THE FALL OF 1952 brought real changes to American life in general, and those events ultimately had their effect on the Phillips Academy community as well. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first general to be elected President of the United States since U. S. Grant took office in 1869. This election achieved another first in that it was covered nationally by television reporters. The mood of the country was hopeful; the Korean conflict was about to be resolved, and the economy was prosperous. World War II veterans were settling into peacetime careers and starting families. The birthrate was rising, and the demand for consumer goods and services was keeping pace with that rise. Leisure-time activities and recreational facilities were on the increase in communities throughout the country. The marvel of television was being enjoyed not by the wealthy alone but by all segments of American society. Television in homes was becoming as commonplace in the fifties as it had been unusual in the forties. Athletic coverage by the television cameras was bringing sporting events of all kinds into American living rooms, and this phenomenon was creating more national interest in professional and amateur sports than ever before in the cultural history of the country.(1)

As is pointed out in Frederick S. Allis, Jr.'s Youth from Every Quarter, the 1950's and 1960's at Phillips Academy were comfortable years. Most areas of school life reflected conditions similar to the 1930's and early 1940s.(2) The students accepted the general regimen which was planned for them by the Faculty and Administration. They were serious about being admitted to Ivy League colleges, and most leaned toward graduate programs as a final phase of their education.(3) World War II had touched them to some degree, but most of the undergraduates were too young to have realized any of the discomforts or tragedies of either that war or the Korean engagement, unless a close relative had happened to be involved. For the most part their attitudes and actions toward life on Andover Hill were patterned after those of their older brothers of the pre-war years.

Phillips Academy was also keeping pace with the increased national interest in sports and leisure-time activities. The addition to the Borden Gymnasium was nearing completion by December 1952, and plans were underway to dedicate it formally the following February.(4) The new construction was to be christened Memorial Gymnasium in memory of Andover alumni killed in World War II.(5) The Borden space had been redesigned by the architects Eggers and Higgins to tie in with the new building. The most impressive feature of the new construction was the size of the main floor. Its 165 foot by 102 foot dimensions allowed space for three parallel practice basketball courts with a movable partition which changed the direction of these courts and sealed off the varsity and J.V. areas for game competitions. Seats could be lowered from the side walls of the varsity courts to accommodate eleven hundred and forty spectators. The east side of these stands could also be reversed to add five hundred and twenty places to the permanent swimming pool bleachers, which contained two hundred and fifty seats.(6) The swimming pool itself was enlarged from four to six lanes and held one hundred and twenty-five thousand gallons of water. In addition, a separate diving pool had been constructed. This facility was 40 feet by 25 feet, 11 feet deep and contained both a one-meter and a three-meter diving board.(7) Andover was the first secondary school to have a separate diving pool; other important features of the new gymnasium were the wrestling room, the addition of five squash courts, and the expanded locker space, which was at last adequate for the entire school.(8) The completion of the squash courts allowed the inclusion of this sport in the winter term athletic program for the first time in the school's history.

When the fall term began in September 1952, newcomers to the Andover faculty included three men who were to be actively involved in the school's athletic program over the next three decades. John McClement, a graduate of Westminster and Yale, had taught math and coached swimming at Kiski School in Pennsylvania after his military service. He came to Phillips Academy as a member of the Math Department and coached six-man football, swimming, and club baseball at the outset. Ultimately, he was to coach the boys' varsity swimming team as well as the first girls' crew.

"Fred H. Harrison, a name well known to followers of Andover and Yale athletics," returned to his old school after having taught English and having served as Athletic Director at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts.(9) Harrison had played varsity football, hockey, and baseball both at Andover and Yale. He had been captain of Andover's baseball team in 1937 and 1938. While at Yale, he was elected captain of his freshmen baseball team as well as the varsity hockey team in his senior year. His World War II Army service had cancelled all thoughts of his accepting any of the professional baseball team offers which he had received while in college. Upon his military discharge, he had entered the investment business under the guidance of his former battalion commander, Forrester A. (Tim) Clark, a former great Harvard athlete. Dr. Claude Fuess, who knew of Harrison's earlier interest in a teaching career, had recommended him to Delano deWindt, Headmaster of Berkshire School, in 1946. At that time, Harrison made a career change and took the position offered him by Mr. de Windt. While at Berkshire, he had coached football, hockey, and baseball at the varsity level in addition to being the Director of Athletics.(10) During his career as a Phillips Academy faculty member, he would eventually coach varsity and J.V. teams in several sports as well as hold the post of Athletic Director.

Joshua L. Miner, an Exonian who had gone to Princeton, taught and also served as Athletic Director at the Hill School in Princeton, New Jersey, after his army service. His father-in-law, Phillips Academy Trustee John P. Stevens, Jr., had been interested in the educational techniques developed by the German Kurt Hahn, who had started schools for adolescents in England and on the continent. Stevens suggested that Miner spend some time at Gordonstoun, a Hahn school in northern Scotland. Miner spent two years working under Hahn and came to Andover directly from that experience as a member of the Athletic and Physics Departments.(11) Kurt Hahn's educational philosophy encompassed service to the community as well as academic training, and his school's physical program put an emphasis on each student competing against himself. John Kemper was intrigued by the "Outward Bound" philosophy and asked Miner to come to Andover to try to implement some of these innovations into the Andover athletic program.(12) He was not able to do this at once, but some years later Mr. Miner did start a version of the "Outward Bound" training in the Search and Rescue Program and also coached baseball at the J.V. and varsity levels. As an admissions officer, he would have a continuing interest in the athletic abilities of the candidates for entrance to Phillips Academy.

The school's 1952 fall term sports enthusiasts were thrilled by the victory of Captain Bob Pelletreau's soccer team over Exeter. It was Andover's first win over its arch rivals in that sport in thirteen years as well as Coach DiClemente's initial victory over the Red.(13) The soccer varsity's success was followed the next Saturday by a dramatic end to the football season. The Andoverians, led by Captain George Bixby, climaxed the first undefeated season since 1948 with a 59-0 massacre over their gridiron opponents from Exeter.(14) Coach Steve Sorota had maintained that this was his best defensive team in fourteen years at Andover. (15) The majority of the players had come up through the J.V. football system, and they had developed an offensive precision which was almost as strong as the defense. In the six games prior to the final, the big Blue team had scored decisive wins over Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and Harvard, Amherst, Wesleyan, Springfield, and Tufts Freshmen. The most bitterly fought contest had been against a strong Harvard team which had succumbed by a score of 13-7.(16)

Six thousand people were in the stands to see the Exeter game, and before its end they sat through weather which included snow, rain, and even thunder and lightning.(17) The Blue machine played to its fullest potential, with all giving strong performances. One of Hort Smith's four touchdowns was made without a single Exeter hand being put upon him. This feat was possible largely because of the efforts of Guard Joe Mesics, who threw three separate blocks on Red defenders. When the season's scoring was finally tallied, it proved that Smith had scored ten touchdowns, Randy Heimer 6, John Scranton , Leo Daley 2, Dick Sigal 2; Dick Golden, Ray LaMontagne, and Ben Janssen had each made 1 touchdown.(18) Andover would have other good football teams in the future, but none would have the combined depth and versatility, both offensively and defensively, of that group. (19)

The long-sought enlarged athletic facility became a reality on 7 February 1953, when the Memorial Gymnasium was dedicated in a simple and impressive ceremony followed by a round of contests against the Yale Freshmen.(20) The swimming team lost its only dual meet of the season that day for a record of 7 wins and 1 loss. At the New England Prep and High School Interscholastic Meet, Andover's swimmers, competing against twenty-five schools, gained second place behind Williston.(21) "Co-Captain Tony Lopez and lower Twink Catlett made diving the best event on the team," but the strong efforts of Dan Cornwell, Pete Behn, Co-Captain Ralph Douglas, and others provided the balance necessary to give Coach Dake one of his finest seasons.(22) It was an auspicious way to baptize the new pools.

Squash became a new competitive sport in 1953 as a result of the completion of the five courts in the Memorial Gymnasium. The enthusiasm for this new offering was so great that it was limited to uppers and seniors. Coached by Samuel Willson of the English Department, the team played an informal schedule of 5 matches, 4 with Brooks and 1 with Exeter. The new team won only one of its matches with Brooks, lost the other three by close margins, and it was defeated by Exeter 5-0. The Pot Pourri for 1953 felt that the interest and spirit of the squash group would produce winning teams after more experience.(23)

The basketball and hockey teams had reasonable seasons although both lost to Exeter. The basketball team, playing on its new court, was hampered by injuries and failed to live up to its early season hopes. The Memorial Gym scoring record in one game was made against Lawrence Academy when Andover beat its opponents 86-62. Hort Smith, Randy Heimer, Carl Hoffman, and George Schuyler each scored in double figures.(24) Captain John Poinier's hockey team lost its game to Exeter, the first in three years, but did tie for second place in the Private School Hockey League. John McBride, a junior, was one of the high scorers on the team.(25)

The track team lost two meets to college freshmen teams but won the interscholastics as well as the Exeter contest. Steve Snyder, a fourteen-year-old Andover runner, beat Captain Peyton of Exeter in the 40-yard dash. Snyder was soon to join the ranks of the fastest sprinters in Andover history.(26)

The wrestlers, although buoyed by their new facility in the Memorial Gymnasium, were hurt both by injuries and the smallest turnout in a number of years. Their season was a disappointment despite the efforts of Coach Pieters, Fred Felton, and Maxie Bloom.(27) Coach Pieters did a very solid job of molding a team with only two returning lettermen, some former J.V. wrestlers, and several new students who had never before wrestled.(28)

The 175th Phillips Academy Commencement that June brought not only the departure of the Class of 1953 but also that of George Follansbee, a member of the Biology Department, who had taught and coached at the school for seventeen years. He resigned to take a position as Headmaster of Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(29) Coach Follansbee's last Andover baseball team compiled a record of wins, 2 ties, and 4 defeats. The two ties occurred with the Yale Freshmen and St. Sebastian's School, when each game was called because of rain.(30) Although the 1953 team had an outstanding pitching staff in Fran Seery, Dick Smith, and Randy Heimer, crucial errors had thwarted their efforts in several games, including a 7-5 defeat by Exeter in the season's finale.(31) The lacrosse team, on the other hand, had one of its best seasons ever. Dick Lux, of the Math Department, had brought his team through a tough 10-game schedule with only 1 loss and that to a fine Exeter team.(32) Led by two talented captains, George Gaskins and Zeus Stevens, whose unusual spirit and determination proved inspirational, the lacrosse group had two first midfields of equal ability which seemed to be able to score at will until they met the Red from New Hampshire. Keyed up as they were, the Blue never seemed to be able to overcome their pre-game jitters in that contest.(33)

The tracksters were not able to uphold their winter record and went into a spring slump, winning but 4 out of 7 meets. Only George Bixby and Ken Sharp in the shot put and Bill Sayad in the hammer throw were consistent winners in their events.(34) The tennis team also had a bleak record. The unusually bad spring weather cancelled several matches as well as many practices, and the Blue netmen never fully gained their stride.(35) Coach William H. Brown's golfers, however, were the real stars of the Andover spring sports program. They completed their second undefeated season in a row and were the only Blue team of the term to defeat Exeter.(36) Led by Captain Robert Ornsteen, who was one of the top junior golfers in Massachusetts, the team had a depth of talent. Ornsteen, Cummings, and Thompson shot in the seventies in every match, a feat, as the 1953 Pot Pourri said, "very unusual even for a college team."(37) Bill Brown was quoted as saying that the '53 team was the best he ever had had (38) The Phillipian, in its commencement special, Phillipian Review of the Year, agreed with Mr. Brown's comment. The same issue made particular mention of the tremendous impact made upon club athletics by the addition of the new gym to the athletic plant. The basketball and swimming systems had been completely revised, and many more students were becoming active participants in these sports. Club members had also elected the outdoor sports of soccer and hockey in greater numbers .(39) All in all, the Phillipian felt the 1952-53 year had been highly successful for Andover athletics despite the spring slump.(40)

As Headmaster Kemper stated, "Andover's mental and physical growth have put the school in a position to look at the years ahead with confidence."(41) This statement was a reality for the next decade and a half. The increase in the student body, the continued development of a strong alumni association, and an expanded physical plant promoted Andover to an ever-growing national reputation. The years between 1953 and 1969 brought the school's athletic teams reasonable success in some areas and outstanding records in others. However, among the most important developments during the period were a restructuring of the athletic department's philosophy toward a required physical education program and participation in athletics and the department's relationship to the medical department.

In January 1954, Donald M. Clark of Peterborough, New Hampshire, was named the new Medical Director of Phillips Academy, replacing Alexander Law. Clark had been the senior member of the Peterboro Medical Associates and had earned widespread recognition as a general practitioner.(42) His appointment to the Phillips Academy faculty was of great importance not only to the student body but to the entire community. Dr. Clark, soon after his arrival, convinced the Trustees that the Isham Infirmary should become an accredited hospital, and he took the necessary steps to make this a reality. He encouraged faculty and their families to use the facility and never hesitated to tend the needs of the sick or injured members of the community. His presence created a special atmosphere of cooperation between the Isham staff and the Athletic Department as well as other segments of the Andover population. John F. Bronk continued as the liaison between the Athletic Department and the Medical Department, giving regular treatments at the infirmary in the morning and returning to his training room in the Memorial Gymnasium afternoons. Alice Hirst, R.N., Supervisor of the Isham out-patient clinic, was a friend, confidante, and healer to hundreds of Phillips Academy students and faculty members. "Dr. Hirst," as she was affectionately called, was kind but firm with her student patients and thoroughly supported the Athletic Department's standards for athletic excuses. She and Joan Walsh of the infirmary's dental staff were a duo with a combination of talent and common sense which lifted the spirits of many a sick or troubled student.

The Phillips Bulletin of April 1954 reported that a term end announcement for the athletic future was the news that Fred H. Harrison had been named to succeed Montville E. Peck, who had followed Edward Shea as Director of Athletics and who would retire in 1955.(43) John Mason Kemper had asked Harrison to accept the position at a meeting between the two in early March. When Kemper had hired the Phillips alumnus in 1952, it was as the traditional triple-threat: housemaster, coach, teacher, and there had been no mention of any administrative duties. During their March meeting, however, the Headmaster revealed that he had anticipated appointing Harrison as Athletic Director for some time but had decided not to act until Peck's retirement was closer at hand. In an earlier interview, Kemper had queried Harrison on the latter's philosophy relative to a schoolwide athletic program. Harrison's views were that there must be a program to accommodate athletes at all levels of physical proficiency, that a sports activity must be compulsory for every student, and that a strong, imaginative physical education course should be instituted as a part of the school's curriculum. The Headmaster agreed with these ideas and that March gave Harrison the mandate to execute this philosophy. The 1954 spring and summer as well as the following academic year gave the Athletic Director designate ample opportunity to study the current sports program at Phillips Academy and design plans for future changes. In 1955 when Montville E. Peck retired after forty years of loyal service to Phillips Academy, Fred H. Harrison officially assumed the post of Andover's Athletic Director.(44)

Not only was the new Athletic Director responsible for organizing a philosophical approach for his department to follow, but he was also instructed to design a budgetary system which would make the operation of the Athletic Department more efficient financially. With the consistent cooperation of John Kemper, as well as individual department chairmen, Harrison was able to implement his Athletic Department philosophy as a result of the school's hiring new faculty members who could coach and instruct in athletics as well as in the classroom. Having been a student at Phillips Academy under the tutelage of such individuals as Frank Benton, Roscoe Dake, N. Penrose Hallowell, and others, he firmly believed that the "triple threat" persons who could teach, coach, and run a dormitory were the most effective instructors for Andover's sports programs. He considered it a less desirable situation, from both an educational and financial point of view, to employ specialists in certain areas for specified amounts of time.

By the fall. of 1957 Harrison's regime was in full swing with all Phillips Academy students participating in many different areas of athletic activity. "770 students ranging in age from 13 to 18, in weight from 90 to 250, in attitude from antagonistic to dedicated, in natural ability from near-spastic to effortless" were playing on a total of twenty-eight teams. They were participating in football, soccer, cross-country, crew, gymnastics, and tennis. In football alone, there were five teams below the varsity level, selected by age, weight, and experience---all playing an outside schedule and all but one meeting an Exeter team at the end of the season. In soccer there were two Club leagues, A and B, a total of eight teams, with the leading team playing an outside game each week. The cross-country team competed as a group so that even the slowest man could run against his counterpart at another school. The oarsmen rowed informally against Harvard and Dartmouth.(45) It was not necessarily the extent of the activity which excited both students and alumni but the incontestable fact that every boy in school was a competitor, a participant. By way of contrast, in the last years of the 19th century, the vast majority of Phillips Academy students had a choice of being spectators or ignoring athletics completely, because the competitive teams were manned by athletes of considerable maturity. Even the club system of the 1930's and 1940's, which generated spirited competition on Wednesday afternoons, had a weakness in that teams were enthusiastically but inexpertly coached; players provided their own equipment, often of inadequate protection, and there was really no place for the physically inadequate or the undersized .(46) Thus Fred H. Harrison had brought fundamental change to Andover athletics. The change was not as much a matter of innovation as of philosophy. The philosophy assumed that athletic activity is an educational experience, that every boy should be exposed and challenged by a variety of situations, and that the variety should be sufficient to fit the varied needs of the individuals. There were five considerations guiding this philosophy.

First, athletics are of fundamental importance to a student's educational experience. Unlike other courses within the Phillips Academy curriculum, athletics are not an elective nor can they be dropped. For an average of an hour, at least four days a week, each student is under the tutelage of the Athletic Department. The only other department in the school that has such an opportunity to influence a student's thoughts and attitudes is that of English.

Second, every boy, regardless of age, weight, strength, and experience has an equal claim on the department's time and attention. Thus there has been an increased concern over the non-varsity athlete: his equipment, his coaching, his participation on a team. If the old club system is appropriate to a sport, it is used; if not, it is replaced. In soccer, the club still prevails. In football, teams are organized by size, weight, and age, regardless of club affiliation.

Third, athletics offer the student a chance to meet his own inadequacy head-on and do something about it, as no other activity does. This is an age of over-protection. Schools and parents more and more protect students from the reliable trial and error correctives. Negotiation and counseling will not improve an athlete. Only the boy himself can improve his batting average or his running speed, and he does so primarily alone, but it is the Athletic Department's function to see that he meets the task squarely and does not hide from it. The help which it gives is to aid the boy in gaining self-satisfaction from continued improvement.

Fourth, there must be enough variety in the sports offered to meet the interest and needs of the many different types of boys within the student body. The boy who is too slow to play football or soccer may find success in the crew program. The boy who does not like to tackle in football may demonstrate equal courage running a long cross-country race.

Fifth and last of these considerations is that athletes at all levels should meet competition which brings out the best in the individual, as well as the team, in spite of the record of wins and losses.(47)

Fred H. Harrison, Director of Athletics, 1955-1977. He doubled as hockey coach and is shown here with two of his stars, John Morrison and Dennis Mccullough, PA. 1963.

One of the biggest successes of the Harrison administration was the redesigning of the required physical education program. In 1956 Harrison proposed to the Faculty that all ninth graders be required to take a physical education program twice a week for the entire year. This class would meet during academic periods and would not replace regular athletics. The course to be offered was developed by Joshua Miner and Reagh Wetmore, instructors in physics and chemistry respectively, who were part-time members of the Athletic Department. The theory was to provide a variety of situations of graduated difficulty wherein a student could overcome physical timidity and awkwardness. The boys would climb ropes, use the flying rings and other gymnastics equipment, participate in track events, and would end with a rugged course of survival swimming. The basic function of the program was to build the students' confidence in themselves. The course began with things familiar and progressed to the unfamiliar, with the participants overcoming fear through competition with themselves. The Phillips Academy Faculty favored the proposal, and the course became a requirement for all ninth graders.(48) Later this program became a requirement for all entering tenth graders as well. The final change in the offering occurred when the school year was divided into a trimester system and the physical education requirement became one term, with the students meeting the class four times per week.

With the active participation and competition resulting from the Andover athletic philosophy came problems as well as successes. Fortunately, the Athletic Director and the school Medical Director were in complete agreement about the health and well-being of the student body. Dr. Clark enthusiastically endorsed the psychological and emotional value of athletics and would risk minor injuries which might occur, but he would protect the school and the student from an injury which might leave a permanent scar. Harrison had no quarrel with this point of view. Even with the numbers of students competing regularly, there was no massive number of medical excuses, for the malingerers were soon spotted and dealt with. Medical excuses had created a serious conflict between the two departments in former years, but this problem no longer existed.

The increase in the number of offerings by the Athletic Department necessitated a larger supply of coaches. Even this problem was not as great as it might have been, for the cooperation of the department heads and administration in hiring talented teachers who also had qualifications as coaches became a matter of policy in the 1950's and 1960's whenever possible. What was an ever-increasing problem, which was created by the new philosophy of athletics, was that of time and space. The newly formed crew program had to be carried on six miles from the campus on the Merrimack River. Golf teams had to be driven to the Andover Country Club, also six miles distant. The skiers needed transportation to area hills even farther away. Every available field was utilized for fall and spring activities. The Memorial Gymnasium, the Cage, and the Sumner Smith Hockey Rink were inadequate for scheduling all those who needed the use of the facilities. Tight scheduling allowed the groups needing transportation to pursue their individual programs, but the heavy traffic of the winter term was not so easily solved. Finally, Bertram Creese, co-captain, with his twin brother William, of the hockey team, proposed a solution to the problem at an Athletic Advisory Board meeting in the winter of 1957. His suggestion was that the varsity teams in basketball, hockey, squash, and swimming be allowed to practice at night in order to free the gymnasium and hockey rink for the exclusive afternoon use of the J.V. and Club groups. When Athletic Director Harrison brought his proposal to the Faculty for their approval or rejection, the plan was passed with only one dissenting vote. At that meeting, Frederick S. Allis, Jr., of the History Department, commended the Athletic Department for its selflessness in trying to expand the use of the facilities, despite the fact that many of its staff would be working at night.(49) The night program was put into immediate effect and has been in operation during each winter term ever since.

Four sports which either came into being under the Harrison administration or were greatly expanded, were boxing, crew, squash, and skiing. The boxing program began informally in the winter of 1956 and was climaxed that first season with a weekend of competition at Phillips Academy. The matches were arranged by the Executive Director of the New York Boys Club, Peter Capra, P. A. 1922, and Andover's Athletic Director. It was the first such event to take place at Andover, and the boxers represented St. Paul's School, as well as Phillips Academy and the New York Boys Club. Thomas Mikula of the Math Department was the original boxing coach, and his program had a small but enthusiastic following from 1956 until 1964. The purpose of the training was to allow boys of varying weights to learn the fundamentals of boxing, and most matches were very equal, with the winner using his skills to the best advantage. From its inception the program was largely experimental because only St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and later LaSalle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, produced boxing teams to provide outside competition. The early years of the sport brought letters only to the captains, but in 1961 the Athletic Advisory Board voted to award letters to other members of the team on the basis of individual merit.(50) Several captains, including Bill Jenkins, 1958, Larry Gillis, 1960, Reuben Perm, 1957, and Don Carpenter, 1963, had distinguished boxing careers and were responsible for arousing student interest in the sport in their years. Although safety had always been of primary importance in the development of boxing, and all participants wore head protectors and used sixteen-ounce gloves, the Medical Department became increasingly alarmed over any activity where blows to the head and face were constant. Finally, in the fall of 1963, the Athletic Department reluctantly agreed with the Medical Department's views and cancelled boxing as a sport offering. The area in the Memorial Gymnasium used by boxing was made into three more squash courts shortly afterwards as a result of The Andover Program's success as a capital fund drive.

The squash courts in the Memorial Gymnasium were first used, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, in the winter of 1953. Among the early coaches of the sport were Samuel Willson of the English Department, Robert W. Sides of the Math Department, David Thomas of the Classics Department, and William H. Brown of the English Department. Despite their own abilities as players, these coaches had little to work with in terms of talent and experience among the Phillips Academy students. Several members of the early teams such as Maitland Jones, 1955, Marsh McCall, 1956, and Toby Callaway, 1956, developed into strong players during their Andover careers, but it was not until 1959 that the school's squash team had a winning season.(51) Louis Hoitsma had been appointed varsity squash coach in 1958 and has remained in the program from that point on except for a sabbatical leave and an assignment with School Year Abroad. Hoitsma, a member of the Math Department, was a football and track coach, but Harrison, knowing of his interest in squash, felt that the math instructor would be able to develop strength and continuity in the program. Although he had little experience in the game, through study and practice Hoitsma has become an excellent player himself and one of the most successful squash coaches in the New England area. The top players of Andover's first winning season were Captain Kirby Jones, Ralph Swearingen, Bill Greenwood, Bill Brown, and Jay Nelson.(52) It remained, however, for the 1962 squash team to record Andover's first victory over Exeter in that sport. After losing to the Red at mid-season, Andover's team beat their arch rivals by a score of 5-0 in their final contest. Co-captains Dinny Adams and Roy Durham led the victorious squad, which was comprised of Bob Stevens, Court Dixon, Tom Israel, Tom Gilbert, Doug Goodman, Tim Carter, and Matt Hall.(53) Tom Israel, 1962, and his father Adrian, 1932, were later to give two additional squash courts to the school on the occasion of the Bicentennial celebration. The squash team would not lose to Exeter in a dual meet for ten years. In 1965, Andover won its first Interscholastic Squash Championship with players Court Dixon, Michel Schienmann, Farlow Blakeslee, Fernando Gonzalez, Kevin Rafferty, Don Ross, and Steve Devereaux contributors to Coach Hoitsma's highly successful season.(54) This feat became an annual event for a period of years, for in 1968 the Phillips Academy squash team won its fourth straight New England Interscholastic title. Captain Paul Brown was the number one squash player in New England that year, and his team lost only two matches all season. These were against the Harvard Freshmen and Harvard J. V. teams, but in each case Andover defeated both of these groups in return contests.(55) 1969-70 was a banner year for Phillips Academy's athletes and the squash team was no exception. The group, led by Captain Norman Selby, was undefeated in preparatory school competition. Steve Marshall, Steve Sherriil, and Peter Blasier were among the most dependable players throughout the season.(56) The following year produced Andover's best squash team yet. Coach Kent Allen, substituting for Hoitsma, produced a team whose record was 13 wins and 1 loss to the Harvard J. V. squad. The final standings for the Andoverians were number one, Peter Blasier; number two, Seth Walworth; number three, Captain Frank DuPont; number four, Richard Cashin; number five, Stephen Sherrili; number six, William Kaplan; and number seven, David Chase.(57) In 1972 Andover was third in the Interscholastics, but beat both Exeter and Middlesex in dual meets, although losing to them at the Interscholastic competition. The highlight of Andover's 1973 season was William Kaplan's upset victory to become the number one New England Interscholastic Squash Champion. He was the first Andoverian to achieve this title since Paul Brown in 1968.(58)

Thus in twenty years Andover squash teams had grown from immature and inexperienced players to contestants of consistent championship caliber. Many players and teams contributed to this growth. Two of the finest players of the 1960's were Jose Gonzalez, 1964, who later became one of Harvard's great squash players, and Edward Cox, 1961. George Edmonds of the English Department, Kent Allen of the English Department, and Alexander Warren of the Mathematics Department all have been important cogs in the Andover squash coaching system, but the influence and enthusiasm of Louis Hoitsma has definitely been the most important factor in the development of the squash program at Phillips Academy.

Skiing at Andover tended to expand after the middle 1950's, primarily because of the availability of ski areas which had motor-driven tows and lifts as well as the capability of making artificial snow. For all its years of existence the ski program had been faced with the vicissitudes of the New England climate. Perhaps its ability to survive at all had been due largely to the dedication of those coaches involved and the enthusiasm and fortitude of the skiers themselves. Each year found the Andover Bulletin, the Pot Pourri, and the Phillipian all agreeing that "in spite of a greater than usual lack of practice," the skiers had turned in very commendable performances.(59) Occasionally a few experienced people would appear at Andover; their earlier training would enable them to endure the conditions Andover could provide and would lead to the ski team's relative success. In 1955, for example, Coach Peter McKee was blessed with Kent Rickenbaugh, the captain, and Mike Moore from Denver, Colorado; the Nordhaus brothers, Dick and Bob, from New Mexico; Doug Kitchell and Tom Phillips from Vermont's ski country; Bob Kohler from Wisconsin, Brooks Stoddard from Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Bob Clark from Lake Placid, New York. All had experienced competition earlier and "despite a greater than usual lack of practice" the Phillips ski team was the best in many seasons. The following year, the team had the advantage of snow in Andover, and the ski team put out its best effort ever and placed seventh at the Interscholastics, beating out both Exeter and Proctor.(60) The Nordhaus brothers dominated Andover skiing for several years, as Bill Nordhaus was a member of the 1957 team when Bob was captain. That year, with the help of Jim Shinn and Tom Phillips, the Nordhaus brothers and others were able to finish the season with a record of 10 wins and 9 losses and Andover's best showing at the Interscholastics, sixth place. (61) In 1958, a combined effort by the Athletic Director and Pete McKee produced an arrangement to have a full-scale skiing program at Boston Hill in North Andover. The area was developed by enterprising promoters and produced artificial snow. The equipment included two rope tows and three slopes. George Sanborn handled the beginners, while McKee and Holly Owen of the English Department worked with the more advanced skiers. A chartered bus carried the competitors to and from the area. In spite of the use of the new facility, the New England winter produced more rain than snow, and the Andover skiers had little opportunity for practice. The best individual performances were by Co-captains Eric Norlin and Charlie Bakewell, Bill Nordhaus, Frank Morse, and Dave Edgerly. The climax of the 1959 season was a Blue victory over Exeter at Boston Hill, where weather conditions again hampered both teams. The promise of the future was the presence of several new underclass skiers, including Dick Durrance, whose father had been a member of the United States Olympic Ski Team before World War II, Whit Foster, and Chuck Lobitz, all of whom turned in creditable performances. In spite of injuries and illness, which prevented a better 1960 record, the Andover ski team placed fourth in the Interscholastics. This was the highest place ever gained by the Blue at that meet.(62) Dick Durrance also placed fifth in a field of forty of the East's best men in the Gibson Trophy race on 7 February at North Conway, New Hampshire.(63) The 1961 group again won fourth place at the Interscholastics, but soundly beat Exeter, Dublin, and St. Paul's in earlier meets. Captain Dick Durrance was clearly one of the finest skiers in Andover's history, but his team's strength was aided by the performances of Langdon Carter, George Peters, David Verrill, and Jim Griswold. The winter of 1962 provided little joy for the skiers. Once again the talent was limited and the weather uncooperative.

Two meets scheduled at Boston Hill were restricted to the slalom event because of the condition of the slopes. John Meek, 1963, and Benjamin "Bear" Barnes, 1964, were strong competitors, but their teams lacked experience and the conditions necessary to improve through practice. By 1965, however, a new thirty-meter jump had been built on the north side of HoIt Hill because of the interest and generosity of a parent of a J. V. skier. This, plus the enthusiasm of the returning lettermen and the addition of Jim Platz, a lower from Auburn, Maine, gave the team a very respectable overall season, with two of its members, Platz and Dick Trafron, ranking in the top ten skiers at the Interscholastics. George Best of the Mathematics Department had succeeded Peter McKee as the varsity ski coach in 1964, but McKee maintained a strong interest in Andover skiing and remains a part of the recreational program today. The 1966 team faced the usual plight of poor weather and almost routine long trips on weekends to the various north country schools for meets. To their credit Captain Robin Hogen's team managed a fifth at the Interscholastics and boasted the best record of more recent times. From 1967 until 1970, the skiers worked hard, spent long hours on the road, and had some success. There were a few individual stars such as Dick Trafton, 1967, Jim Platz, 1967, and Ted Eaton, 1968, but as the Pot Pourri of 1969 reported, "Skiing is taking that first jump and going on to place among the top ten at the Interschols. Skiing is winning that milk shake from Mr. Best for going over 100 feet. Skiing was good."(64) The 1970 team, led by Mike Eng, was as strong an Andover ski group as the era had produced. The team became the Massachusetts Preparatory School Champions and placed fourth at the Interscholastics held at the Middlebury Snow Bowl. The nordic men were Fred Sawabini, Andy Wexler, Fred Smith, Peter Harris, Peter Kelsey, and Steve Hickox (who also competed in the alpine events). Alpiners were Jon Besse, Payton Moss, and Tony Legett.(65) The next year was the finest ever for Andover ski participants. The team achieved third place at the Interscholastics, beaten only by north country schools Holderness and Gould, but defeating such powers as Proctor, Putney, Deerfield, Vermont, Tilton, Mount Hermon, St. Paul's, and Belmont Hill. Captain Peter Kelsey, Paul Finnegan, Steven Hickox, and Jim Crawford were cross-country standouts. The jumpers Kelsey, Crawford, Steve Korba, and Don Dubain had made steady improvement because of the renovation of the ski jump on Holt Hill. The fitting conclusion to the season was a congratulatory message to the team from Dick Trafton, 1967, then at Dartmouth. It read, "Not bad for a bunch of banana belt skiers."(66) The next two years were not as successful for the Andoverian ski competitors. In 1972 Captain James Crawford finished fifth out of thirty-five in the junior National Nordic Championships.(67) The 1973 team was back in the routine of no snow and little or no talent; the nordic event leader was Don Dubain, and Doug Greif was the most talented of the alpine skiers.(68)

By 1970 Exeter had given up skiing as a sport, and there was some agitation to have Andover do the same. The leadership and dedication of men like McKee, Best, Frank Hannah, and Samuel Anderson of the Faculty, along with the strong student interest, convinced the Athletic Department and the school administration to continue the ski program as long as it seemed practical. Such would be the case for the next decade.

One sport whose introduction into the Andover athletic program has met with consistent and almost overwhelming enthusiasm is crew. Although there had been an attempt to develop crew at Phillips Academy in the 1880's, it proved unsuccessful and was never started again. William H. Brown and Fred Harrison had talked at considerable length about the value of reinstituting such a program. Brown had rowed at Harvard after his Andover days and felt that rowing would attract many boys whose physical needs were not necessarily met in the current school sports offerings. Harrison agreed. They both realized that the Merrimack River offered an excellent site for the program and, on investigation, they learned that they might be able to use the old Lawrence Canoe Club building as a temporary boathouse. There remained only one large problem: the necessary equipment in the form of racing shells and oars, as well as motor launches for coaching purposes. This matter was unexpectedly settled at Princeton, New Jersey, in March 1954. Brown and Harrison were correcting College Board Examinations there for the Educational Testing Service and were invited to a party given by former Army friends of Harrison. Among the guests was Dutch Schaack, varsity crew coach at Princeton University. He queried the two Andover men as to why there was no crew for Phillips Academy boys. They replied that there was interest and location but no money to purchase the expensive equipment for such an experiment. Schaack, knowing that many Andover rowers might ultimately come to Princeton, offered to give the school a shell. Harrison called Yale's crew coach, Jim Rathschmidt, who agreed to send Andover a shell and a set of oars. In addition he promised to transport both the Princeton and Yale boats to Andover if the Princeton gift could be brought to New Haven. The matter was accomplished in early spring, when Tom Bolles also donated a shell from the Harvard fleet .(69) Thus crew began again at Andover after a seventy-year lapse.

Interestingly enough, both attempts at establishing an Andover crew were made at the same Lawrence Canoe Club, but the second try was destined for almost immediate success.

The author and the Athletic Department's Frank F. DiClemente wrote several letters to alumni who were known to have an interest in Andover athletics and rowing to solicit their financial support. John McGauley of the Class of 1929 was particularly helpful in raising the necessary funds to promote the program.

When school reopened after the 1955 spring vacation, 107 boys signed up for crew. Coach Brown, assisted by Simeon Hyde of the English Department, had to cut the squad to thirty-eight because of the shortage of shells. Since only three of this number had ever rowed before, the coaches were faced with an extensive training program. Despite the lack of experience, Brown put together a crew which rowed against Tabor, St. Paul's, and Springfield, and competed in the Interscholastic races at Lake Quinsigamond. The second boat won the only race of the season against the Springfield group, but Brown felt the year had been a success because of the progress the crew had made. Those who comprised the varsity crew that first season were Mike Posey, Captain; Oscar Tang, Jock Grew, Ave Laundon, Mike Moore, Gar Lasater, Win Lewis, Tony MacDonald-Smith, and Mike Whitehouse, coxswain.(70) The sport had been so popular that it was decided to offer it informally in the fall as well as competitively in the spring, beginning in the 1955-56 school year. Andover had started another athletic tradition!

The overwhelming acceptance of crew within the student body made it far easier for Harrison to ask the Trustees for an annual crew budget within the Athletic Department's financial structure. The request was granted, and the program gradually started to add new shells, oars, and launches to its modest fleet on the Merrimack. Coach Brown was delighted that he could purchase new outboard motors to replace the five-horsepower engines he had been forced to use in 1955. That first season he had not been able to keep up with the shells in his launch because of the small engines' lack of speed. There were several highlights of the crew's second competitive spring. Rowing on the Merrimack for the only time during the season, Andover beat Springfield by a length and a half while being cheered by several thousand people who lined the banks of the river to watch the event.(71) Later, on an extremely rough and windy day, the Andoverians were rowing on the Charles River against the Harvard Freshmen when both Blue boats and one of Harvard's filled with water and sank. The crews had to be rescued by the Metropolitan District Police. The accident, including pictures, was reported in the Boston press the next day. The climax of the 1956 season was the annual Interscholastic Race at Worcester, when Andover's crew really became of age, winning a second place in a seven-boat race. Having seen them finish last the previous year, few held our much hope for a good showing from Phillips Academy in this race. Unexpectedly, Andover power-stroked almost continuously over the whole course and battled Kent all the way, losing in the last stretch. The event was a harbinger of things to come.

For the next two years the crew continued to improve and began to reap the rewards of a steady flow of trained rowers. The 1958 varsity, led by Captain Marshall Cloyd, had a record of 5 wins and 2 losses and was again second at the Interscholastics. The Phillips Bulletin in July 1959 jubilantly reported that New England Championships in crew, track, and lacrosse featured one of the best spring sports seasons in years for the Andover athletes. The varsity eight had won 6 of 8 races, losing only to Kent and M.I.T. Freshmen early in the season. Their victories had been over Springfield Tech, the Halcyon and Shattuck Boat Clubs of St. Paul's School, Tabor, and freshmen lightweight crews from Harvard and Yale. Their triumph over Kent by a length and a quarter at the Lake Quinisigamond Interscholastics brought Andover its first crew championship and an invitation to the famous Henley Regatta, 1-4 July at Henley-on-Thames, England. Bill Brown's coaching skills and the loyal work of his faculty assistants, Jack McClement, Simeon Hyde, and Tom Hankins, had brought the Blue a championship eight only five years after the program had started.(72) A phone call to London and Andover alumnus Laurence Viney, P. A. 1938, by his classmate Athletic Director Harrison was made as soon as Headmaster Kemper authorized the crew's English trip. Viney made all the necessary arrangements for the boys' stay in England. A Harvard crew was also going to the Regatta at Henley, and arrangements were made to have the Andover shell shipped with the boat from Cambridge. The Royal Blue, led by stroke Captain Maynard Toll, included coxswain Pat Carey-Barnard, Bill Sanford 7, Art Burnham 6, Ben Koehler 5, Renny Maier 4, Dick Masland 3, Chris Miller 2, and Bill Taylor, bow. Also going as alternates were John King and Jack Allen.(73) Koehler, unfortunately, contracted mononucleosis and was unable to row at Henley, although he did go on the trip. The Andoverians made the journey with high hopes, but the challenge of the Thames Cup, open to British and foreign crews, was too much. The competitors represented the best 150-pound crews from American universities and British rowing clubs and universities. Phillips Academy was bested in the first round by the Thames Boating Club.(74)

The Andover crews in 1960 and 1961 were strong eights, but each year they were unable to defeat Kent in the dual meets or at the Interscholastics. The 1961 crew, captained by Tom Pollock, broke the course record in the race on Lake Quinsigamond but was still second to Kent, which had bettered that record even further.(75) The 1962 eight, for the second time in four years, did win the Interscholastics for Andover on 26 May. Once again the champions headed for Henley and the Thames Cup Race. The members of that group were F. R. de Sola, Jr., J. R. Born, G. T. Vincent, Captain J. A. Tidd, C. T. Babb, J. W. Wells, Jr., and P. Hoffman. The substitutes were D. Wales and G. Hardy.(76) Coaches William Brown and Philip Dubois accompanied the oarsmen, who turned in a creditable performance but were defeated in the second round by Argosies, a rowing club from London. It was after this regatta that physics instructor Dubois, who had spent a number of years in England and had rowed at Cambridge, began working on opening the Princess Elizabeth Cup Race to American schoolboys. This race had always been competed for by British schools exclusively. Since Dubois knew many men in English rowing circles, his proposal did not go unheeded. As a result of his diplomacy and persistence, and the enthusiasm of the British school coaches, the Princess Elizabeth Cup was opened to Americans in 1964. The schoolboys were now more evenly matched and stood a more reasonable chance of winning than had formerly been the case in rowing the Thames Cup Race.(77) The 1963 Andover crew had veterans from the 1962 boat, but they never were able to achieve the same kind of success. 1964 and 1965 were a different story, for in those two successive years Andover won the Interscholastics at Quinsigamond in May and sent those crews to Henley. The 1964 crew had an impressive 7 and 2 record with the losses being to Kent and Harvard Freshmen. Charles Rounds, Matthew Roehrig, Charles Sheldon, Steve Harker, Tom Kutvirt, Steve Spare, Peter Gerard, Don Eubank, Richard Bissell, John Crawford, and Chris Thomas made the trip to England with Coach Brown. Rowing in the Princess Elizabeth Cup Race for the first time, Andover's eight beat three English schools before facing Washington and Lee High School in the semifinals. The two American crews were evenly matched, but Washington and Lee proved to be too strong at the finish and Andover lost.(78) The following year the 1965 oarsmen beat both Harvard Freshmen and Kent for the first time ever in a dual meet and lost only two races. Coach Philip Dubois and Manager Dogie Wales led the group of Captain Chris Thomas, Kitt Wise, Joe Seamans, Matt Mole, Ned Kendrick, Bill Chamberlin, Tom Kutvirt, and Charles Sheldon to another Princess Elizabeth Cup Race. Bill Brown was unable to make the trip because of a Summer School commitment. The Andoverians rowed very successfully against the Irish crew from Coleraine, Pangbourne, King's Canterbury, and Eton before facing its old foe Tabor Academy in the finals. When the race was finally over, the Blue crew found itself a painfully short eighty inches from victory.(79)

There had been some criticism about sending the crews to Henley each time they were first in the Interscholastic race, some feeling that there was too much emphasis on athletics, others saying that there was too much expense involved. However, neither the parents of the oarsmen, who bore most of the financial burden, nor the boys themselves ever indicated that the trip was anything but a thrilling experience. Certainly the Athletic Director and his secretary, who had to manage the myriad of details, the coaches, who had to give up early summer plans, and the school administration, which had to sponsor the project, felt that it was warranted.(80) As the future unfolded, it happened that the 1965 trip to England was the last any Andover crew would take as an all-boy school. The 1966 crew, captained by Joe Seamans, managed to beat arch rival Tabor but finished third at Quinsigamond and had an overall record of 5 wins and losses. The following two years the Andover eights were plagued by illness and misfortune and had losing seasons. In the midst of these troubles came two successive breaks into the boathouse on the Merrimack River in 1968. The crew had moved up river some years earlier, after the Lawrence Canoe Club had been torn down. Security had never been a problem at the new quonset hut boathouse since it had been surrounded by fishing camps, whose owners kept a protective eye on the Andover property. These camps had been replaced by a vast emptiness, as a developer planned a riverside industrial park, and the lack of protection made the crew quarters a target for vandalism. In 1966 Harrison had been able to purchase a large tract of land farther up the Merrimack to replace the leased property on which the quonset building sat, but the Trustees postponed building a permanent boathouse. The 1969 season saw a somewhat better crew record, and Captain Mort Bishop's 1970 boat won 4 and lost races. The 1971 team, led by Vin Broderick, brought crew back to a winning season with 6 wins, including 1 over Exeter, 3 losses, and a fourth place at the Interscholastics.(81) The spring of 1972 brought another victory over a previously unbeaten Exeter crew and an overall 7 and 2 season. In April 1973, as the end of the all-boy school drew near, Andover's oarsmen beat Kent in a dual meet for the first time in seven years. Hopes were high for Captain Bill Kerins' boat, but their season ended with a loss to Phillips Exeter Academy and a total of wins and 5 losses.(82)

Crew was the most recent addition to the Andover-Exeter rivalry. Coach William Brown had sought the competition for some years, but the Exonians rowed on a tidal river and, as a result, trained their crews in four-oared shells rather than in the traditional eights. They would not agree to row Andover until the fall of 1969, when they started to race in eight-oared shells. Andover edged out Exeter at the 1970 Interscholastics, but in a dual meet later the Red beat an all-senior Andover crew, while the Blue second boat defeated Exeter. The tradition had started, another first for Coach William H. Brown.

Andover's cross-country program has always been strong. Although the sport has tended to suffer from the appeal of the more popular fall sports, soccer and football, in terms of quantity of candidates, there has continued to be a nucleus of dedicated runners who have made the school's teams highly competitive. One of the reasons for Phillips Academy's cross-country success was the coaching of N. Penrose Hallowell, Jr. He was aided by one of his former pupils, John Kimball of the Biology Department from 1956 until the latter took over as head coach in the fall of 1960. Kimball had run cross-country for Hallowell while at Andover, and upon his return to the school as a faculty member in September 1956, he was assigned to the cross-country program to replace Hallowell, who was on a sabbatical leave. Pen Hallowell's devotion to the sport was such that when, in 1960, he suggested to the author that it was time for Kimball to take the primary coaching responsibilities from him, he helped the cross-country runners off and on until 1969. Hallowelll returned to the role of head coach in 1967, when Kimball was on a leave of absence, and produced one of the finest teams of his entire career. Thomas Sexton, a member of the Athletic Department, became the head of the cross-country program in 1968 and served until 1971, when he was replaced by Steve Marx, a former Harvard runner who was in the Andover English Department. At various times James Bunnell, Nicholas Kip, and Karl Roehrig of the Phillips Academy Faculty have assisted coaching the cross-country runners.

Many candidates for the cross-country team also ran on the winter and spring track teams. This practice was not one which Harrison approved, because he felt that Phillips Academy students should enjoy a variety of athletic experiences. Nevertheless, there were some very dedicated runners who would have felt deprived of a season of practice, and the Athletic Director felt obliged to honor their wishes. He encouraged hockey players, in particular, to run cross-country in the fall if they wanted to prepare for the season ahead and were not members of other fall squads. The Andover course was judged by Coach Hallowell to be "one of the best balanced I have ever seen."(83) Many a Blue runner and many an opponent had found the route an awesome challenge.

The 1954 Andover squad lacked depth but managed a third place at the Interscholastics. It was as good a record as the harriers would have until the fall of 1959. During those years, however, several individuals carried the team both physically and emotionally. Bob Pitts and Mac Brown, co-captains of the 1954 squad, Christopher Wadsworth, 1958, and Dexter Koehl, 1959---all were outstanding participants in the cross-country meets of their time.(84) The fall of 1959 brought a different story. The biggest athletic surprise of the term was the superb showing of Pen Hallowell's cross-country team. It was his strongest in his twenty-five years of coaching. The team, composed of Captain John Bissell, Steve Hobson, Dudley Carroll, Alan Watson, Bill Kingston, Ed Cox, Peter Huvelle, and Wayne Matson was undefeated until the Interscholastjcs. The Andover runners were outclassed there by Mount Hermon, Exeter, and Huntington, all of whom also had very strong teams.(85) A highlight of the season had been Steve Hobson's new school record of 13:41.1 for the 2.4-mile course in Andover's victory over Harvard. Seventy boys had turned out for cross-country that fall, and the results were significant. The following fall, under Head Coach John Kimball, the Andover harriers won the Interscholastic meet held at Choate. It was Andover's first championship in the sixteen years of the meet's history. That victorious squad, including many veterans of the 1959 team, was led by Captain Steve Hobson. The runners were Robert Diemar, James Durston, William Kingston, Alan Watson, Ed Cox, Peter Winship, and Dennis Wilkinson.(86) The next two seasons were building years for Coaches Kimball and Hallowell. A bright spot on the scene was Dick Howe, who made steady improvement and was elected captain of the cross-country team for two years in a row. He led his team to a perfect dual meet 6-0 record in the 1963 season. Eric Redman, Tom Cory, Mirle Kellet, Pete Dennehy, Warren Everett, Tom Seligson, Martin Panter, and Dick Smith were also members of this remarkable group. Captain Howe broke and rebroke the 2.4-mile course record three times in the season. The team's biggest disappointment came at the Mount Hermon Interscholastics, where the Andover squad failed to live up to its promise and placed fifth of twelve teams.(87) The lack of success of the cross-country teams in 1964, 1965, and 1966 represented a combination of problems. On the basis of times in competition, the team of 1964 should have done better than Howe's team a year earlier. The competition, however, from the other schools was definitely heavier that fall. Eric Noble and Rick Redman were strong performers in 1965, but the cross-country team lacked depth and experience. Coach Kimball brought the 1966 group back for pre-season work and housed them at his home. The early training profited little, as a series of injuries plagued Captain Greg Myers, Henry Hart, and Rob Smith. Consequently, the coach was forced to rely on underclassmen to give reasonable performances. The 1967 team, again coached by Pen Hallowell, achieved a 5 and 3 record with a third place at the Interscholastics. This improvement was largely due to the fine performance of Alby Mangan and Mike Turner, two one-year seniors who took turns breaking the school course record. It was finally won by Mangan.(88) The lack of depth and experience of this squad would affect the performances of the next three seasons, for although there were individual stars, the cross-country team would not be in the winning column again until the 1971 season.

Tom Swain, 1969, proved to be one of Andover's finest runners of the decade as he took first place in every meet and broke the Andover-Exeter record. Lower Ed Esteves' performance as a consistent second-place winner was another highlight of the cross-country season of 1968.(89) The 1969 team saw good individual improvement in runners such as Esteves, Sam Butler, and Bruce Wolfe, but the wins were fewer than the losses. Bruce Wolfe was Andover's best runner in the 1970 season, which saw Phillips Academy lose to Exeter by seven points. The Class of 1972 brought the Andover cross-country team its best season in recent years; Wolfe, Morgan Flaherty, and company had a record of 4 wins and 3 losses and lost to Exeter by a lone point.(90) Bruce Wolfe set a new school record of 12:36.5 and shared "athlete of the term" recognition with Barry Cronin. The following fall, 1972, found Phillips Academy's cross-country team strong again. Coach Steve Marx's harriers John Rogerson, Jim Morgan, Matt Mangan, Martin Lemon, Tom Chambers, and Charlie Nadler posted a record of 6 wins and no losses against school teams. This included a Phillips Academy victory over the arch foe, Exeter, by four points. It was the first Exeter win in many years and a fitting end to an era.

Andover's soccer program has been blessed by strong coaching continuity. The fabulous thirty-four-year reign of Jim Ryley was followed by Frank DiClemente's tenure for twenty-eight years. Deke probably saw more changes in the Phillips Academy program than had his predecessor. There were the inevitable changes in uniforms, rules, and techniques, but Andover soccer also changed vastly in terms of participants as well as facilities. In 1953 there were two hundred and fifty boys playing the game at the varsity and club levels. The Roman, Greek, Gaul, and Saxon club soccer system had been revitalized and "demonstrated that a sport can be played well and enthusiastically below the varsity level."(91) The clubs were organized at the A, B, and C levels with four teams in the leagues. In addition there was a junior soccer team. Players were assigned to the four club teams at each level, and the leading A team in any week played the scheduled junior varsity game against outside competition.(92) Eventually the junior soccer team was eliminated, and a separate junior varsity team was organized. The club system remained in fact, but the names were changed to the individual residential clusters when Phillips Academy adopted the cluster system in 1970. By 1959 the number of soccer players reached three hundred and twenty, and fields all over the campus were being used to play the game.(93) The old campus varsity soccer field was turned over to the J.V. teams when Deke moved his varsity to a newly designed area next to the outdoor track in 1963. With the numbers of soccer players increasing and the football population dropping, the Rafferty Playing Fields off Highland Road were also used for soccer by the 1970's.

Frank DiClemente's 1952 varsity gave him his first victory over Exeter, and it was a harbinger of a very successful period for the booters. Between that fall and 1963, Andover's soccer players beat Exeter 7 times, tied twice, and lost 3 games, each by a goal.(94) The teams in those years produced some of Andover's finest players and most exciting contests. The tie games of 1955 and 1959 were memorable. 1955 co-captains Lanny Keyes and Mal Black led their strong team against an even stronger Exeter opponent. John McBride, Joe Pellegrino, Jose Heredia, Marsh McCall, and Ben Field had all been successful scorers during the season, and Tom Bagnoli had done well in the goal. Yet Exeter had defeated the Harvard Freshmen and Deerfield, both of whom had beaten Andover. Field scored for Andover on a penalty kick, but Exeter quickly tied the score. Two overtimes later, despite strong efforts by both sides, the game ended that way. David Hackett, 1961, who was twice elected captain, brought his team to the Exeter game with a 6 and 2 record. The offense of Tino Heredia, Dick Leete, Budge Upton, Frank MacMurray, George Peterson, and Dave Gibson had scored 21 points, while goalie Denny Gallaudet, Dave Hackett, Bill Torbert, John Hartnett, Mac Rogers, and Joby Stevens had been strong defensively. Before a large crowd, complete with Music Director William Clift's band, the game was played on Andover's old campus field. The score was 0-0 when the contest ended and remained the same through two overtime periods.(95) Oddly enough, the Heredia brothers from Lima, Peru, had each been involved in a double overtime game against Exeter. Captain Hackett's 1960 team, which was comprised of most of the 1959 group, had an undefeated season. The record was 12 wins and 1 tie, that against a powerful Harvard Freshmen team, which boasted the services of O'Hiri, a Nigerian Olympic soccer player. The victims included Brown, Yale, M.I.T., Tufts, and Dartmouth Freshmen as well as Belmont High School, Medford High School, Belmont Hill, Deerfield, Mount Hermon, St. Paul's, and Exeter. This team would be the best Coach DiClemente would have in terms of its record. The starters were forwards Tom Brayton, George Peterson, Frank MacMurray, Budge Upton, David Gibson; halfbacks Hackett, Mac Rogers, and Al Peterson; fullbacks Bill Torber and Jobe Stevens; and Denny Gallaudet in the goal.

Although experience clearly was a factor in the result of the 1960 season, the only defeat of an Andover soccer team by Exeter after 1951 until 1961 was in 1958 with another group of veterans. Captain Bill Snyder's squad had several two-year starters, with Demi Gibson and Al Albright as forwards, Peter Pochna and Roger Hooker on defense, and David Smoyer in the goal. They, too, had several promising younger players, including Gibson's younger brother, David. Bad weather conditions and bad breaks broke a 5-game winning streak as the Andoverians approached the Exeter game with 6 wins, 3 losses, and a tie. Demi Gibson scored the first goal of the game, his sixth in three years of Exeter competition. Andover added another score and led at the end of the first half. Despite the Blue's unity and spirit, Exeter penetrated the defense and got three goals in the second half to win the game. The Exeter victories of the 1960's and 1970's were all close contests, with the Exonians never winning by more than two goals except in 1971, when the score was 4-1. The 1961 team, captained by Budge Upton, had lost only 1 game and had won 7 and tied 1 going into the annual fray against the New Hampshire boys. Upton himself had set a school record in the Mount Hermon game by scoring Andover's six goals. While the Andover booters took more shots and outdrove Exeter, the latter got a clean goal on a corner kick for the win.

A high score in an Exeter game for the era was in 1963, when Captain Tory Peterson's Andover team dedicated their new soccer field with a 4-0 victory. Peterson himself, the leading scorer of the unit, kicked in the first two goals on that occasion. This record was broken four years later, when Buff Stulgis led his team to a 6-0 win. On that November day in 1967, John Clark had 3 scores, Paul Brown 2, and Peter Hawkins 1. The defensive stars were David Fleming, Charles Kittredge, and Bruce Heary, who did not allow any offensive penetration by the Exeter team. The 1972 Andover-Exeter soccer game ended in a 1-1 tie, the third double-overtime game in the twenty-year span. Andover's teams had generally had winning seasons during the period. The Exeter games were closely fought and unpredictable, but possibly most important was the fact that almost all of the Blue players went on to play soccer successfully at the college level.

Perhaps the most distinctive fact about Andover's football program from 1952 until 1972 was the change in its schedule of outside competition. In the early 1950's the J.V. units, as noted earlier, were formed on the basis of age, weight, and experience. Each of these teams played a schedule of games with its counterpart from other schools. The Athletic Department was also able to reconstruct the varsity football schedule at this time. The plan was to play as many secondary schools as possible and eliminate some of the college freshmen opponents. Sound reason supported the move in that the average age of Andover players was younger than it had been, currently a month or so over seventeen years. New additions to the 1957 varsity football schedule were Deerfield and Mount Hermon. Commenting on the change, the Bulletin in November 1957, stated, "The Competition generated vastly more interest and spirit. Such a spirit is a unifying force in the student body."(96) An interesting sidelight on the scheduling of Deerfield was the fact that the previous fall, Frank Boyden, Deerfield's Headmaster, with faculty members, Ball and Sullivan, came to Andover to negotiate the affair with Andover's Athletic Director Harrison. Boyden, always interested in Deerfield's athletic reputation, wanted to be certain that Phillips Academy was not "too big" an opponent for his teams. Knowing of Deerfield's records in football, Harrison assured the Headmaster that he felt the rivalry would be strong, even competition. This certainly proved true as the record stood at 9 wins for Andover, 6 for Deerfield, and 1 tie by the end of the 1972 season. Indeed in the very first contest, held at Andover in October 1957, Deerfield won its thirty-first consecutive football game by defeating Andover 14-7. One particular win over Deerfield was especially rewarding. Captain Frank Hekimian's 1962 team was facing a strong Green aggregation led by Archie Roberts, later a fine quarterback at Columbia. The Blue was trailing at halftime 13-6, but caught fire in the third period. Quarterback Joe Belforti threw a touchdown pass to Tom O'Keefe, but the conversion failed and the Blue was a point behind. Finally end Victor Petzy jarred the ball loose from Deerfield's Roberts and fellow end Dick Fleming caught the ball in midair and went in for the winning score. Roger Farrar later added an insurance touchdown. In October 1960 Andover resumed the football rivalry with Lawrenceville, which had been terminated in 1924. The game, which was played at Lawrenceville, was won by the home school 14-8. Lawrenceville's team was coached by Ken Keuffel, P.A. 1942, who had captained a Sorota team and later played at Princeton. Keuffel was a proponent of the single-wing offense. Jack Rydel, also a Princeton player, succeeded Keuffel for several years while the latter coached at Wabash College and he, too, was a single-wing advocate. Keuffel later returned to Lawrenceville and continued to coach the football team. Andover's players had no opportunity to meet the Lawrenceville formation except at that game, and they had little success in coping with it. Except for a 6-6 tie in 1961, Phillips Academy lost every Lawrenceville game until October 1964. That team, led by Captain Randy Evans, flew to Princeton and soundly beat the Larries 25-6. Evans, Howie Stanback, and Bob Gang were stalwarts in the line. Steve Shedd scored three touchdowns and Ford Fraker one. Terry Thomas, Dick O'Shaughnessy, and Jon Mill provided the rest of the attack. When the team arrived back in Andover, they received a roaring welcome. It was the high point of the season, as the team lost the remainder of its games.(97)

Coach Steve Sorota fielded some of his best teams during the 1950's and early 1960's. A fine student and technician of football, Steve was assisted in those years by a variety of faculty members who had played and coached the game---Val Wilkie, Ted Harrison, Tom Mikula, and Louis Hoitsma all worked with Sorota for a time. Some eventually took over J.V. teams to teach Steve's system to other coaches and younger players. Al Stevens, Clem Morrell, Jim Couch, Fred Peterson, and Peter McKee all coached at the J.V. level. The obvious advantage of this program was to supply the varsity with experienced footballers who were capable of competing at the highest level. After the 1952 undefeated team, Steve produced two others before 1972. The 1959 Andover squad, undefeated and untied, was home grown, with all starters and most squad members having come up through the Phillips Academy J.V. system. Captain Charles Kessler led his team that fall to the first such season since 1952. The starting members included backs Webb Harrison, Jim Turchik, Alex (Bumstead) Browne, Mike Bassett, Bob Lux, Ward Woods, and Mike Moonves. The line standouts were Kessler, Ned Evans, Bob Clift, Joe Barton, Whitney Foster, Bill Dubocq, Tom Campion, and Fred Kenney. The team accumulated 130 points to their opponents 42 in a total of 6 games; the Brewster Academy contest was cancelled because of rain.(98) The Mount Hermon game was played in spite of the weather. It had rained for nearly forty-eight hours before that contest, and when the Andover team arrived at Mount Hermon, it was still pouring. The players were mud-soaked and almost unidentifiable minutes after the start of the action. Fred Kenney, playing tackle, broke through the Mount Hermon defense inside their twenty-five-yard line, and to his surprise received the ball in a hand off from the opposing quarterback. Kenney, in his excitement ran over the goal line and well beyond the end zone for one of the Andover scores. A not-so-pleasant incident during the same game came when Webb Harrison found himself face down in a mud puddle after being tackled. By the time he was rescued from beneath the pile of players, he was nearly drowned and the resourceful Jake Bronk had to clear Harrison's breathing passages of mud before he could return to the lineup. After the Exeter victory, Captain Kessler, Webb Harrison, Mike Bassett, and Joe Barton were named to the first-string All-New England Prep School Team. The Andover 1970 team was also undefeated and untied; they beat the Exonians on Brothers Field for the first time since 1958. Milton HoIt, a one-year senior from Honolulu, was the team's quarterback and spark plug. Holt was one of the decade's best football and baseball players, but he was supported by a strong, steady team under the leadership of Captain Bob McDonald. Although backs Rick Hall and Bob Frisbie were hurt during the season, the team survived this crisis. Bruce Bruckman, Ken Lacey, Stan Livingston, Weldon Baird, Laurey Bump, Tom Earthman, Dana Seero, John Malo, Louis Lampson, Steve Sherrill, and Bob Bianci were key performers on all occasions. Many of them had also been on the 1969 team, which had been the New England Preparatory school champions but had lost to Lawrenceville and the Williams Freshmen.

Every Exeter contest in whatever sport is bound to produce thrills and unexpected moments. Certainly football games are no exception now, nor were they in the years between 1952 and 1972. Captains Horton Smith and Peter Briggs led their teams to winning seasons and Exeter victories in 1953 and 1954 respectively, but the football contest between the two arch rivals in 1955 had to be one of the most exciting in modern times. Andover's team, led by Co-captains Trevor Grimm and Bruce Smith, had lost only two games, to Springfield Freshmen and Williams Freshmen, when they met Exeter at Plimpton Field. Andover had a touchdown called back in the early moments of play and seemed to lose confidence and poise. Despite reasonable play on the defense, the offensive machinery could not seem to build momentum and, with six minutes to play, Exeter led by a score of 12-0. Exeter had a third touchdown called back for clipping and could not repeat the score. With six minutes left in the game Perry Hall ran back an Exeter punt 40 yards to the Exeter 35-yard line. With two successive passes from Forstmann to Grimm, Andover scored its first touchdown and Forstmann kicked for a successful conversion. Exeter ran a series of plays and, for some unaccountable reason when they were stalled, kicked on third down. Matt Freeman took the punt on his own 40-yard line and drove to the Exeter 43. Forstmann plunged to a first down and then passed again to Grimm, who made a scooping catch on the Exeter 35-yard line. Andover's quarterback then hit Matt Freeman with a look-in pass down the middle, and he romped into the end zone with no Exeter player within 20 yards. With the Andover stands going wild with delight, Tony Forstmann again kicked for the conversion and, fifty-eight seconds later, Andover had won its fourth straight victory in the football series. An Andover alumnus parent sitting in the stands found the lack of an adequate scoreboard at Plimpton Field particularly frustrating that day because nobody knew the official time as the game was ending in this thrilling fashion. The following fall he made an anonymous gift to Phillips Academy to be used to install a new and more modern scoreboard on Brothers Field. Exeter's Athletic Director, Martin Souders, had protested Grimm's catch on the second touchdown drive to the officials, as he had also done on an identical play by Maurie Gould in the gridiron contest of 1937, when Ted Harrison had been a member of Andover's victorious team. As they met that afternoon in November 1955, as rival Athletic Directors, Souders was complaining about the bad call against Exeter; Harrison could only say, "This is where I came in, Martin." The incident was closed.

Six other Andover-Exeter games deserve particular note. The first was the spectacular Exeter win of 1956, when Charlie Ravenel, Dick Eustis, and Dick Edmonds ran wild over Andover and scored 45 points to the Blue's 6. The following fall Captain Gilbert Bamford's team with Manch Wheeler, Mark Woodbury, Bob Hull, Tom Behan, Brock Kinnear, and Hank Higdon starring on offense, and Ed Rice, Tom Gildehaus, Drayton Heard, Mac Rotan, and Ted Bailey on defense, beat the Exonians by the identical score in reverse. The tally was Andover 45 and Exeter 6. Frank Hekimian's 1962 team had lost only to Lawrenceville when they met Exeter and tied for a 6-6 game. It was on this occasion that the famous Exeter banner, taken by Phillips Academy students on 12 November 1949, was retaken from the Andover captain's room by Exeter students. Captain Dick Reynolds' team in 1963 was light and worked hard but lost in a heartbreaking effort to Exeter by the unusual score of 8-7. The gridders of 1967, under the leadership of schoolboy All-American guard Joel Ristuccia, beat Exeter after the Red had won for two successive years. Finally in 1972 an underdog Andover eleven, led by Craig Brickley and Tim Whalen, surprised the experts by downing Exeter 19-7. The ancient rivalry had been marked by pre-game hi-jinks. A large royal blue banner was fluttering atop the Exonian flagpole the morning of the game. A band of ten Andoverians had invaded Exeter in a smooth but harmless operation and had placed scores of posters all over the campus proclaiming that Andover had the better team. Brickley and company proved them right.

In the twenty years between 1952 and 1972, Andover football had grown to include a varsity and six J.V. teams and then had dwindled to a varsity and four junior varsity teams. At this writing, there are only two teams below the varsity level. The spectators have also declined in numbers at most contests, although the traditional Exeter game draws several hundred. To ascertain the reasons for the decline of participation and interest in this traditional American game at Phillips Academy and other institutions would merely be conjecture. The influence of football coverage by television, the rise of the interest in soccer at all levels, and the revolt against violence during the Vietnam years all may have some bearing on the situation. Whatever the numbers playing and those watching, it appears certain that football will remain a tradition in Andover athletics.

Swimming at Phillips Academy was popular from the time it was introduced as a sports offering. Once the Memorial Gymnasium was completed and the new pool facilities and spectator space were available, attendance at meets skyrocketed.(99)

Roscoe Dake retired as the varsity swimming coach in 1954. His last team had the unique distinction of having a tie with Exeter but later defeating the Red at the Interscholastics. Dake was succeeded by Reagh Wetmore, who had been his assistant since 1950. Wetmore had been a competitive swimmer at Acadia College in Canada and had received a Master's Degree in Physical Education from Springfield College. He had the privilege of coaching Andover swimming teams when student support was very high. Part of the popularity of the sport was the number of outstanding swimmers who arrived at Phillips Academy after 1952. Although Williston and Deerfield were generally considered to be the most formidable schools in swimming competition, Andover and Exeter also boasted swimmers with national reputations. In the early years of the new pool complex, many students arrived at the school who were already trained at a level to make the swimming team as lowers or even ninth graders. These boys generally improved enough to break school records or become All-American swimmers before they graduated from Phillips Academy. In the 1954-5 season LaRue "Twink" Catlett and William "Tim" Timken were outstanding natators. Both had entered Andover as ninth graders, and in that season each had broken school records. In the Exeter meet Timken broke an eighteen-year record in the breast stroke, and Catlett the Andover-Exeter record in the dive. Timken broke his own record in the breast stroke the following year and was one of the nation's best schoolboy "flyers" in a new swimming meet event which had been added that year, the butterfly. The 1956-57 team was reasonably strong, but the only record to be broken was the medley relay. Lower Joe Coloneri, uppers Monty Bissell and Tom Welch, and senior Mike Mahoney set a new time of 1:51-5 against the M.I.T. Freshmen. Mike Mahoney was the oldest of four brothers, all of whom were members of Andover's swimming teams between 1953 and 1969. Captain Dwight "Monty" Bissell was the only Andover swimmer to break a record during the 1957-58 winter. He broke the pool, school, and Andover-Exeter meet record in the individual medley. The biggest surprise for Coach Wetmore the next season was the performance of upper Dave Kennedy from Tampa, Florida, who broke Bissell's school and pool record in the individual medley event.(100)

The 1960's produced a rather different brand of competitor in Andover swimming. Most of the outstanding aquatic people were now capable of breaking records when they first arrived, regardless of their ages. The 1959-60 season was dramatic in many ways. It was the first time that the 200-yard medley relay and individual medley were introduced. These two events required fifty yards each of the backstroke, breast stroke, butterfly, and freestyle. The Andover team included four All-American swimmers, who were also record holders. David Kennedy held the school, pool, Andover-Exeter and National Prep School records in both the butterfly and individual medley. Captain Elliot Miller had school and pool records in the freestyle, while the four All-American swimmers (Miller, Cyrus Hornsby, David Hackett, and Kennedy) broke the school, pool, and Andover-Exeter meet records in the medley relay.

Another first in that season was the fact that the average attendance was four hundred spectators per meet. Miller and Kennedy were examples of the good swimmers who improved while at Andover. Hornsby and Hackett had been extremely good before they entered the school.

Wetmore went on a sabbatical leave in 1960-61 and was replaced by Jack McClement. McClement's stars were All-Americans Hornsby, Hackett, and diver Dan Mahoney. Mahoney and Hackett were undefeated in competition that year. In the 1961-62 season Wetmore returned as coach and a new event, the 400-yard freestyle, was added to the list. Neither that winter nor the following one saw any superstar swimmers on the Andover team, and the spectator interest declined significantly. Captain Hunter John's team of 1964 brought the attendance back to two hundred per meet. The top swimmers of that unit were John, Tom Carothers, Jon Noll, John Phillips, and Jack Sartore. This team lost by one point to Williston in a dual meet and then lost the Interscholastics to the same team in a meet which was decided in the final event, the freestyle relay. This would be the closest that an Andover swimming team of recent history would come to winning the Interscholastics. Returners Noll, Mahoney, and Phillips were joined the next year by newcomer Rainer Macguire, who broke the school record in the 200-yard freestyle. Phillips' time in the 50-yard freestyle was the second best in the nation for a preparatory school student. He held the pool, school, and Andover-Exeter records in this event, and school records in the breast stroke and the 200-yard individual medley. Noll's records for the 100-yard backstroke included the school, pool, Andover-Exeter, and New England Preparatory School titles. He and teammate Tim Mahoney, who held the school diving record, won their respective events for three consecutive years at the Interscholastic meet.

Reagh Wetmore left Andover in 1966. That year he had had six returning All-American swimmers to bolster his team: Noll, Topper Lyn, Malcolm McTernen, Paul Wiske, Lee Eddy, and Stuart Sessions. The 4oo-yard freestyle relay replaced the 200-yard freestyle relay as a meet event, and the Blue team proved its strength in it with seven strong freestylers, including Wiske, Eddy, and Sessions. Captain Jon Noil, undefeated in the backstroke during his Andover career, led his team to a first victory over Williston. Although they came in second to the "Willies" at the Interscholastics, the Andoverians were considered the New England Preparatory School champions.

With Wetmore's departure, Jack McClement again took over the swimming team. During his two-year tenure, the outstanding stars were Bill Bostian in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle and diver Bart Brush. Bostian made new school marks for his events, and Brush broke a thirteen year record in diving for the Andover-Exeter meet. Thomas Sexton was hired as a full-time member of the Athletic Department in 1968 and became the swimming coach as well. He inherited two All-American swimmers, Carl Williams and Nate Cartmell, and was blessed with the arrival of Rick Moses, Alex Kazickas, Peter Sacks, and Tim Neville. All of these new students were All-American during their first season at Andover. Cartmell made new records for the 100-, 200-, and 400-yard freestyle. The team was strong for the next three years, with a nucleus of experienced swimmers who continued to break all kinds of records. Their won and lost totals did not reflect the strength of the teams because they were swimming strong college freshmen groups and were being beaten by small margins. In the 1970-71 season Tim Neville alone set eight new records in the 100-yard individual medley, the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. In addition he was on the school record-breaking 200-yard medley relay team of Kazickas, Sachs, Moses, and Neville. He was joined by List, Kazickas, John Ryan, Peter Anderson, Sachs, Michael Murphy, and Myles Standish, all of whom broke records during the season. Andover swamped Exeter that year, thirteen new records being made during the meet. Captain Kazickas' team of 1972 continued to do well, beating Williston for the first time in many seasons, as well as boasting an 8-win, 2-loss tally. The 1973 swimmers were coached by William Shrout, a former Harvard varsity swimming veteran himself. Mark List and newcomer John Kingery provided the record-breaking thrills for the season. Kingery broke the school, pool, Andover-Exeter, and New England Preparatory School marks in the 200-yard individual medley.

The 1973 swimming season was really an end to another era of strong Andover teams. In the next year a new method of scoring was to be introduced, and most of the top swimmers would have graduated. Another problem to be faced by the natators would be sharing the facilities with the girls, who would be entering the school in September 1973. Only time could tell to what extent this would affect the future of the boys' swimming team.

Wrestling has long been offered as a winter sport at Phillips Academy. The new wrestling room in the basement of the Memorial Gymnasium, it was hoped, would induce more students to try the fine art of grappling. Unfortunately, the structure of the room made observing matches almost impossible. The ceiling was low, there was only one entrance, and the seating capacity was minimal. For all the dedication of Coach Pieters and his successor, J. R. Lux, and their various teams, the sport simply did not draw a large number of talented athletes. Early in his tenure as Athletic Director, the author decided to move the wrestling matches to the main floors of either the Borden or Memorial gymnasiums whenever possible. This arrangement at least allowed the wrestlers to have the spectator support which they deserved.

When Dick Lux took over the team in 1954, he had a few veterans who were able to win some of their matches and managed to have a close contest with Exeter. Co-captain John Bloom, Orrin Hein, Les Blank, and Frank Stella all won their respective matches, but the final score was 19-14 in the Red's favor. The following year, Lux had only three lettermen returning and one of these, Hein, was unable to make his weight.(101) Despite a weak season, Captain Pete Moses and newcomer Bob Pitts placed at the Interscholastic matches. Moses became the first Andover man to be honored at the New England Interscholastics, for he won his match with a take-down. Pitts placed third in his class. The late 1950's were not good years for the wrestling teams. The 1956 wrestlers were blanked by Exeter 29-0. It was the first time that a Phillips Academy team had been shut out in wrestling. Arnold Burke, Mac Rotan, and Arthur Mann were all good individual wrestlers, but it was not until 1958 that Coach Lux had a victory over Exeter. It was the first Andover win in six years and was highlighted by the fine performances of Rotan, Bob Posner, Mann, Dick Shirley, Bob Hess, and Gil Douglas. Captain Jim Marks' team of 1959 had many returning lettermen, including Roger Ahlbrandt, and they produced one of the best records of the decade. Coached by a former Andover wrestler, Karl Lemp, they had decisive victories in the early part of the season but lost to Exeter 37-28. Coach Lux, who had been on a sabbatical in 1959, returned to the varsity wrestlers the following year. With six returning lettermen, the prospects for the season seemed bright. Injuries and illness plagued the team all winter, and despite outstanding performances by Co-captains Larry Lawrence and Al Ross, as well as Kit Dove, Bob Hess, and Andy Graham, the result was 3 wins and 6 losses. A mixture of hard work and experience, plus the dedication of Coaches Lux and Lemp, gave the 1961 Andover wrestlers the best season since the construction of the new gym. Led by seniors Dorsey Gardner, Kit Dove, Tony Vanderwalker, Alex Walling, and Captain Andy Graham, the Luxmen compiled an impressive 7 and 1 record, including a 24-18 upset win over Exeter, defending New England champions. Ivan Higgins, Peter Watson, and Tom Gilmore were the underclassmen who contributed greatly to the team's success. Captain Ivan Higgins' team of 1962 could not seem to get going and ended a disappointing season with a loss of 18-17 to Exeter.

Once again the Blue grapplers hit a low point in terms of victories. Individual members of the teams between 1962 and 1968 had winning seasons, but it was not until March 1969 that Andover's wrestling team had a victory over their Exeter counterparts. Chip Nevius, Eric Chase, Dick Barnum, Tom McEwan, Terry Thomas, Sam Miller, and Derek Huntington were all outstanding wrestlers during the period, but depth and experience seemed to elude the teams. In 1965 McEwan won a first place in the New England Preparatory School Interscholastics by scoring two pins in three minutes. Coaches Lux and Crayton Bedford put together a group of experienced, devoted wrestlers in the 1969 season. The team was led by Captain Bobby Gailliard, and the exciting performances of the squad made wrestling one of the best attended sports all winter. The consistently fine efforts of Romerio Perkins, Bill Holland, Jim Murphy, John Sheffield, Jim Conlin, Ken Chan, and Luis Buhler gave the team an overall record of 8 wins and 2 losses. The losses were to Williston and Tabor. The Memorial Gymnasium was packed as the Blue soundly defeated Exeter by the score of 23-14. Both Sheffield and Murphy won individual championships at the Interscholastics, and Captain Gailliard brought his Andover career to a successful conclusion by gaining a second place in his class.

The pace set by the wrestlers in 1969 was to continue for the next two seasons. John Sheffield's squad beat all its opposition, including Exeter, but lost to Mount Pleasant High School and Lowell High School by slim margins. This team also gained a first place at the Interscholastic matches. The pinnacle of success of any Andover wrestling team in the recent past was the 1971 season. Co-captains Jeff Rosen and Bob Frisbie led a group of veterans and newcomers to an undefeated season as well as first place in the Interscholastics. Ken Lacey, Walter Haydock, Tod Sharp, Pat O'Connor, Russ Graham, and Co-captains Rosen and Frisbee all won their matches at the Interscholastics to give Andover an overwhelming victory. With the loss of several veterans and relatively inexperienced new talent, Coach Lux won 4 and lost 4 in 1972. The 1973 squad had improved all season and looked forward to an Exeter win. In spite of the outstanding work of Craig Reynolds, Paul McGarry, Dick Welch, and Steve Pinchuk, Exeter upset Andover with a 32-26 victory.

Nicholas Kip, a Lux-coached product of the class of 1960, began to assist the latter in 1972 and would continue to do so until he would eventually replace Lux as the varsity wrestling mentor. The cramped facilities of the athletic complex, as Andover approached coeducation, demanded that the Trustees consider different gymnasium accommodations. It was clear that wrestling should be afforded a better situation whenever any new construction was planned. Once again the twenty years of the use of the Memorial Gymnasium had proved that what had seemed to be a luxurious facility in 1953 had, by 1973, become inadequate for the population trying to use it.