The Index Eutαxia Swzein Dokei
Volume LXXIV, No. 3
November 2012
Haverford, Pennsylvania
Haverford rushing in a prior game against EA.
Sanjay Narayanan
Tracking EA Day’s History
Dr. Cox’s EA Day Legacy
Jack Henderson ‘15 recounts EA Day’s journey from its inception to today.
Manav Khandelwal’15 describes Dr. Cox’s colorful history with The Haverford School’s EA Day festivities.
EA Day has recently become an event like no other at Haverford. Year after year, Episcopal Academy and The Haverford School unite for one day in the fall on the athletic fields to watch their respective teams compete for the elusive EA Day Sweater. Throughout the years EA Day has steadily become more competitive and highly anticipated. In the past decade the sweater has been more closely contested than ever; in fact, there were recently a series of ties in the competition. With only four sports competing originally, ties were expected; however, many people wanted a change in the Day to prevent such an outcome. Neither school enjoyed a tie because the school that already had the sweater retained it for one more year. There was no sense of closure; the event felt incomplete. Both schools preferred an outright winner. After each year, one team should be licking their wounds, and the other should be enjoying the sweet serenade of victory. As a fix, the sport of golf was recently added, ridding EA Day of the dreaded tie scenario. The rivalry between The Haverford School and Episcopal Academy dates back to Haverford’s beginning. Haverford became part of the Inter-Academic League in 1888, only four years after its founding in 1884. While Haverford played EA in competitions, the school focused primarily on games against Germantown Academy and Penn Charter, therefore a rivalry with Episcopal was not formed until more than 25 years later. As the students of Haverford became more involved
When Haverford students think of their soon-to-be-former Headmaster Dr. Joseph Cox, it is rare not to have the words “Respect,” “Honesty,” and “Courage” immediately come to mind; those words certainly describe his commitment to the Fords’ sports program and the EA Day tradition itself. Since 1998, Dr. Cox has been one of the school’s most fervent supporters of athletics, making appearances at many games and often becoming part of the event, speaking with and encouraging the boys to strive for excellence, as he has done throughout his life both in the army and here at Haverford. According to Athletic Director Mr. John Nostrant, “He loves all the boys; he really made an effort to make more of a presence on the field, which made the boys more excited to play than ever before. He’s simply brought more enthusiasm to the event and the program as a whole.” In addition to being a better fan and friend to the athletes, Dr. Cox has made every effort to increase the pageantry of the EA Day tradition with alumni banquets the night before and a new post-football Haverford/ EA sweater ceremony where Dr. Cox and Episcopal Headmaster, Mr. Hamilton Clark, meet at the middle of Sabol Field to celebrate yet another year of athletic tradition. These events have made the day more personal, more of a time to come together as rival schools rather than distance one another, and it is universally agreed that Dr. Cox has upheld the athletic tradition at Haverford better than any headmaster in our school’s history. As Coach
Jack Henderson ‘15
Also inside this Issue...
and enthusiastic about their matches, they became obsessed with a need for winning titles and championships. Haverford withdrew from the Inter-Ac in 1905 when Headmaster Charles Crosman decided students needed to focus more exclusively academic aspirations. But the events with the Inter-Ac schools remained. However, the intensity and competitiveness disappeared, leading to uninspiring and spiritless competition. Haverford then attempted to promote themselves as a top private school by competing with the elite schools, including The Lawrenceville School and The Hill School. For years Haverford considered these schools, especially The Hill School, their primary rivals. Realizing these schools were substantially superior athletically, Haverford decided to rejoin the Inter-Academic League in 1921. Penn Charter became their archrival through the 1950’s, but matches with EA began to gain intensity right after World War II. Finally, in 1950 Episcopal Academy became the archrival. Haverford seemed to choose EA as its primary competitor, which many believe was due to the schools’ attraction of similar students from similar areas, and thus began the historic run between the two schools, leading to the ups and downs, wins and losses, tears of sorrow and tears of joy that have made up the unwavering rivalry of today. Now, as both schools maintain similar traditions and philosophies, the rivalry has been deeply engraved in the history of both schools and their respective faculty, students, and alumni.
Go Fords! Continued on Page 2
Manav Khandelwal ‘15
Football at EA Day 2012. Mr. Jim Roese
Dr. Cox with EA’s headmaster after EA Day 2011.
Mr. Jim Roese
Nostrant puts it, “Dr. Cox brought back the tradition of athletics to Haverford, and he will be sorely missed.” Then, of course, there was the year Dr. Cox and Mr. Clark decided to make wrestling the deciding match after another 2-2 tie; Haverford ultimately took home the sweater after a decisive wrestling victory. It is not, however, solely about the sports when it comes to assessing Dr. Cox’s EA Day legacy. From instituting a Can Dance, which caps off the new can drive with Agnes Irwin and Episcopal, to his overall commitment to a stronger extra-curricular program, Dr. Cox has made Haverford’s relationship with EA stronger over the years. “He’s always said that it is important to excel in all extra-curricular activities. He is truly a Renaissance Man. He strives for excellence. If I had to make a distinction for Dr. Cox’s true legacy at Haverford, it would be to lead boys to strive to excel in every facet of life,” says Mr. Nostrant. It’s hard to say it much better.
Sports enthusiast Manav Khandelwal predicts a 4-1 rout for Haverford in EA Day. Read his sport-by-sport predictions for each team on Page 2.
Article EA Day Predictions Staff Box Cross Country Football Golf Soccer Water Polo Outdex
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