The Long and Storied History of Emerson Athletics
All Emersonians know that our football team is undefeated since 1880 … because we’ve never had a football team. But did you know that Emerson College had a wrestling team? Or a sailing team? And an ice hockey team?
It’s all true.
All photos from Archives & Special Collections
Female students participate in inter-class volleyball in the 1930s. 
The 1948 team was the first men’s basketball team. 
Longtime Athletic Director and Wrestling Coach Jim Peckham and his wife Jean Peckham ran the Emerson Athletics Department for many years. 
The 1959 cheerleading team 
A jump ball during the men’s 1959 basketball season. 
One photo of the very large Sailing Club in 1965. 
Wrestlers grappling in 1966. 
Oh, Emersonians are a funny bunch. Please note that P. Maravich was “Not Pictured”. That’s because Pete Maravich was the best collegiate player of the year — playing for LSU in 1969. Looks like an Emersonian had a little fun. 
Women’s basketball player leads the fast break in 1974. 
Emerson players fight for the rebound in 1977. 
Ahoy! Two Emersonians set sail in 1977. 
Emerson ice hockey goalie in 1980 deflects the puck. 
Taking a breather during a basketball game in 1984. 
Women’s softball player in 1986 takes a swing. 
Pitcher Darrel Caneiro pitches in the first-ever night game for Emerson in 1988. 
Dunking in 1995 
1997 women’s soccer team players enjoy a moment together on the field. 
Tennis players in 1997 
Our women’s team goalie passes the ball in the early 2000s. 
Woman’s cross country runner on the course in 2003. 
Fore! In 2009. Emerson had co-ed, men’s and women’s golf teams through the years. 
A woman’s cross country racer in 2011. 
Men’s basketball player lays it in the hoop in 2010. 
Women’s volleyball players jump at the net in 2009. 
Men’s cross country runner in 2013. 
Men’s soccer player controls the ball in 2016. 
Getting up to spike the ball during a men’s volleyball match in 2016. 
Women’s volleyball player gets up at the net in 2016. 
A woman’s lacrosse player makes moves during a game in 2013. 
A male Emerson lacrosse player cradles the ball against a defender in 2016.
A disclaimer: Pinpointing Emerson athletics history for this story was tough, as official records do not exist, so some of Emerson’s athletics teams’ beginnings are circa. From scouring Emerson yearbooks, course catalogs, student handbooks, Berkeley Beacons, and our alumni magazine, we traced our old Purple Panthers teams.
Oh, we used to be called the Purple Panthers, until 1965, when we took on our present-day moniker, the Lions.
We’re not including club or intramural teams on this timeline. But in case you’re wondering, Emerson has had numerous club/intramural teams/sports through the years, including: karate, tennis, golf, flag football, judo, gymnastics, ultimate frisbee, sailing, swimming, wiffleball, and more. Some sports, such as tennis and golf, started as intramural and then became varsity sports. We are still hopeful that Quidditch becomes a varsity sport.
One erstwhile sport to note, due to its overwhelmingly popularity, was the Sailing Club. In 1965, the yearbook noted it was the largest student organization. The club was so big that there were two large group photos of the team in the yearbook. The club’s purpose was to promote recreational and competitive sailing, with students participated in sailing, racing, and rowing. The club was a member of the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association and a member of the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Sailing Association. But eventually the club set sail…
The story of Emerson athletics begins in 1930, when several female students worked with physical education teacher Elsie Riddell to found the Recreation Club. Each student in the club was given an activity to coordinate throughout the school year, including swimming, hiking, skating, volleyball, and seasonal sports. It was common for coordinators to schedule events in the countryside so students could have more space and fresher air in which to exercise.
Through the years, Emerson added more sports. Some, like men’s basketball, has been a mainstay since it began in 1947. The soccer team had a rocky going in the 1980s and 1990s. The team was co-ed, and the season was cancelled due to lack of interest in 1987, but it came back as a co-ed team the next year. In 1990, the team split into men’s and women’s teams.
Other sports came and went, like the aforementioned ice hockey and wrestling teams.
Emerson hasn’t always had home field advantage, as many of our teams played, and continue to play, at non-Emerson locations. The basketball teams used to play home games at MassArt’s gym before we built the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym in the basement of Piano Row. In a role reversal, visiting NBA teams have used the gym to practice in pre-pandemic years.
Today, Emerson’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, and softball team, all play at Rotch Field in the South End for practices and home games. Emerson has a public-private partnership with Boston’s Parks and Recreation Department to use the field. Some teams still play home games on the road; tennis and baseball teams play their home games and matches at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Countless athletes have dominated on playing fields and courts but probably the most famous Emerson player is known for his influence off the court. Sam Presti ’00 is the longtime general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and has drawn praise from many people, including Lebron James, for his savvy scouting and decisions.
Here’s a timeline of Emerson athletics:
Learn more about the Emerson Athletics Day of Giving
1933: The Recreation Club founded inter-class volleyball for female students and the winning team was awarded letters. This was the first time that letters were distributed for sports activities – you know, like on the old-school varsity jacket Danny dons at the end of Grease
1947: A group was founded to provide sports activities for men
1947: The men’s basketball team was founded, as was a co-ed cheer squad with mostly women members. Through the next several decades, the cheer team consisted mostly of women
1948: Men’s baseball team founded
1951: The women’s basketball team was founded this year at the latest, but it wasn’t included in the Emersonian yearbook until 1958
1959: Men’s wrestling team founded
1960: Charles “Ted” Phillips became Emerson’s first athletic director
1961: Co-ed bowling team mentioned for first time in the yearbook
1963: The sailing team is mentioned for the first time in the yearbook. Emerson also had a racing sailing team. Fun fact: Emerson College used to own an Esplanade dock on the Charles River
1965: Emerson College officially changed its mascot from the Purple Panthers to the Lions
1966: Men’s cross-country team founded
1968: Men’s ice hockey team founded
1973: Women’s softball team mentioned for first time in yearbook
1973: Golf team mentioned for first time in yearbook
1975: Men’s soccer team mentioned for first time
1982: Golf listed as an intramural sport, not varsity
1983: Soccer team is co-ed
1985: Golf listed as a varsity sport again
1985: Last year wrestling listed as varsity sport
1986: Women’s volleyball and women’s tennis listed as varsity sports
1987: Men’s hockey team discontinued
1987: Co-ed soccer team’s season cancelled due to lack of interest
1987: Men’s tennis team listed as varsity sport
1988: Soccer team returns as varsity sport with one woman on the team
1990: Women’s soccer team becomes varsity sport
1995: Co-ed varsity golf team
1998: Men’s lacrosse team founded
2000: Golf discontinued as a varsity sport
2001: Women’s lacrosse team founded
Jenn Williams, Michelle Romero, and Melissa DIBeradino of Emerson College Archives contributed vast amounts of research to this article.
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