Mary Webster Wiglesworth ’57 My bloomers falling down in gym drill.
Elizabeth McCleary Primrose Smith ’60
Rear Admiral Richard P. Snyder ’73
Kickball at recess trying to kick the ball over the fence into the boys side! Learning to play field hockey from Mrs. McCleary – though she was my mother, she was a wonderful teacher who had patience, perseverance, and was genuinely interested in every girl she taught!
I remember starting the Calvert wrestling program with my brother, Steve Snyder ’74, as my partner, and my dad, Dick Snyder, as coach. We used homemade instructional movies (no video or digital back then).
Bessie Cromwell Speers ’76
Bart Harvey ’61 It was the bottom of the ninth (actually the fifth and last inning), the bases were loaded and the score was tied against the Yankees (er.....Gilman). I was pitching and they were hitting me hard! One out – and a blast to the farthest reaches of left center field. I blew it. I mumbled and started to walk off the field, but looking back, I saw Mike Kissel ’61 awake from his snooze and run and dive, arms outstretched, parallel to the ground! The Gilman runner on third was not as well schooled as Calvert players are in the fundamentals – he ran in toward home, he ran back, he ran in again. Did Mike catch it or not? Only Mike knows and you will need to consult him in heaven – but the ump said “out” and Richie Talbert was doubled off third after what seemed to be an eternity. Calvert beat Gilman, 3-3 only rivaled by Harvard beating Yale 29-29 some years later. All of us of Calvert ’61 on that team and in that class toast you, Mike Kissel.
John Tompkins ’69 I felt like a big fish in a small pond in terms of athletics at Calvert. We met our match when we played Gilman in football, basketball, and baseball. I got to be kicker, punter, center, and even QB on a few passing plays. I got to pitch for the baseball team and even played center for the basketball team. Once in the Eleventh Age v. Friends, I booted a high spiraling punt. So enthused by the moment, I charged down the field to also make the tackle. I got so excited I failed to notice the opponent’s return man calling for a fair catch. I obliterated him after the catch and drew a maximum 7.5 yard penalty! (Remember our field was only half the length of a regular field!) Alas, we were humbled in interscholastic competition but still had much fun.
FALL 2012
I loved field hockey at Calvert and can remember our games and practices being the most important thing in the world to us!
Betsey Swingle Hobelmann ’87 I remember being in Twelfth Age when the girls’ gym had just been finished. We were so excited to have that brand new space! It was so clean and smelled great, unlike the sweaty old boys’ gym, where I got hit square in the face by a dodge ball. The most nerve-wracking part of PE was the Presidential Fitness Test. Mrs. Wagner (Sewell) blew her whistle and we had to do sit-ups, pull-ups, and dashes. I was a fine athlete way back then and I dominated the shuttle run, the sit and reach and the broad jump – I could REALLY jump far! But the pinnacle of Calvert athletics was Field Day. I was nervous, sweaty, and always had butterflies in my stomach. I HAD to beat Aubrie Hall ’87! Most parents came to watch, cheering and screaming from the concrete bleachers – it was a lot of pressure for eleven and twelve-year-olds. All I remember is hearing Ms. Wagner blow the whistle and running like mad. The best thing about Field Day is that it is exactly the same today! I was just there a couple of months ago watching my nine-year-old, Anna ’17, and boy was she nervous.
Abby Pedroni ’06 I remember the one year when the Canary team beat the Crow team (FINALLY) in dodge ball.
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