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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 4810S 76-3550 SHANNON, Ella Ifelton, 1933- THE LIFE AND PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF EIMER irnim MITCHELL TO AMERICAN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT. The Ohio State IMversity, Ph.D., 1975 Education, physical Xerox UnlVëfdtty Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 4S106 © Copyright by Ella Walton Shannon 1975 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. THE LIFE AND PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF ELMER DAYTON MITCHELL TO AMERICAN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ella Walton Shannon, B.S. in Ed., M.A. The Ohio State University 1975 Reading Committee: Approved By Dr. Bruce L. Bennett, Chairman Dr. Lewis Hess Dr, Barbara Nelson Adviser Department of Physical Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my husband, Don, and our three children, Donella, Douglas, and George, I dedicate this work and thank them for encouraging me to be an individual apart from my other pro­ fessions of wife, mother, and educator. I shall always be indebted to them for their love and understanding. The initial inspiration for this particular bio­ graphical study came from Dr. Bruce L. Bennett, a man about whom historians of the future will write, a true intellectual in a day when anti-intellectualism is in vogue. A direct line of influence can be traced from Dudley Sargent to B. L. Bennett in a teacher to student relationship, Sargent-Bowen-Mitchell-Bennett. I will leave it to future historians to pick up the thread. How fortunate I have been to have had the rare opportunity of making Dr. Mitchell's acquaintance. He has been a delight to work with though I must confess that I have never been able to approach him without a real sense of awe and unworthiness, a sense of history. Thank you "Doc" for your patience and encouragement. I trust that this work is worthy of your profound contributions and accomplishments. Special thanks go to Karl Dunlap who in 1966 began a biographical study of Dr. Mitchell but had to give it up for ii personal reasons; to a gem of a secretary, Wanda Kerr, who did all the initial typing often late at night, and to Leon Lande who spent many hours with Dr. Mitchell and myself helping to clarify particular incidents. We would all be fortunate to have such a friend as Leon has been to Dr. Mitchell during his retirement years. And to my colleagues at Ashland College, Fred Martinelli, Carol Mertler, and all— many thanks for the released time and the assistance you gave me in meeting my administrative obligations. iii July 16, 1933 Born-Ashland County, Ohio 1963 . B.S. Ed., Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio 1963-1965 ....... Teacher and Dean of Girls, Loudonville High School, Loudonville, Ohio 1965-1975 ....... Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor, Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio 1967 ....... M.A,, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1973-1975 ....... Chairman, Department of Physical Education and Health, Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio PUBLICATIONS. "Dear Mr. Principal." Ohio High School Athlete, May, 1973, p.231. "Europe As a Classroom." Journal of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, February, 1973, p. 94. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History of Physical Education Studies in Comparative Education iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .... * ............ ............ ii VITA ............................................. iv Chapter I. IRON C O U N T R Y ............................. 1 II. COLLEGE D A Y S ............................. 17 III. COACH— T E A C H E R ............ 27 Grand Rapids Union High School . ......... 27 Michigan State Normal School, Ypsilanti . 32 IV. COACH— TEACHER— ADMINISTRATOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN .................. 40 V. INNOVATOR AND INVENTOR ........... 71 Intramurals.............................. 72 Speedball............................... 98 VI. AUTHOR-EDITOR EMERGES ...................... 113 VII. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION SERVICE . ........... 145 Michigan Physical Education Association . 146 Middle West Society of Physical Education . 148 American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation ..........152 American Academy of Physical Education . 162 National College Physical Education Associa­ tion for M e n ...................... 163 Big Ten Intramural Directors Association . 165 National Education Association............. 169 National Recreation Association............ 170 United States Armed Services and United States Office of Education.. ............ 173 Other Professional Affiliations............ 173 Chapter Page VIII. OLYMPIC GAME STUDY TOUR ...............175 IX. WAR YEARS AND AFTER.......................... 195 X. HONORS-AWARDS............. 208 XI. SUMMARY...................................... 217 EPILOGUE - STOCK BROKER, GENTLEMAN, LEGEND . ....... 231 APPENDIXES A. SPEEDBALL R U L E S ............... 237 B. OLYMPIC GAME QUESTION/ANSWER STUDY GUIDE .... 246 C. THE OUTMODED PROFESSIONAL RULING IN COLLEGE SPORTS ............................ 257 D. DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS COMPLETED ........ 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................... 270 IRON COUNTRY Challenge met and overcome is the mortar from which great men are made. So it is true of Elmer Dayton Mitchell, born September 6, 1889, in Negaunee, Michigan, located in the central Upper Peninsula, twelve miles south from the port city of Marquette. The Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan is itself a challenging environment with rocky, sandy soil, acres and acres of timber, bounded on the north side by Lake Superior, on the south by Lake Michigan, and by the state of Wisconsin to the south and west. A land that turns bright reds, oranges, browns, and golds in October but for the most part of the year is white and black with tons of snow and barren trees. When the first discovery of iron ore was made in 1844 by John Burt, it was not long until strong, hardened or soon to become hardened men came from all over Europe to mine the iron ore and to a lesser extent the copper and gold. With them they brought their fierce nationalistic pride and prejudice which often resulted in street fighting and pub brawls. 2 Finns, Swedes, Norwegians, English, Scots, Greeks, Irish, and Italians settled in Negaunee where young Mitchell grew to manhood.^ Each national group seemed to specialize in particular trades and young Elmer took special notice of this phenomena. The Greeks sold him candy and ice cream at the candy shop or restaurant; the Jews were proprietors of the clothing store and junk dealerships; the Irish were the politicians, train brakemen, policemen, and street car con­ ductors; the French lumberjacks; while the German immigrants managed general stores, meat markets, and farms. The Swedes and Norwegians were the carpenters, electricians, and mechanics; and the English (Elmer's own ancestry), the Finns and the North Italians were miners. The occupation of saloon keeper was not confined or dominated by any one nationality and there were many of these in this mining community of Negaunee (which in Indian is the word for Hell while the nearby town of Ishpeming meant Heaven in Indian). Living on Cyr Street not far from his father's grocery store and the miner's pubs, Elmer soon learned the ways of rough, hardened men. Although surrounded by a diversity of humanity with different ethnic and language backgrounds. ^The material for this brief summary of Mitchell's boyhood was obtained through a series of interviews with Dr. Mitchell held in October, 1974, and January, 1975, at the Lutheran Retirement Center,