Letter from E.C. Carter to Y.M.C.A Secretaries (May 9, 1918)
Description:
A letter from E.C. Carter to fellow secretaries at the Y.M.C.A dated May 9, 1918. In the letter, Carter states that the title of the Physical Department has changed to the Department of Athletics, Hygiene and Health. The letter also states who will be in charge within the department. James McCurdy and James Naismith are mentioned as Directors. James A. Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939), known as "The Father of Basketball," was born in Almonte, Ontario. He earned his theological degree from McGill University and graduated from Springfield College, then the YMCA Training School, in 1891. After graduation, he was hired as a faculty member, where he taught for five years. It is in his first year as a faculty member at Springfield College that he created the game of Basketball as an activity for an unruly class. In 1895, Naismith enrolled at the Gross Medical School in Denver and received his M.D. in 1898. In that same year, Naismith took the position of department head of physical education at the University of Kansas, where he remained until his death. James Huff McCurdy, M.D. (1866-1940) graduated in 1890 from the YMCA Training School, now known as Springfield College. In 1895, Dr. James H. McCurdy returned to the school as an instructor. He contributed to the field of physical education in many ways, including his studies on the relationship between heart rate, blood pressure, and motor tasks in adolescent boys. In 1924, he published one of the first texts for Exercise Physiology. Dr. McCurdy was the Director of the Division of Athletes, Hygiene and Health for the American YMCA among American troops in France.
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