Satellites, Program For Harvard Shaped Destiny of Class of 1962

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched man's first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik I. The event was to affect the lives of most Americans, including hundreds of high school seniors throughout the country who were at that time contemplating attending Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass.

Most high school seniors thought that they were getting out just in time. Self-appointed critics in the post-Sputnik days said that the United States was "lagging behind" the Russians and advocated a stiffening of the school curriculum and an increase in high school science training.

The 1173 members of Harvard's Class of 1962--out of the 4200 who applied and the 1487 admitted--discovered that Harvard College was too stable a place to be changed over-night by a crash program "to catch up with the Russians." At a time when radical changes hit all of American secondary education and many other colleges, '62 experienced no direct effects of the post-Sputnik era. The Faculty in the last four years continually attempted to straighten out the honors-non-honors program and wondered about the place of specialization in science courses for non-scientists, but these debates were routine compared to previous changes in undergraduates' education at Harvard.

A far more significant event for those who would join the Class of 1962 was the announcement one year before Sputnik that Harvard would launch a massive effort to raise $82.5 million for higher education.

For when the Class arrived in Cambridge, the hard work of the Program for Harvard College was essentially over. The Class had only to enjoy the fruits of the Program and watch the College build. The Class's stay here was relatively easy: money was no longer a pressing need at Harvard and '62 was assured of Harvard's vitality at least for the next four years.

When the Class registered in September 1962 there were houses at Plympton and Mt. Auburn Sts., at Brattle and Hilliard Sts., at DeWolfe and Grant Sts., and on Quincy St. between the Fogg Museum and the Faculty Club. In addition, Cronin's was found on Dunster St. Before they left, members of the Class would be the first to enter Quincy House; would use the 11-story Leverett Towers and plush Loeb Drama Center; and would see the beginnings of LeCorbusier's Visual Arts Center. And, although many would have to walk further to Cronin's many more could walk a shorter distance to the infirmary, with the opening in 1961 of the 10-story Holyoke Center.

A third event during this group's high school senior year, Yale's 54-0 humiliation of the Harvard football team in a televised game, may have affected some applicants' thoughts about attending Harvard College. But the widely-publicized defeat apparently did not turn away many potential varsity athletes.

The Class of '62 ended its career at college with one of the best athletic records of any Harvard class. Members of the Class, except for Mark Mullin in track, Grady Watts in lacrosse, and probably Bob Kaufmann in swimming, were not really the prominent members of each team but their combined talents were the backbone of most athletic teams in the past three years.

The Class contributed to football teams that gained a 17-10 record over three years, including a co-championship in its senior year; and in 1961 62 the group supplied teams that won six out of a possible 15 League championships and for the fifth straight year gained a higher percentage of wins than any other school in the Ivy League.

The group of 1173 men that stumbled into the Yard September 25, 1958, went through an orientation week of the usuals: being told to look to the left and to the right, etc., being told to use their native intelligence, being told to fear not, if they could not do the work they would not be here, and being told that Harvard allowed complete freedom--including the freedom to fall flat on your face.

Of the entrants, 35 to 45 would achieve sophomore standing, 11 were admitted directly from their junior year, 407 brought with them Harvard scholarships, and 150 brought National Merit, General Motors, or similar stipends. They came from every state--all 49 at that time--and from 21 foreign countries. Fifty-four per cent came from public schools.

And there were, in addition to 48 voluntary commuters, 69 "forced commuters," the product of a short-lived policy that was supposed to remedy Harvard's overcrowding problem. It didn't.

Although most freshmen immediately hit the books, some served on the Freshman Union Committee, which in October appointed eight subcommittees to investigate the possibility of presenting a Dartmouth Weekend Dance. On that weekend appeared the Yardling, a magazine issued less and less throughout the year.

As varsity coach John Yovicsin discovered a slick sophomore quarterback named Ravenel, the freshman class proved its athletic prowess early with a 6-1 football team, led by the quarterbacking of diminutive Grady Watts. TDs by John Damis, Gil Bamford, Roy Williams, and Deve Ward brought a big 25-0 win over Tufts in the opener.

After a national magazine recognized the undefeated freshmen's accomplishments, the team ran into trouble at Princeton. But few of the 3000 onlookers one week later will forget the team's exciting 14-3 win over Yale. Few on the team will forget the 65-yard interception run by captain Bill Swinford for a fourth quarter score. The rugged lineman repeated the feat in a varsity game two years later.

Led by Seamus Malin, Bruce Johnstone, and others, the soccer team piled up five victories in nine contests; and the cross country team finished 6-3. Coach Bill McCurdy described Mark Mullin, at that time undefeated and improving every week, as "one of the best Harvard has ever had."

Before he was through, Mullin would captain cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track as a freshman and senior; end his career with a 4:06.4 mile, a University and IC4A record; win the outdoor Heptagonal mile three times and the indoor century once; and receive the Bingham Award as the Class's top athlete.

Two freshmen started in 1958-59 with new records in their events--Ted Bailey in the weight throw and Sarge Nichols in the shot; both went on to greater feats in the next three years. Two undefeated teams for the Yardlings that year were in swimming (11-0) and in tennis (9-0).

With an 8-1 record as freshmen, the Class indicated that it was to be big in lacrosse in the future. The '62 trio of Watts, Pete Sieglaff, and Woody Spruance dominated varsity lacrosse for three years. On the hockey rink the Class was one of the best groups at the College in the history of the sport. With Jim Dwinell, Bob Bland, Bill Beckett, Dave Morse, Dave Grannis, Chris Norris, Dean Alpine, and Tom Heintzman, its record as freshman was 18-3. The soph-dominated varsity in 1959-60 ended 17-7-1 and second in the Ivy League; in 1960-61, the Junior-dominated team won the title, as the senior-dominated team did this past winter.

In the four-year athletic career of the Class there were an Ivy co-championship in football as seniors; a Harvard-Yale track win over Oxford-Cambridge as juniors; track upsets over Yale; revenge in football over Yale as sophomores and seniors (with another televised debacle in between); a big soccer win over Yale that brought the Ivy title as seniors; and Beanpot Hockey tournament victories in the junior and senior years.

Probably no single event produced as much excitement as the varsity swimming team's 48-47 upset over Yale last winter, the Elis' second loss in their last 220 meets and their first to Harvard since 1938. Heroes from the Class included Kaufmann, who set a University record in the 50-yard freestyle, Bill Zentgraf, who set a University record in the 220, and Fred Elizalde, who won the butterfly.

Meanwhile, back in the freshman year, the usual happened: the Jubilee Committee Chairman (Henry Appelbaum) announced plans for the biggest and best weekend ever; 1000 residents of the Yard signed a petition seeking liberalization of parietal hours (it failed); room rents went up by 15 per cent; the Student Council proposed self-reform; and 66 per cent of the Class was admitted to first-choice Houses in May.

There were long lines in the Union seeking an interview with Master John Bullitt of Quincy, but the freshman class did not flock to Quincy House as much as expected. Although the newest House led the pack, the Class distributed itself rather well in applications and 90 per cent were happy with a first, second, or third choice.

In general the Class was behaving well. On March 14 Dean von Stade revealed that the lowest number in his memory--12 students or one per cent--had voluntarily withdrawn from college; and two days later the Class innocently read about Yale freshmen rioting at a St. Patrick's Day parade.

The Class of 1962 had its fun two years later when it followed '61 in a little two-day affair in Harvard Square over non-Latin diplomas.

By June 4, it was all over: the last meal in the Union, the exam, the last of "freshman adjustment," the last of life in the Yard, the last of PT, and the last of some unforgetable experiences. It was also the beginning of tutorial, slumps, more exams, House life, varsity and interhouse athletics, participation in extra-curricular affairs, and more enlightenment.

Sophomore year also marked the coming of the hula-hoop to Radcliffe and the coming of the frisbee to the River banks.

Meanwhile, Radcliffe was having a change of the guard that symbolized a new era of Harvard-Radcliffe relations that affected the Class in many6Senior TOM BOONE swings around left and on a pitch-out in the first quarter of the Nov. 11 game with Princeton. Boone led the Crimson in individual rushing that day with 56 yards in the 9-7 victory over the Tigers. The Harvard squad went on to defeat Brown and Yale for the Ivy League championship in a great year for sports fans at the University.