Men's Lacrosse to Honor Founding of Georgia Tech Lacrosse by Dr. JB Crenshaw over 100 Years Ago!
Georgia Tech Men's Lacrosse Founders Day; One Hundred Years.
We will be recognizing the Founding of Georgia Tech Lacrosse One Hundred Years ago and the start of modern Lacrosse in the State of Georgia by honoring the Founder Dr. John Bascom (J.B.) Crenshaw, a former distinguished member of the Georgia Tech Faculty.
The event shall be held Saturday April 6th, 2024. Concurrent with the Georgia Tech Vs Georgia Men's Lacrosse Game to be held at Georgia Tech Roe Stamps Field @ 1:30 PM, Game Start at 2PM. We invite all alumni, family and friends to attend.
Who We Honor: Dr. Crenshaw headed the Department of Modern Languages at Georgia Tech for 38 years. Born in 1861 in Virginia, he attended Randolph-Macon College and Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his doctorate and served on the faculty.
He was in the Graduate program at Johns Hopkins from 1885 to 1886 but returned to Randolph Macon to receive his master's in modern Languages and to teach until 1890. An outstanding Gymnast, he was responsible for the first Gymnasium ever built in the South which was constructed at Randolph Macon in 1886. In 1890 he was accepted into the Doctoral program at Johns Hopkins
He came to Georgia Tech in 1904. Dr. Crenshaw involved himself with the collegiate athletic community by serving as faculty director of the Athletic Association and as the coach of the first lacrosse team of the school. He also served as Georgia Tech's first Tennis Coach and would coach for over a decade before giving way in 1930, compiling a record of 32-12-2. Dr Crenshaw was affectionately known on campus as "Little Doc." He married Julia Willett Leach in 1902 and they had two daughters, a grandson, and a granddaughter. Dr. Crenshaw died in 1942.
Dr Crenshaw was both a lacrosse visionary and a strong part of Georgia Tech History. He authored a history of Georgia Tech, his popularity on campus was demonstrated by the 1942 Blueprint dedicated in his honor:
"To DOCTOR JOHN B. CRENSHAW An educator and an athlete of great renown, who for over thirty years has devoted his energies to the advancement of Georgia Tech in his positions as head of the Modern Language department and director of various athletics."
There are numerous anecdotal stories involving Dr Crenshaw throughout Georgia Trech early history, an athletic man he won the campus wide tennis tournament while in his seventies and he is mentioned in prominent Georgia Tech histories such as Jack Rabbit by Bill Chastain and The Ramblin' Wreck by Al Thomy concerning the hiring of and his interactions with Head Football Coach Bill Alexander.
The Lacrosse History: Dr. Crenshaw, a former varsity Lacrosse player at Johns Hopkins Lacrosse, had extensive Lacrosse contacts dating to his days playing in the goal for the 1893 Blue Jay's team when he founded Lacrosse at Georgia Tech in 1924. Lacrosse at the time was going through a period of expansion in the Eastern United States.
Lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America with the sport documented back to the early 17th century. Originated among various Native communities, with regional variations on how the game was played, lacrosse was played throughout modern Canada, but was most popular around the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic seaboard, and American South. Modern day lacrosse descends from and resembles the stickball games played by these various Native American communities. The modern field game most closely resembles that played among the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois people, who also refer to lacrosse as the Creator's Game.
Ball Ground, Georgia, in Cherokee County north of Atlanta is named because it was first known to be used as a playing field for a version of stickball played by the Cherokee and Creek, which required a large flat field. The Cherokee won the land in a stick ball contest against the Creek.
European settlers in the 17th century observed and adopted lacrosse, which eventually helped lead to its widespread recognition starting in Canada and spreading to the Northeastern United States. In Canada, a set of rules for the game were published in 1867 that set out the basic rules for modern lacrosse which launched its growth in Canada and then the United States. New York University boasted the country's first college team in 1877.
Johns Hopkins Men's Lacrosse played its first game in 1884. The team struggled in the early years, but by 1890, they had won their first championship. Also, in 1890 Johns Hopkins formed an Athletic Association to organize its intercollegiate sports program. Dr. Crenshaw was asked to become the assistant to the Athletic Association president to provide gymnastic training to defray the costs of his graduate studies. In 1891, The Head Lacrosse Coach at Johns Hopkins revolutionized the game by combining both running and passing to advance the Ball. During this early time Dr. Crenshaw became closely involved with the sport. In 1893 he started in the goal for the varsity and is featured in the first ever photograph of a Johns Hopkins Lacrosse team seated in the top left corner.
Twenty plus years later at Georgia Tech, Dr. Crenshaw was intent on building a strong program. His experience at Johns Hopkins in the early days, his extensive lacrosse contacts, combined with his prior experience with Athletic Administration enabled him to begin to build a serious lacrosse program at Georgia Tech. The Jackets went on from a two game "startup" season in 1924 to a program that began to compete nationally up until the Great Depression forced its ultimate cancelation in the early 1930s. The early years were highlighted by a contest in Atlanta versus Syracuse in 1927 featuring a number of Syracuse All Americans as the Orangemen went on to win the National Championship. Dr. Crenshaw played an aggressive schedule in the early 1930s including Virginia, Johns Hopkins, (the defending national champions), Maryland, Penn, USNA and the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club. The Georgia Tech Archives contains all contracts and correspondence from this early period. Several records are humorous in hindsight, for example Georgia Tech has an all-time winning record against historic lacrosse power The University of Virginia, two games to one.
35 to 40 years later Lacrosse was restored in the State of Georgia at Georgia Tech as a Club Sport in 1971, with an initial game in Nashville against Vanderbilt University. The sport has thrived on campus for over 50 years. The Men's team is annually a top 4 MCLA team, (out of two hundred teams nationally), and there is a women's lacrosse program.
In the State of Georgia in 2024 there are approximately 20 Men's and women's Varsity and MCLA collegiate teams and over one hundred Boys and girls High School teams.
Dr. Crenshaw was a true visionary whom we all benefit from today.
1926 Team on Grant Field.
1942 Blueprint "Year Book" Dedication
