My branch of the family isn't exactly known for their athletic prowess. When it comes to sport and leisure we tend to favor leisure. I rowed for a bit on my college crew team, Dad raced cars, and Mom played some softball and was actually a pretty good bowler. As for my grandparents, I'm not aware of any of them ever playing an organized sport. If we go back one generation further, however, there was a young man who seems to have been quite the athlete.
My great-grandfather, Claude Randall attended the Illinois Normal School in DeKalb (now Northern Illinois University). As a sophomore in 1903, he played centerfield field on the school's baseball team. The following year, he played left guard on the football team and running forward on the basketball team.
Below is a picture of the 1903 baseball team taken from the school years book. Unfortunately, the only pictures I have ever seen of my great-grandfather are from much later when he was an aging man with a bald head. I have yet to determine which of these young men is him. Perhaps in the near future, AI will help me figure that out!
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