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Cross-Training: Ca. 1916
These iron men had more than a warm-up on their minds.
Founded by the YMCA—which taught that a strong body meant a strong mind—Northeastern had emphasized physical education early on. After years of faculty consideration, gym class would soon be added to the freshman and sophomore curricula. But the school’s budding sports programs weren’t the only reason to cultivate jocks.
World War I was about to turn physical fitness into a matter of patriotism. The United States entered the conflict in 1917; by January 1918 the NU newspaper was urging students to exercise both brains and brawn so that “nothing shall prevent us from serving.”
That spring, with the United States committed to sending 120,000 troops to Europe each month, the government commandeered NU’s School of Engineering students as a Student Army Training Corps unit, constructing barracks on the campus’s tennis court. Huskies must shape up to be ready to ship out.
Forces stood at the ready till the SATC was demobilized in December. Then the student body turned their energies toward personal training of a different nature: completing their educations.
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