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Finding Aid

Office of Athletic Communications Records UPE 25

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    Summary Information

    Prepared by
    Jason A. Bodnar
    Preparation date
    November 2000
    Date [inclusive]
    1923-1951
    Extent
    5.5 Cubic feet

    PROVENANCE

    Transferred from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1957 (accession number 57:8).

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    ARRANGEMENT

    This collection is arranged in two series: Correspondence, 1923 – 1951, and Press Releases, 1928 – 1951. The Correspondence series is arranged alphabetically by subject, while the Press Releases are arranged chronologically

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    HISTORICAL NOTE

    The University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Athletic Communications, originally titled the Department of Athletic Publicity, was founded as a subdivision of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics on July 1, 1924. Its main duties, which have remained basically the same since its inception, are to act as a liaison to the media, to prepare press releases, to distribute press credentials for athletic contests, and to arrange interviews with athletes and coaches at the University.

    Penn became only the second college to name a Sports Publicity Director (Notre Dame was the first) when it selected Joseph T. Labrum, a 1921 graduate of the College, as the initial head of the department. Labrum guided the department until leaving to serve as the National Football League’s publicity director on April 1, 1947.

    Edward J. Hunter succeeded Labrum, but in 1950 his position was renamed Assistant Director, News Bureau – Athletic Information. However, this change in title did not affect Hunter’s duties or the fact that his department still operated under the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

    Morton Berry followed Hunter as head of the department in 1951, but in 1953 he saw his title reverted to one outside the News Bureau, as Director of Sports Information.

    The department, still a subdivision of the Department of Athletic Communications, is today known as the Department of Athletic Communications. The head of the department holds the title of Director of Athletic Communications.

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    SCOPE AND CONTENT

    The Department of Athletic Communications Records primarily contains press releases and correspondence from the department during the period 1935-1951, with an unusually high concentration of material from the 1950-51 academic year.

    The press releases are the bulk of this collection, and approximately half of those releases are football- and basketball-related. This series in the collection appears to be nearly-comprehensive, with a high density of releases at all times except summer, the time when athletic contests at the University are annually put on hiatus.

    A good deal of the correspondence portion of the collection deals with football, the largest sport at Penn at the time. The football part of the collection includes a high concentration from the 1950 season, with programs and statistics from every game that year, as well as media guides from each Penn opponent in 1950. In addition, the football portion of the collection includes a good deal of correspondence regarding press credentials and seats for the 1932-1935 Army-Navy gridiron games held at Franklin Field.

    This collection also contains a significant amount of press-related correspondence regarding the Penn Relay Carnivals from 1938 to 1942. However, except for correspondence regarding the mailing list of the department’s press releases from 1926 to 1932 and the Army-Navy football correspondence, this collection is sparse in its pre-1935 content.

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    Controlled Access Headings

    Corporate Name(s)
    Penn Relay Carnival.
    University of Pennsylvania. Dept. of Athletic Publicity.
    University of Pennsylvania. — General subdivision–Baseball.;
    University of Pennsylvania. — General subdivision–Basketball.;
    University of Pennsylvania. — General subdivision–Football.;
    University of Pennsylvania. — General subdivision–Public relations.;
    University of Pennsylvania. — General subdivision–Sports.;
    Personal Name(s)
    Hunter, Edward J., 1906-1957
    Labrum, Joseph T., 1896-1964
    Subject(s)
    Sports journalism–Pennsylvania.
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    Inventory

     

    Correspondence 

    Box

    Folder

    A 1948-1951 

    1

    1

    American College Public Relations Association 1949-1950 

    1

    2

    Athletes in Service 1940-1941 

    1

    3

    Athletes in Service 1942 

    1

    4

    Athletes in Service 1943 

    1

    5

    Athletic Awards 1951 

    1

    6

    Athletic Awards, New Regulations 1934 

    1

    7

    B 1950-1951 

    1

    8

    Barry, Sam 1951 

    1

    9

    Baseball 

    1947-1950 1947-1950 

    1

    10

    1951 1951 

    1

    11

    Biographies 1951 

    1

    12

    Field Games 1951 

    1

    13

    Freshmen 1951 

    1

    14

    Penn Opponents 1951 

    1

    15

    Basketball 

    1946-1951 1946-1951 

    1

    16

    Biographies 1950-1951 

    1

    17

    Dougherty, Dick 1951 

    1

    18

    Davis, Tom 1951 

    1

    19

    Eastern College Athletic Conference 1950-1951 

    1

    20

    Freshmen 1950 

    1

    21

    Individual Game Statistics 1950-1951 

    1

    22

    Jefferies, Hugh 1951 

    1

    23

    National Collegiate Athletic Bureau 1950-1951 

    1

    24

    Penn Opponents 1949-1951 

    1

    25

    Bicentennial Celebration 1940 

    1

    26

    Bushnell, Edward R. 1951 

    1

    27

    C 1949-1951 

    1

    28

    Christmas Tree Committee For the Blind 1949 

    1

    29

    Columbia 1950-1951 

    1

    30

    Cozens, Ernie 1929 

    1

    31

    Crew 

    1947-1949 1947-1949 

    1

    32

    1951 1951 

    1

    33

    Adams Cup Regatta 1951 

    1

    34

    Henley Regatta, lightweight 1951 

    1

    35

    Rosters 1951 

    1

    36

    Skimmer Day 1951 

    1

    37

    Cross Country 1950 

    1

    38

    D 1949-1951 

    1

    39

    F 1951 

    1

    40

    Fencing 1950-1951 

    1

    41

    Financial Statements, Penn Athletics 1923-1930 

    1

    42

    Football 

    Football, Army 1950 

    1

    43

    Football, Army-Navy Game September 1932-February 1933 

    1

    44

    Army-Navy Game August 1933-November 1933 

    1

    45

    Army-Navy Game August 1934-19 November 1934 

    1

    46

    Army-Navy Game 20 November 1934-25 November 1934 

    1

    47

    Army-Navy Game 26 November 1934-30 November 1934 

    1

    48

    Army-Navy Game December 1934 

    1

    49

    Army-Navy Game October 1935 

    1

    50

    Army-Navy Game 1 November 1935-23 November 1935 

    1

    51

    Army-Navy Game 24 November 1935-27 November 1935 

    1

    52

    Army-Navy Game 28 November 1935-August 1936 

    1

    53

    Bagnell, Francis “Reds” 1950-1951 

    1

    54

    Biographies 1947-1950 

    1

    55

    Brown 1949-1950 

    1

    56

    California 1950 

    1

    57

    Columbia 1950 

    1

    58

    Cornell 1950 

    1

    59

    Dartmouth 1950 

    2

    1

    Diamond Jubilee 1951 

    2

    2

    Film Correspondence 1938 

    2

    3

    Film Correspondence 1944 

    2

    4

    Film Correspondence 1945 

    2

    5

    Film Correspondence 1946 

    2

    6

    Freshmen 1950 

    2

    7

    The Kickoff 1951 

    2

    8

    Lemonick, Bernie 1949 

    2

    9

    Navy 1950 

    2

    10

    1908 Team Directory c. 1950 

    2

    11

    1950 Season (Folder 1) 1949-1951 

    2

    12

    1950 Season (Folder 2) 1949-1951 

    2

    13

    Notre Dame 1949 

    2

    14

    150-pound 1950 

    2

    15

    Penn Band 1950 

    2

    16

    Schedules 1948-1949 

    2

    17

    Statistics, Virginia at Penn 30 September 1950 

    2

    18

    Statistics, Penn at California 7 October 1950 

    2

    19

    Statistics, Dartmouth at Penn 14 October 1950 

    2

    20

    Statistics, Penn at Columbia 21 October 1950 

    2

    21

    Statistics, Navy at Penn 28 October 1950 

    2

    22

    Statistics, Army at Penn 4 November 1950 

    2

    23

    Statistics, Brown at Penn 11 November 1950 

    2

    24

    Statistics, Wisconsin at Penn 18 November 1950 

    2

    25

    Statistics, Cornell at Penn 25 November 1950 

    2

    26

    Virginia 1950 

    2

    27

    Weekly Gridiron Report 1951 

    2

    28

    Wisconsin 1950 

    2

    29

    G 1942-1951 

    2

    30

    General Alumni Society 1949 

    2

    31

    Golf 1947-1951 

    2

    32

    Grappler’s Club Dinner 1951 

    2

    33

    H 1949-1951 

    2

    34

    Hunter, Edward J., articles written by 1949 

    2

    35

    Hunter, Edward J., meetings and dinners 1949-1950 

    2

    36

    IC4A 

    1951 1951 

    2

    37

    Press Releases 1951 

    2

    38

    Press Requests 1951 

    2

    39

    Programs 1951 

    2

    40

    Interoffice Memos 1951 

    2

    41

    Interscholastic Basketball Tournaments 1920-1930 

    2

    42

    Ivy Group 1948-1950 

    2

    43

    Ivy Group, Photographs c. 1950 

    2

    44

    Ivy Group, Press Releases 1948-1950 

    2

    45

    J 1949 

    2

    46

    K 1949-1951 

    2

    47

    L 1950-1951 

    2

    48

    Lacrosse 1947-1949 

    2

    49

    Lacrosse 1950 

    2

    50

    Lacrosse 1951 

    2

    51

    Look Magazine 1951 

    2

    52

    M 1949-1951 

    2

    53

    Mailing List of Newspapers 

    1926-1927 1926-1927 

    2

    54

    1928-1929 1928-1929 

    2

    55

    1930 1930 

    2

    56

    1931-1932 1931-1932 

    2

    57

    List 1932 

    2

    58

    List 1949-1950 

    2

    59

    N 1947-1951 

    2

    60

    NCAA 1950-1951 

    2

    61

    NCAA, Television and Football 1951 

    2

    62

    Officials for Sports Events 1950-1951 

    2

    63

    Organized Classes Report 1932 

    2

    64

    P 1949-1951 

    2

    65

    Penn Relays Carnival 

    February 1938-15 April 1938 1938 

    2

    66

    16 April 1938-May 1938 1938 

    2

    67

    1939 1939 

    2

    68

    February 1940-15 April 1940 1940 

    2

    69

    16 April 1940-May 1940 1940 

    2

    70

    February 1941-15 April 1941 1941 

    2

    71

    16 April 1941-May 1941 1941 

    3

    1

    February 1942-15 April 1942 1942 

    3

    2

    16 April 1942-May 1942 1942 

    3

    3

    1943 1943 

    3

    4

    1951 1951 

    3

    5

    Contracts 1951 

    3

    6

    Press 1951 

    3

    7

    Press Releases (1) 1951 

    3

    8

    Press Releases (2) 1951 

    3

    9

    Publications 1950 

    3

    10

    Publications 1951 

    3

    11

    Pennsylvania Day 1951 

    3

    12

    Press and Photography Ticket Lists 1933-1934 

    3

    13

    Publicity Department Budget 1940-1950 

    3

    14

    R 1949-1951 

    3

    15

    Radio and Television 1950 

    3

    16

    Rifle 1951 

    3

    17

    S 1949-1950 

    3

    18

    Schedules 1947-1950 

    3

    19

    Schedules and Season Records 1946-1950 

    3

    20

    Soccer 1948-1949 

    3

    21

    Specimen Letters 1925-1933 

    3

    22

    Specimen Letters 1934-1950 

    3

    23

    Squash 1950-1951 

    3

    24

    Swimming 1947-1951 

    3

    25

    Tennis 1948-1950 

    3

    26

    Tennis 1951 

    3

    27

    Track 

    1946-1949 1946-1949 

    3

    28

    1950 1950 

    3

    29

    1951 1951 

    3

    30

    Penn Opponents 1951 

    3

    31

    U 1950-1951 

    3

    32

    V 1950-1951 

    3

    33

    W 1949-1950 

    3

    34

    Wrestling 1946-1949 

    3

    35

    Wrestling 1949-1950 

    3

    36

    Wrestling 1950-1951 

    3

    37
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    Press Releases 

    Box

    Folder

    June 1928 1928 

    3

    38

    1 July 1935-15 October 1935 1935 

    3

    39

    16 October 1935-31 December 1935 1935 

    3

    40

    1 January 1936-15 March 1936 1936 

    3

    41

    16 March 1936-30 June 1936 1936 

    3

    42

    1 July 1936-31 October 1936 1936 

    3

    43

    1 November 1936-31 December 1936 1936 

    3

    44

    1 January 1937-15 March 1937 1937 

    3

    45

    16 March 1937-30 June 1937 1937 

    3

    46

    1 July 1937-31 October 1937 1937 

    3

    47

    1 November 1937-31 December 1937 1937 

    3

    48

    1 January 1938-31 March 1938 1938 

    4

    1

    1 April 1938-30 June 1938 1938 

    4

    2

    1 July 1938-31 October 1938 1938 

    4

    3

    1 November 1938-31 December 1938 1938 

    4

    4

    1 January 1939-31 March 1939 1939 

    4

    5

    1 April 1939-30 June 1939 1939 

    4

    6

    1 July 1939-31 October 1939 1939 

    4

    7

    1 November 1939-31 December 1939 1939 

    4

    8

    1 January 1940-29 February 1940 1940 

    4

    9

    1 March 1940-30 April 1940 1940 

    4

    10

    1 May 1940-30 June 1940 1940 

    4

    11

    1 July 1940-31 October 1940 1940 

    4

    12

    1 November 1940-31 December 1940 1940 

    4

    13

    1 January 1941-31 March 1941 1941 

    4

    14

    1 April 1941-30 June 1941 1941 

    4

    15

    1 July 1941-30 September 1941 1941 

    4

    16

    1 October 1941-31 December 1941 1941 

    4

    17

    1 January 1942-15 March 1942 1942 

    4

    18

    16 March 1942-30 June 1942 1942 

    4

    19

    1 July 1942-31 October 1942 1942 

    4

    20

    1 November 1942-31 December 1942 1942 

    4

    21

    1 January 1943-28 February 1943 1943 

    4

    22

    1 March 1943-30 June 1943 1943 

    4

    23

    1 July 1943-30 September 1943 1943 

    4

    24

    1 October 1943-31 December 1943 1943 

    4

    25

    1 January 1944-31 March 1944 1944 

    4

    26

    1 April 1944-30 June 1944 1944 

    4

    27

    1 July 1944-15 October 1944 1944 

    5

    1

    16 October 1944-31 December 1944 1944 

    5

    2

    1 January 1945-31 March 1945 1945 

    5

    3

    1 April 1945-30 June 1945 1945 

    5

    4

    1 July 1945-15 October 1945 1945 

    5

    5

    16 October 1945-31 December 1945 1945 

    5

    6

    1 January 1946-31 March 1946 1946 

    5

    7

    1 April 1946-30 June 1946 1946 

    5

    8

    1 July 1946-31 October 1946 1946 

    5

    9

    1 November 1946-31 December 1946 1946 

    5

    10

    1 January 1947-15 March 1947 1947 

    5

    11

    16 March 1947-30 April 1947 1947 

    5

    12

    1 May 1947-31 August 1947 1947 

    5

    13

    1 September 1947-31 December 1947 1947 

    5

    14

    1 January 1948-30 April 1948 1948 

    5

    15

    1 May 1948-30 September 1948 1948 

    5

    16

    1 October 1948-31 December 1948 1948 

    5

    17

    1 January 1949-31 March 1949 1949 

    5

    18

    1 April 1949-30 June 1949 1949 

    5

    19

    1 July 1949-31 December 1949 1949 

    5

    20

    1 January 1950-15 April 1950 1950 

    5

    21

    16 April 1950-31 August 1950 1950 

    5

    22

    1 September 1950-31 October 1950 1950 

    5

    23

    1 November 1950-30 November 1950 1950 

    5

    24

    1 December 1950-31 December 1950 1950 

    5

    25

    1 January 1951-31 January 1951 1951 

    5

    26

    1 February 1951-27 February 1951 1951 

    5

    27

    (1) 1 March 1951-1 June 1951 

    6

    1

    (2) 1 March 1951-1 June 1951 

    6

    2

    (3) 1 March 1951-1 June 1951 

    6

    3
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