Suggested Research Topics - Golf at the University of Michigan
(Golf was selected as an example, similar papers could be done on any of the men's or women's sports.)
Golf was first organized as a varsity sport in 1901 under the instigation of Prof. Thomas Trueblood but golf did not become a conference sport until 1922. From 1922-1950 Michigan had one of the best golf records in the Big Ten and produced several outstanding players. Since then the teams have posted mediocre records, with a few exceptions. There has been virtually nothing written about golf, men's or women's, at the U of M beyond the short sketch by Les Etter in the Encyclopedic Survey. The story of the university golf course, designed by Alistair McKenzie and in its day considered one of the finest college courses in the nation, has also been neglected. This paper would have to rely heavily on newspaper coverage in the Daily and possibly the Ann Arbor News.
Sources:
- Michigan All-Time Athletic Record Book (for scores in match play and team finishes in tournaments and a list of "M" winners)
- Athletic Department Scrapbooks
- Athletic Department, Sports Information Office (Meet results and photographs, 1938-1985)
- Les Etter Files (Sports Information press releases 1949-1972)
- Board in Control of Athletics
- Regents' Proceedings (mainly for information about the university golf course)
- Michiganensian
- Michigan Alumnus
- Thomas Trueblood Papers (possibly has some material on early years of golf)
- Athletic Department. Football Programs (These sometimes included articles on golf and other sports.)
In an effort to encourage creative thinking about possible research topics for students unfamiliar with archives and their inevitable complexities, archivists and student employees of the Bentley Historical Library have authored "suggested research topics ." The purpose of these is not to define a topic but rather to stimulate thinking about a topic where the holdings of the Bentley Library are particularly strong.