Allison W. "Eli" Marsh (AC 1913) Papers, 1915-1979
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Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
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Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Allison "Eli" Marsh (AC 1913) Papers
Creation of Allison "Eli" Marsh (AC 1913) Papers
Time of Creation of Allison "Eli" Marsh (AC 1913) Papers
3 records storage boxes, 1 archives box, and 1 flat storage box
Marsh, Allison Wilson.
Biographical History for: Allison "Eli" Marsh (AC 1913) Papers
Biographical Note Allison W. "Eli" Marsh, professor of Physical Education at Amherst College from 1917 to 1958, was born in Quincy, Massachusetts on July 28, 1892. At Amherst he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a Master's degree at Harvard University. After teaching at Ohio Wesleyan University and Ohio State University, he joined the Amherst faculty in 1917. During that time he was chairman of Department of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics from 1950 to 1958 and was one of two men to serve twice as president of the College Physical Education Association. In 1924 he married Margaret Alexander. Known to his students as "Eli," Professor Marsh was one of the chief architects of the physical education program at Amherst. He was consistently opposed to professionalism in college athletics and became a respected spokesman on the subject nationally. Professor Marsh introduced soccer to Amherst College in 1920 and was its head coach until his retirement, compiling a 38-year record of 147 won, 62 lost, and 15 Little Three championships. In retirement, Professor Marsh devoted much of his time to painting and held many one-man exhibitions in Amherst and Wellfleet, his summer home on Cape Cod. On his retirement, Amherst conferred on him the honorary L.H.D. degree in 1963, as did Washington and Jefferson College in 1971. Allison "Eli" Marsh died April 3, 1976 in Northampton.
Scope and Contents of the Collection Publications, photographs, clippings, letters, memorabilia, academic regalia and other materials documenting "Eli" Marsh's career as a coach and professor of Physical Education, chiefly at Amherst College, 1917-1958, but also at Ohio State University from 1915-1917. The collection includes many letters received from his former soccer players at Amherst as well as materials collected by Marsh relating to Robert Frost, President Alexander Meiklejohn, and the transition of the Amherst presidency of the administration of John William Ward to Julian Gibbs, 1979. Many of Marsh's notes on physical education, games, and fitness are included in the collection, along with yearbooks from Marsh's brief professional appointments at Ohio Wesleyan University (1915) and Ohio State University (1917). Academic gowns and other memorabilia documenting his honorary degrees from Washington and Jefferson College and Amherst College are also a part of the collection.
Soccer--Massachusetts--Amherst.
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lcnaf
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963.
Meiklejohn, Alexander, 1872-1964.
Amherst College--Faculty.
Amherst College--Sports.
Amherst College--Students.
Amherst College. Class of 1913. Marsh.
series
Series 1: PERSONAL AFFAIRS,1915-1971
Series 1, PERSONAL AFFAIRS, 1915-1971, contains personal correspondence and materials documenting professional appointments, honorary degrees, insurance and taxes.
Fort Devens 1918
Funeral reading 1976, Apr 8
Insurance policies and tax information 1933-42
Ohio State University (1 of 2) 1916-49
Ohio State University (2 of 2) 1916-49
Ohio Wesleyan University Yearbook - Le Bijou 1915
Ohio State University Yearbook - Makio 1917
Ohio Wesleyan University Yearbook - Makio 1917
Personal Correspondence [includes the will of Alexander Marsh and the C.V. of Eli Marsh] 1927
Washington and Jefferson College (1 of 2) 1970-74
Washington and Jefferson College (2 of 2) 1970-74
Washington and Jefferson College - honorary degree 1971
Washington and Jefferson College - honorary degree - academic regalia ca. 1958-71
Washington and Jefferson College - honorary degree - photograph cube ca. 1958-71
Series 2: PHYSICAL EDUCATION/FITNESS, 1904-1958
Series 2, PHYSICAL EDUCATION/FITNESS, 1904-1958, includes many of Eli Marsh's notes on games, physical education, exercise, lesson plans, and articles he wrote on athletics, such as an article on tumbling and another on posture.
Athletic Control 1904-1932
"The Educational Value of College Physical Education..." by A. W. Marsh 1952
Fitness 1942-43, n.d.
"Law and Decrees Relative to Physical Education" 1927
National Physical Education Service of the National Recreation Association - News Letter No. 72 1934 Sep
Pageants and Exhibitions 1916-1917
Physical Education 1927-1935
Physical Education - administration n.d.
Physical Efficiency n.d., 1920
Play and Recreation - notes (1 of 2) 1915-18, n.d.
Play and Recreation - notes (2 of 2) 1915-18, n.d.
Play and Recreation - pamphlets 1923-24
Posture article 1963
Recreation course 1939
Soccer n.d., 1936
Soccer poem n.d.
Springfield College soccer test 1941
Soccer letters 1919-58
Tumbling (and articles published on the subject) 1915-23
Series 3: AMHERST COLLEGE, 1923-1979
Series 3, AMHERST COLLEGE, 1923-1979, contains material related to Eli Marsh's honorary degree from Amherst in 1963, clippings and articles about events at the college, notes related to Physical Education at Amherst and his department. Also included are Amherst publications, students' poetry, and information about President Alexander Meiklejohn (including an article by Marsh about Meiklejohn) and the inauguration of President Gibbs in 1979.
Amherst Alumni News, 1923, 1931, 1949, 1957 1923-1957
Amherst Alumni News, 1958, 1966-1968, 1970 1958-1970
Amherst Bicentennial souvenir edition 1959
Amherst College - Honorary Degree - corrrespondence 1963
Amherst College - Honorary Degree - academic regalia 1963
Amherst College - Correspondence and Notes 1932, n.d.
Classroom notes (Garman Philosophy class) ca. 1909-13
Kennedy Convocation Clippings and Memorabilia 1963
Meiklejohn article [by A. W. Marsh] and information 1961-73
Meiklejohn's speeches and assignments n.d.
Amherst College - Miscellaneous 1923-1966
Amherst College - Miscellaneous publications n.d.
Physical Education at Amherst College 1935, n.d.
Amherst College Physical Education Department (includes many undated lesson plans) n.d.
Amherst College: "Report of the Faculty Committee on Long Range Policy" and Related Correspondence 1945, 1951
Ward Out/Gibbs In Memorabilia (Collected by Margaret Marsh) 1979
Series 4: PRINTED MATTER, 1857-1944
Series 4, PRINTED MATTER, 1857-1944, includes miscellaneous printed material. One item of interest is an 1857 edition of Edward Hitchcock's (AC 1849) "History of a Zoological Temperance Convention."
"An Educational Program for St. Stephen's College" 1934 Mar 1
Army Specialized Training Bulletin 1944 Dec 29
"Current Developments in American College Sport" The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Bulletin #26 1931
"History of a Zoological Temperance Convention" by Edward Hitchcock 1857
Liberal Education and the Fine Arts n.d.
U.S. Civil Service Commission Correspondence re: Correlations Study (and Related Materials) 1924
Series 5: MISCELLANEOUS, 1926-1951
Series 5, MISCELLANEOUS, 1926-1951, includes photographs, clippings about Robert Frost, plans for educational modeling at Reed and Bard Colleges, some of Marsh's speeches, and Eli Marsh's summary of a study he prepared on the correlation between mental tests and academic achievement among members of the Amherst College Class of 1926.
Class of 1926 Study Summary 1926
Clipping and Miscellaneous n.d.
Photographic Frames n.d.
Photographs n.d.
Plans for Bard College 1934-5
Reed College 1935
Frost Papers n.d.
Schalk, Marshall - Two articles re: geology 1938, 1946
Song Lyrics 1936, n.d.
Speeches n.d.