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Posted by Stevie V on July 24, 2007, 10:45 am, in reply to "STEVIE V. --> BAA award" While the Boston Athletic Assocation has had significant office space for nearly 20 years which follows the sponsorship of the John Hancock company (their current office is in the JH Conference Center across the street from the JH Tower), there was a lengthy period between the 1930's and 1960's when there was no permanent home. The BAA had an actual clubhouse from its inception in the 1880's through the 1930's when the Great Depression contributed to financial woes. The old clubhouse was in the location of the Boston Public Library's addition at the marathon finish line (the marathon used to turn right on Exeter Street and finish infront of the clubhouse doors - why some old photos don't seem to match up with current geography). When the clubhouse closed its doors and the club headquarters went from a room in the Hotel Lenox and then to Jock's massage room in Boston Garden, lots of history and basic building materials simply disappeared. Not theft, not hoarding, simply were tossed out. Thus, the current BAA office has a single original chair from the reading room, a single original plate from the dining room, and I found a pickle fork with the unicorn logo on eBay recently. Board of Governors member Gloria Ratti became the archivist as the 100th marathon approached, and has slowly built a colletion of memorabilia. Some items have been donated, the BAA purchases some (I get reimbursed for some items I find), some are on permanent loan. In one case, a guy had purchsed 2 trophies from marathon races in the 1900's. He came by to visit from out of town, and apparently was appalled that the BAA was polishing up and cleaning old and damaged items; he was a "purist" who thought items should be displayed "as is", tarnished, water damaged, broken. He would not even arrange for photos of his trophies. On to the awards - it is interesting to see what The oldest award I've found for them is an 1891 silver cup for a handicap mile run. Awards such as this were always engraved, usually with the winner's name and sometimes performance (as seen on this cup). They were 3 deep even for the minor events. Quite expensive, though remember that there were not many events, track or road, held in the early part of the century. In some ways it's ... sad is not quite the word ... nostalgic, maybe, to see the quality prizes that were awareded for hard-earned performances. Now we live in a world of generic plastic trophies and medals, where race directors are chastised if they don't have a full gamut of age group awards, where getting a neckfull of ribbons won by default (i.e., no one else in the age division) is cause for celebrtion, and where it's all about the t-shirts and food and less about the performance, racing, and competition. Sorry to ramble on. I'll try to post some pics of interesting BAA history in the coming weeks. Stevie V
I've collected a lot of older items for the BAA in the past few years. They include trophies from various events, meet programs, media photos, medals, badges, officials' credentials, etc.
Lots of trophies and many records may have been distributed for "safe keeping" 70 years ago, but never recollected.
was in vogue for awards over the years. Most of the hardware was from track meets as is the one Mary found. Simple cups, 2 handled cups, 3 legged or 3 handled bowls, and the like, in pewter and silver. Medals for many track meets (including their big high school invitational), and then the marathon itself has generally awarded versions of the standard "loving cup" - in sized up to almost 2 feet tall!
--Previous Message--
: Steve,
:
: Very overdue, but here it is!
:
:
:
: It says "Third Prize" on the top
: above the unicorn. Below that it says
: "1000 Yds Run". The line below
: that reads "Mar. 16, 1901." And
: below that "Won by", and below
: that "R.P. Nichols"
:
: Whadayathink?
:
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