Football Player Paul Bender, 1965

In 1890, Amos Alonzo Stagg, a Yale all-American and major league baseball pitching prospect, came to Springfield College (then known as the YMCA Training School), started the college’s first football team. A grad student in a one-year program to become a YMCA Physical Director, he served as Coach, Manager, Captain, and Player on this original team often called “Stagg’s Eleven” or “The Stubby Christians.” The team finished the first season with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses, including playing Yale strongly in the first indoor football game ever played in Madison Square Garden. Among other greats to coach the football team was James Huff McCurdy. McCurdy came to Springfield in 1895 and headed the team till 1917. He is largely responsible for helping to grow the Springfield College football teams reputation and starting a long tradition of being feared by other colleges, among his many innovative work in exercise physiology. Later, Oscar “Ossie” Solem, famous Syracuse University coach, coached the team from 1946-1957. In 1995, under Head Coach Michael DeLong, the Springfield College football transitioned from Division II to Division III, where they remain today.

A photograph of Springfield College football player Paul Bender in 1965. The team won all 9 of its games under the leadership of Dunn, as well as the co-captains Gary Wilcox ('66) and Scott Taylor ('66).