C. Marshall Fish
1935-36 Private School League Champs coach unknown
1936-37 12- 6 Coach Les Dohr
1938-39 Private School League Champs coach unknown
BOYS’ SWIMMING
Score one for the tankmen of Harvard! The school offered this sport in the late 1930’s and won a conference title. More information would be gratefully appreciated.
1937 Private School League Champs coach unknown
FAMOUS HARVARD SCHOOL ALUMNI
Thanks to our good friend and Illinois prep historian Robert Pruter, there were several athletes that made their mark in the sports world from Harvard. Here’s a capsulized look at them:
–Mason Phelps—Was a member of the Western Golf Association team that took first in the 1904 Olympic Games, and as an individual he took fifth. He won the Western Amateur in 1910.
–Warren K. Wood—Was the Western Interscholastic champion of 1904, and just out of high school, was a member of the Western Golf Association team that took first in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. He won the Western Amateur in 1913.
—Jerry H. Weber—As a top schoolboy tennis player, he won the University of Chicago interscholastic in 1914 in singles, and with his brother James won the doubles in 1913 and 1914. In the University of Illinois Interscholastic, he won the singles in 1912, 1913, and 1914, and with his brother won the doubles in 1913. He took second in the National Interscholastic at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1914. He later became a notable professional.
–Walter Dray—He took sixth in the pole vault in the 1904 Olympic Games, but for a while, he held the national collegiate record in the event.
–In addition to these four athletes, author Edgar Rice Burroughs attended Harvard in 1888. He later became famous for writing the Tarzan series of books, and was one of the first writers to incorporate his own works in order to have more control over them. In addition, he also penned the Barsoom pages about life on Mars and other science fiction novels, including The Land That Time Forgot.
MEMORIES
from George Karnezis (class of 1961):
I am a graduate (1961) and also played on its championship football team (1960) – the last year of football at Harvard. The sports teams were called Hurricanes. We competed successfully against much larger schools, especially in basketball.
“I’ll always remember my Latin teacher, Miss Faye and her classes of only half a dozen or fewer which meant you’d better be prepared because you’d be called upon a lot. That was solid discipline.
“Coincidentally, 8 years after graduation, I got a position teaching English at U. of Northern Iowa where my old math teacher, Julius Wiesenfeld, was also a faculty member.
“When I heard about the building’s latest history, I wondered if anyone did anything with all those trophies and or photos that lined the walls on the first floor.
PS: I co-edited the 1960-1 yearbook.”
from Gurnee Bridgman (class of 1949):
“Just looked at Harvard Boys internet write up. Both my brother–King (now deceased) and I went there. I graduated in ’49 and I believe King did so in ’46. that’s been some time back. We both subsequently graduated from U. of Michigan. After retiring, I also graduated from Bemidji State with a MA.
“Probably fairly doubtful if many remember us. It’s been a long time. I now live in Fargo, ND. Have lived in seven states over the years (IL, MI, WI, OH, LA, MN & ND).”
WE’RE OFF AND RUNNING TO FIND OUT MORE…
about the history of The Harvard School of Chicago, and you’re invited to join us so that we can tell the story of this school that nearly stood alone for close to 100 years. Please contact us at dr.veeman@gmail.com or send your information thru the USPS at:
Illinois High School Glory Days
6439 North Neva
Chicago, IL 60631 |