Background on New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse League
One of the major figures in the growth of scholastic and collegiate lacrosse in New England, Charles E. Marsters first grew attached to the sport while an undergraduate at Harvard (BS, 1907), but his commitment never waned thereafter. Spurred by his energy and initiative, participation in the sport rose steadily at both the high school and collegiate level, establishing New England as one of the centers of the American game. An officer of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), serving as vice president (1907-1908) and president (1909-1910 and 1917-1918), Marsters worked tirelessly as player, coach, and manager to promote the sport. With Paul Gustafson, he founded the Boston Lacrosse Club in 1913, playing point for sixteen years and managing the team, which became the first in New England to play teams from outside the region. He also laid the foundation for teams at Yale in 1915, and at Brown, MIT, the University of New Hampshire, and Tufts in the later 1920s.
In 1935, Marsters and his colleague Tom Dent founded the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse League (NEILL), which became a major vehicle for promoting the sport. He was recognized for his labors on behalf of the sport with an award from USILA in 1951 and with induction into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a player in 1957.
Scope of collection
The files of the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse League (NEILL) document the growth of lacrosse in New England from an informal club activity to a regulated, interscholastic and intercollegiate varsity sport. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, minutes, and agendas kept by co-founder Charles E. Marsters and a handful of other NEILL officers. Reflective of his enthusiasm for lacrosse, Marsters's correspondents ranged from coaches to regional and national lacrosse associations, as well as college and prep school officials, including Frank Boyden, Headmaster of the Deerfield Academy and trustee of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Some later correspondence reflects interest in the sport at UMass Amherst, beginning in the 1950s, and the beginnings of women's lacrosse as a collegiate sport.
The NEILL collection is equally valuable in documenting the founding of the Boston Lacrosse Club (1913-1962) through member lists and rosters, reports from the managers and treasurers, and promotional materials. The printed material in the collection includes rule books and news clippings, and materials and correspondence relating to publication of The Lacrosse Guide, as well as copies of the guide itself (1907-1962), and photographs.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into six series:
Series descriptions
Includes minutes, 1935-73; account books, bank books and financial reports; copies of the constitutions of 1935, 1957, and 1966; reports; information on players and teams; newsletters; meeting agenda; and the correspondence of the following officers: E.W. Christensen, Earle Littleton, Robert Maddux, Ben R. Martin, Lincoln Redshaw, Timothy Ring, J. Bruce Munro, A. Barr Snively, and William A.R. Harkness.
Marsters was the co-founder NEILL. Includes his correspondence with lacrosse enthusiasts around the country between 1913 and 1962; his correspondence with coaches of NEILL member colleges and affiliated prep schools; materials reflecting his association with the USILA and its activities: Development Committee, 1946-53; All America/All New England selection; North/South Game, 1949-62; newsletters, publicity releases and souvenirs; materials dating from the founding of the Boston Lacrosse Club, 1913-62: lists of members, constitution, letterheads, schedules, manager and treasurer's reports; correspondence, rosters, agreements, photographs and clippings; materials pertaining to the writing of the New H Book of Harvard Athletics: correspondence and other material reflecting Marsters' affiliations with the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, the US Lacrosse Coaches Association, the New England Lacrosse Officials Association, the US Women's Lacrosse Association, and the California Lacrosse Association.
Contains material such as questionnaires, notes, and correspondence used to compile aspects of the guide, 1954-62, n.d., and copies of the guides themselves from 1907 to 1962 as well as other handbooks and rulebooks dating from 1893 to 1930 and n.d. In addition this series includes catalogs, correspondence, and orders pertaining to lacrosse equipment between 1935 and 1963.
Contains newspaper clippings from a variety of newspapers collected by Harsters between 1903 and 1962.
Includes a bound volume on lacrosse, a clipped passage about lacrosse history, and a copy of an 1884 print by H.W. Hall.
Includes posters, questionnaires, clippings, referee whistles (3), and photographs of teams.
Inventory
Series 1. Official Records
1935-1973
Minutes of Meetings
1935-1949
Box 1: 1
Meeting Agendae, Minutes
1954-1961
Box 1: 2
Minutes
1962-1973
Box 1: 3
Account Book
1940-1950
Box 1: 4
Bank Books (3)
1936-1942
Box 1: 5
Constitution and related correspondence, Christensen
1935
Box 1: 6
Correspondence, general , Christensen
1935-1936
Box 1: 7
Correspondence Earle Littleton (Secretary-Treasurer 1937-1940)
1937-1938
Box 1: 8
Correspondence Earle Littleton
1939-1940
Box 1: 9
Corres. Robert Maddux (Sec-Treas, 1940-1942,1949)
1936-1940
Box 1: 10
Corres. Robert Maddux
1941
Box 1: 11
Corres. Robert Maddux
1942, 1949
Box 1: 12
Corres. Ben Martin (Sec-Treas 1942-1944)
1942-1944
Box 1: 13
Corres. Lincoln Redshaw(Sec-Treas 1944-1948)
1944
Box 1: 14
Corres. Lincoln Redshaw
1945
Box 1: 15
Corres. Lincoln Redshaw
1946
Box 1: 16
Corres. Lincoln Redshaw
1947
Box 1: 17
Corres. Lincoln Redshaw
1948
Box 2: 18
Corres. Timothy Ring (Sec-Treas 1948-1950)
1948
Box 2: 19
Corres. Timothy Ring
1949
Box 2: 20
Corres. Timothy Ring
1950
Box 2: 21
Corres. J. Bruce Munroe
1950-1952
Box 2: 22
Corres. A. Barr Snively, Jr.
1954-1956
Box 2: 23
Corres. William R. Harkness
1954
Box 2: 24
Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Correspondence and Records
1940-1959
Box 2: 25
Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Correspondence and Records
1960-1967
Box 2: 26
Season Reviews
1969-1973
Box 2: 27
Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Newsletters
1960-1962
Box 2: 28
Series 2. Charles E. Marsters Files
1913-1962
Corres. Charles E. Marsters
1913-1914
Box 2: 29
Corres. Charles E. Marsters
1915-1916
Box 2: 30
Corres. Charles E. Marsters
1947-1960
Box 2: 31
Corres. Charles E. Marsters
1961-1962
Box 2: 32
Mailing Addresses kept by Charles E. Marsters
n.d.
Box 2: 33
NEILL-Amherst College
1936-1953
Box 3: 34
NEILL-Bates College
1930-1945
Box 3: 35
NEILL-Boston University
1931-1934
Box 3: 36
NEILL-Bowdoin College
1940-1955
Box 3: 37
NEILL-Brown University
1930-1952
Box 3: 38
NEILL-Colby
1944-1953
Box 3: 39
NEILL-University of Connecticut
1946-1953
Box 3: 40
NEILL-Dartmouth
1928-1949
Box 3: 41
NEILL-Hartford Club
1947
Box 3: 42
NEILL-Harvard University
1910-1959
Box 3: 43
NEILL-Kenyon College
1947-1951
Box 3: 44
NEILL-Lowell Textile Institute
1940-1953
Box 3: 45
NEILL-University of Maine
1950-1953
Box 3: 46
NEILL-M.I.T.
1929-1952
Box 3: 47
NEILL-Univ. of Mass.(orig. Mass. State)
1940-1954
Box 3: 48
NEILL-Middlebury
1948-1956
Box 3: 49
NEILL-New England College
1949-1951
Box 3: 50
NEILL-University of New Hampshire
1930-1952
Box 3: 51
NEILL-Nichols Junior College
1949-1953
Box 3: 52
NEILL-Rhode Island State (now URI)
1935-1951
Box 3: 53
NEILL-Springfield College
1930-1953
Box 3: 54
NEILL-Trinity College-Hartford
1946-1953
Box 3: 55
NEILL-Tufts
1930-1952
Box 3: 56
NEILL-Coast Guard Academy
1946-1947
Box 3: 57
NEILL-Wesleyan
1943-1952
Box 3: 58
NEILL-Williams
1934-1953
Box 3: 59
NEILL-Worcester Polytechnic and Clark Univ.
1941-1953
Box 3: 60
NEILL-Yale
1935-1952
Box 3: 61
NEILL-Other Colleges outside New England
1951-1952
Box 3: 62
NEILL-Prep. School Affiliates of NEILL
1961-1962
Box 3: 63
NEILL-Andover-Phillips Academy
1931-1952
Box 3: 64
NEILL-Clark School.-Hanover, New Hampshire
1950-1952
Box 3: 65
NEILL-Choate
1946-1952
Box 3: 66
NEILL-Deerfield Academy
1939-1942
Box 3: 67
NEILL-Deering High, Portland, Maine
1939-1940
Box 3: 68
NEILL-Governor Dummer
1937-1952
Box 3: 69
NEILL-Hebron, Hotchkiss
1948
Box 3: 70
NEILL-Kimball Union.
1938-1952
Box 3: 71
NEILL-Kingswood School
1939-1952
Box 3: 72
NEILL-Lawrence Academy
1939-1952
Box 3: 73
NEILL-Loomis
1942-1950
Box 3: 74
NEILL-Middlesex School
1948-1952
Box 3: 75
NEILL-Mt. Hermon
1938-1952
Box 3: 76
NEILL-Phillips, Exeter
1933-1952
Box 3: 77
NEILL-St. Paul's-Concord, New Hampshire
1945-1952
Box 3: 78
-St. Paul's-Bult, Maryland
Box 3
NEILL-Suffield Academy
1941-1946
Box 3: 79
NEILL-Tabor Academy
1948-1952
Box 3: 80
NEILL-Thornton Academy
1938
Box 3: 81
NEILL-Tilton School
1942-1946
Box 3: 82
NEILL-U.S. Naval School
1949-1950
Box 3: 83
NEILL-Worcester Academy
1935-1953
Box 3: 84
NEILL-Other Preps.
1935-1952
Box 3: 85
U.S. Intercollegiate Association (USILA)
1947-1952
Box 4: 86
Records and Correspondence
Box 4
USILA Correspondence
1952
Box 4: 87
USILA Records and Correspondence
1955-1960
Box 4: 88
USILA Records and Correspondence
1961-1962
Box 4: 89
USILA Development Committee
1946-1953
Box 4: 90
All American/All New England Teams
1930,1952
Box 4: 91
All American Selection Committee, Records,
1958-1962
Box 4: 92
Correspondence, Clippings
Box 4
USILA North-South Lacrosse Games
1949-1959
Box 4: 93
USILA North-South Lacrosse Games-Records,
1960,1961
Box 4: 94
Clippings and Correspondence
Box 4
USILA North South Game
1962
Box 4: 95
"The Lacrosse Newsletter"(s)
1958-1962
Box 4: 96
Publicity Releases
1952-1961
Box 4: 97
Programs, Schedules, Tickets, Posters
1907+
Box 4: 98
Association of N.E. Colleges for Conferences on Athletics, Correspondence, Minutes
1931-1939
Box 5: 99
Boston Lacrosse Club Constitution, Records
1913-1915
Box 5: 100
Boston Lacrosse Club
1954-1962
Box 5: 101
Harvard University Varsity Club."The H. Book"
1961-1962
Box 5: 102
The H Book of Harvard Athletics(bound volume)
1852-1922
Box 5: 103
Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Correspondence, Notes,
1958-1961
Box 5: 104
U.S. Lacrosse Coaches Association, Corres.,
1956-1961
Box 5: 105
Printed Material, Reports
Box 5
Lacrosse Coaches Assoc. Newsletter
1951-1952
Box 5: 106
N.E. Lacrosse Officials Association, U.S.
1938-1962
Box 5: 107
Lacrosse Officials Association
Box 5
U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association, Clippings
1952
Box 5: 108
Correspondence, Printed Material
Box 5
California Lacrosse Association
1961
Box 5: 109
Series 3. The Lacrosse Guide
1893-1962; n.d.
Lacrosse Guide Info., Questionnaires,
1952-62, n.d.
Box 6: 110
Correspondence, Notes
Box 6
Lacrosse Guides- Rules and Regulations
1907-1928
Box 6: 111
Lacrosse Guides
1929-1941
Box 6: 112
Lacrosse Guides
1942-1944, 1946-1955
Box 6: 113
Lacrosse Guides
1956-1962
Box 6: 114
Outdoor Sports 1893 and Lacrosse Handbooks
1893-1930, n.d.
Box 6: 115
Lacrosse Equipment, Catalogs, Orders,
1935-1952
Box 6: 116
Lacrosse Equipment Catalogs
1960-1963
Box 6: 117
Series 4. News Clippings
1903-1962
Clippings
1903-1911
Box 7: 118
Clippings
1929-1935
Box 7: 119
Clippings
1936, 1937, 1940
Box 7: 120
Clippings
1961-1962
Box 7: 121
Clippings, Canada
1929-1930
Box 7: 122
Series 5. Printed Material
1948-1952; n.d.
Lacrosse, by W. Kelso Morrill, 1952;
1952, n.d.
Box 7: 123
"Other Indian Games", n.d.
Box 7
Copy of 1884 Print, "Game of Lacrosse", H.W. Hall
1948
Box 7: 124
Series 6. Oversized Material
n.d.
Posters, Clippings,
n.d.
Box 8
Questionnaires, (3) whistles, (1) badge, etc.
Box 8
Photographs - Teams
n.d.
Box 9
Administrative information
Search terms
Subjects
- Boyden, Frank L. (Frank Learoyd), 1879-1972.
- College sports--New England.
- Lacrosse for women--United States.
- Lacrosse guide.
- Lacrosse--New England.
- Lacrosse--Rules.
- Marsters, Charles E.
- New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse League.
- School sports--New England.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst--Sports--History.
Contributors
- New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse League [main entry]
- Marsters, Charles E.
- Boyden, Frank L. (Frank Learoyd), 1879-1972.
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