{"id":3786,"date":"2020-12-17T12:25:30","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T17:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/?p=3786"},"modified":"2020-12-17T12:25:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T17:25:30","slug":"object-of-the-week-members-of-the-1903-1904-inaugural-mens-basketball-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/2020\/12\/object-of-the-week-members-of-the-1903-1904-inaugural-mens-basketball-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Object of the Week: Members of the 1903-1904 Inaugural Men\u2019s Basketball Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of the 1903 \u2013 1904 Inaugural Seton Hall Men\u2019s Basketball Team
\n<\/strong>Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections, SHU 0031
\nSeton Hall University Athletics & Recreation Collection<\/p>\n

Top, left to right<\/em>:\u00a0 William Baird, Henry McDonough (team captain), Robert Barrett
\nBottom, left to right<\/em>:\u00a0 Martin Reynolds, John Holton (manager), Bernard Barrett
\nNot pictured<\/em>:\u00a0 Charles O\u2019Neill, Francis Reilly, John Stafford, Charles Tichler.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SETON HALL MEN\u2019S BASKETBALL TEAM WINS FIRST GAME EVER –<\/strong>DECEMBER 19, 1903 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Basketball has a long and storied history at Seton Hall University.\u00a0 The 1903 \u2013 1904 season was the first time a men\u2019s team was organized at the university to play the sport which had been developed in the late 19th<\/sup> century by Dr. James Naismith at Springfield College in Massachusetts.[1]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Naismith sought a way to keep student athletes physically active during the winter months when sports could not be played out-of-doors.[2]<\/a> The inaugural men\u2019s basketball team at Seton Hall consisted of 9 players and their manager. Their first game was against the Mohawk Club of Newark which ended in a draw (15 \u2013 15) on December 9, 1903.\u00a0 Just ten days later, on December 19, the team would win their first game ever against Brooklyn High School (28 \u2013 12).\u00a0 At the time, it was not uncommon for college teams to compete against local YMCA\u2019s, club teams and high schools as well as other colleges.\u00a0 The first basketball season was a short one, ending after six games on January 16, 1904 with a record of two wins, three losses and one tie.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Matchbook<\/a>
Matchbook cover from WNJR Radio advertising Seton Hall basketball 1949 2020.07.0001 Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>From the 1890s through the 1900s, Seton Hall\u2019s sports teams were known as the Villagers<\/em>.\u00a0 Shortly after the turn of the 20th<\/sup> century, the teams were known as The White and Blue<\/em>, a reference to the school colors.\u00a0 In was not until 1931 that the University\u2019s sports teams took the familiar name Pirates.<\/em>[4]<\/a> \u00a0The men\u2019s basketball team has come a long way from their humble beginnings playing in attics and assembly halls on campus. The award-winning series The Voyage<\/em> chronicles their 2019-2020 season that ended in winning the Big East regular season championship. You can find all 22 episodes on Youtube.<\/a> Today, both the men\u2019s[5]<\/a> and women\u2019s[6]<\/a> basketball programs represent Seton Hall University in the Big East Conference.\u00a0 Dozens of former Pirates have played or currently play basketball professionally in the NBA, WNBA and on overseas teams.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n