Patsy Hitchens Shaver (Class of 1964) became the first woman inducted into the Dickinson College Sports Hall of Fame on February 18, 1978. Whille a student, she played tennis for four years, field hockey for three years, and was a member of the cheerleading squad for four years. Her tennis singles record was 22-2, and her doubles record was 16-1.Â
This photograph is of the Women's Sophomore Field Hockey Team. The women are standing on the steps of the Alumni Gymnasium, not the Weiss Center for the Arts.
A female graduate of the class of 1969 elaborated about her physical education experiences at Dickinson in her "Women as Leaders" survey. While at Dickinson, she participated in Field Hockey out on Biddle Field, which she commented that it seemed much too far away for them. The graduate also had a squash class that was in the courts that were attached to the math building that "had a lump in the floor. She had a square dancing class in the gymnasium and golf on the lawn near Drayer.
A female graduate of the class of 1964 discusses how athletics were treated at Dickinson in her "Women as Leaders" survey response. While at college, the student participated in Intramural Basketball and Volleyball, as well as Field Hockey. She remarked that "very limited emphasis" was placed on women's sports but that Dickinson in general always emphasized academics rather than athletics.
From her time here at Dickinson, a female student of the class of 1961, recalls the restrictions women still faced on campus in the "Women as Leaders" survey. Women's social life was restrictive in that "Freshmen girls had to be in by 9:00 p.m. on weeknights, etc." The women's Freshmen dorms were also "terribly far away" from campus. Women's sports were also downplayed, which she experienced firsthand.