• Sketch
• Collection Description
• CC-10.1 Basketball
  • A. Programs
  • B. Miscellaneous
• CC-10.2 Fall Sports - General
• CC-10.2.1 Men's Soccer
• CC-10.2.2 Cross Country
• CC-10.3 Football
  • A. Programs
  • B. Miscellaneous
  • C. Volumes
• CC-10.4 Sports - Miscellaneous
  • A. Sports Miscellaneous
  • B. Athletic Letters Awarded - Certificates
• CC-10.5 Spring Sports
• CC-10.6 Swimming and Water Sports
• CC-10.7 Winter Sports
• CC-10.8 Women's Athletics
• CC-10.9 Robert L. Myers Papers
• CC-10.10 Brisco Inman Papers
• CC-10.11 Sports Newsletters/News Releases

See Centre College Digital Archives - Athletics for digitized versions of selected items from the following inventory

The first organized athletic contests waged by Centre appear to be the football games with Transylvania University in 1879 and 1880. A Transylvania Student from Australia had seen the game played in England, and interested his fellow students in the game. Transylvania ordered a ball and a rule book, and promptly issued a challenge to Centre. Centre accepted - provided of course Transylvania would be sportsmanlike and send them a rule book also.

Centre's first organized team play began, however, in 1891 when games were scheduled with the Louisville Athletic Club, Central University (Richmond) and the "State College" (University of Kentucky). Throughout the 1890's and into the early 20th century, Centre continued to build a football dynasty, culminating in the "Praying Colonels" glory years from 1917 to the mid-1920's when the college became one of the nation's football powerhouses. During those years, Centre met such modern day powers as Harvard ; Auburn; Clemson; Texas A&M; Tulane; Arizona; Georgia; Alabama; Michigan State; and Tennessee, and defeated many of them. The Praying Colonels glory years began with Centre alumnus "Chief" Robert L. Myers returning to his alma mater as head coach. Myers recruited such greats as Bo McMillan, Matty Bell, Sully Montgomery, Red Weaver, and Bill Janee from a Fort Worth high school where he had coached. These players, along with Red Roberts, formed the nucleus of the team. Myers accepted the post of athletic director, and "Uncle Charlie" Moran arrived in 1917 to lead the Colonels to some of their most memorable triumphs, including Centre's defeat of Harvard on October 29, 1921 - still regarded as one of the one of the greatest football upsets of the century. Centre continued to field fine football teams, though by the 1930's the college began to de-emphasize its prominence as a football power, and later ceased awarding athletic scholarships.

In 1962 Centre became a founding member of the College Athletic Conference, a conference of schools that believed intercollegiate sports should not offer athletic scholarships, and offered competition in football, soccer, cross-country, basketball, baseball, golf, track and tennis.

Though football has been the most documented sport offered at Centre, it is by no means the only one. Organized sports at Centre seem to date from 1891, when the college proudly dedicated its new Boyle-Humphrey Gymnasium, and hired Walter D. Berry as "Instructor in Physical Culture." Centre offered competition in track, tennis, gymnastics, and of course baseball, where the college produced a number of pennant winning teams.

The collection has been divided into sub-groups representing the various sports Centre has offered, in addition to files of athletic directors such as Robert L. Myers and Briscoe Inman. The sub-groups for baseball and football constitute the largest share of the materials and each has been divided by series, with each series containing a different type of document. The single largest series consists of football programs from 1919 to the present.

This collection consists for the most part of programs, schedules, manuscripts and related materials. Additions will be made to this collection on a regular basis, as current sports materials are forwarded to the archives. It should be noted that a recent addition - the files of (Thomas) Briscoe Inman (who served in various capacities as athletic director and coach of football, basketball, wrestling, golf, and baseball from 1952-1977), provide a wealth of information concerning sports at Centre during the last three decades. The inventory for the Inman Papers consists of a container listing of subject files (arranged alphabetically by topic), though an addendum has been added, providing explanations behind some of the subject titles on the list.

NOTE: See CC-53, Miscellaneous Posters and Handbills for an oversize poster announcing a football game between the Centre and Kentucky State freshmen in Danville on October 20 (no year given) and a handbill for the Centre-Georgetown game, 1919

• Allen, Frank - Football 1917
• Bell, Madison - Football, Basketball 1917-1918
• Davis, Allen - Basketball 1918
• Davis, W.T. - Track 1927
• Ervin, Joe - Track 1918
• Glein, Franklin - Football
• Green, James E. - Football 1923
• Hudgins, Hope - Football 1923
• James, William - Track 1918
• Leather, John Allen, Jr. - Baseball, Basketball 1925
• Lemon, Clifton W. - Football, Baseball 1922-1923
• McMillin, Alvin Nuggent - Football, Basketball, Baseball 1919-1920
• McMillin, Bo - Track, Football, Basketball 1917-1918
• Moran, Thomas - Football
• Ogden, Robert - Track 1918
• Rubarth, Frank - Football 1922
• Snowday, Terry H. Football, Basketball 1922-1923
• Spurlock, Albert - Football 1923
• Tate, T.B. - Basketball, Football 1917-1918
• VanAntwerp, H. - Football
• Walden, Julian - Basketball, Track 1918
• Walden, William J. - Basketball, Track 1919-1920