100 YEARS OF ATHLETICS
1940s
Gordon Athletics stays strong during the war years despite rationing, routine blackouts and students taking leaves to serve in the military. Basketball continues to be a focal point; students who play all four years earn a gold basketball in addition to their varsity letter. The men’s team becomes the “undisputed seminary champions of this section of the country” in 1943, according Gordon’s The College Bulletin publication, and again in 1945. Games in the Ruggles Street Baptist Church gymnasium begin drawing significant crowds. By the mid 1940s, seminaries in the Greater Boston area organize into their own league, which includes Gordon, Boston University School of Theology, Andover Newton and Episcopal Seminary. Led by captain Eddie Olson ’45, “one of the greatest players to ever wear the Gordon colors,” according to The College Bulletin, Gordon is runner-up to Boston University School of Theology for the championship in its first year. In 1945, the Women’s Basketball team defeats P.B.I.—a “most outstanding accomplishment,” according to a May issue of Gordon’s The Challenger publication. In 1948, Men’s Basketball sees their most successful season to date, led by high-scoring captain Dave Hamilton ’50, who averages 18 points per game.
Pictured left (top): 1930 Women’s Basketball team Pictured left (bottom): 1930 Men’s Basketball team Right: Robert Baggs in 1941
That year and the following, the “hoopsters” or “basket shooters,” as they are commonly referred to in game write-ups, play at the Boston Garden, where the fledging Boston Celtics are still getting their sea legs in their third-ever season.
In the Scotlight
Though the number of varsity sports remains small, Athletics has so worked its way into the fabric of college life that by the late 1940s all students and faculty are assigned to intramural teams. The “G Club” continues to welcome new members (though graduate students, who played regularly, do not qualify for the honor). With a more established athletic program comes a growing interest among the student body for a unifying athletic identity. “The Gordon Herald wants you to think up a name, such as the Gordon Preachers,” states a December 1949 issue of the student newspaper. “The names will be voted upon by the student body. You may have the honor to giving the names to the greatest basketball teams Gordon has ever seen.”
Rev. Gilbert “Gil” Dodds ’45 The world knew “Gil” Dodds as “The Flying Parson” and “The Iron Deacon” for he was both an ordained minister and the best American miler of his time. In the 1940s, he was virtually unbeatable, winning 21 straight races for the indoor mile and breaking the world record for that same race three times (twice while he was a Gordon Divinity School student). His career best of 4:05.3 stayed in the world record book for six years. It also earned him a spot in the 1,500-meter race at the 1948 Olympic Trials— although an injury to his Achilles tendon prevented him from competing in the qualifying meet. Shortly after, Dodd retired from competitive running. For the rest of his life, he worked as an evangelist, a track and cross country coach for Wheaton College and a high school guidance counselor. In addition to his legacy as “The Flying Parson,” Dodd is remembered for giving running demonstrations and sharing his testimony as part of the early Youth for Christ rallies—and for never racing on Sundays.
SPRING 2022 | STILLPOINT 19
