Every month or so, I select an image to feature on our home page and today I chose a picture of the 1948 lacrosse team.
The fun fact about this team is that they represented the United States in a demonstration game against England in the 1948 Summer Olympics. So the match was essentially RPI vs. England.
The game was played at Wembley Stadium in London and it ended in a 5-5 tie. The RPI team, coached by hall of famer Ned Harkness, was coming off an undefeated season of collegiate play. The team traveled via ship both ways and we have several press photos of the team aboard. On the way to London, they met Susan Blanchard daughter of Oscar Hammerstein.
I read your post and pics about the 1948 olympic lacrosse game with much interest. The reason being that my grandad was on the england team. Whilst i have several pictures, letters etc relating to this event i dont have copies of the ones you posted
It’s so cool that you have a connection to that event! I wonder if there is any chance of a USA – England rematch for the 2012 London Olympics?!
Thank you for the pictures of the 1948 lacrosse team. My brother, J Alan Myers was on the R.P.I. team.
He has since passed away, but it was definitely one of the highlights of his life.
Thanks for you comment Nancy. It’s so neat to learn about personal connections to these events.
My Dad was J Alan Myers who scored the last goal to keep RPI undefeated. I have a wonderful scapbook my Dad kept of all the events. THANK YOU so much for remembering my DAD! I also have the ball which I cherish. Thanks for keeping these memories alive. I love you Dad even though you have passed on.
Shelley Myers Lipinski
I’m so glad you stopped by the blog Shelley! This medium is enriched when people share their stories. I hope you take good care of that scrapbook.
that is incredible to hear of all these relatives of players on the RPI and even the English team. My grandfather was on the team that played in London in ‘48; his name was Ralph J Sneeden. He passed ten years ago, but its great to know that they are remembered for such a great event. The game has changed so much since then, and people still have trouble believing that there was even any sort of game at any Olympics for Lacrosse. To those others whose relatives were on the team, I know it was a point of pride with my grandfather. Cheers.
If anyone knows where to get a hold of these photos or any others for family purposes, any information would be greatly appreciated.
Peter, thanks for adding information about your grandfather. If you want to order photographs of this lacrosse team, you can follow this link to our image database: http://archives-2.lib.rpi.edu/InmagicGenie/opac.aspx
Use the search term “lacrosse” in the Any Word box. In the results list there is an Add to Cart link where you can request the image. The images are only available in digital files. We cannot provide prints.