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Article: Interscholastic Athletics
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Interscholastic Athletics
Interscholastic athletics emerged in the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and like their collegiate level counterpart, they were organized and directed initially by students. The students at Worcester, Massachusetts High School inaugurated high school athletics when they formed a baseball team in 1859. Students, eager for victory, recruited nonstudents for their teams, a practice that caused school administrators to take control of athletics. Although some New England boarding schools, public schools in Philadelphia and Buffalo, and private academies in Chicago fielded teams during the 1860s, interscholastic athletics were not ...