It Started with a Track Team

July 18, 2019 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release

Boston, MA - Fifty thousand kids played lacrosse in Maryland in 2017 according to U.S. Lacrosse. Lacrosse is Maryland's official team sport and almost all Marylanders would agree that the sport is "part of the state's very identity." It's almost impossible to imagine Maryland without lacrosse, but if it weren't for a chance encounter at a track meet 140 years ago, that could very well be the case.

During the 1870's, America was still very much a fractured nation on the heels of a Civil War and still facing the challenges of reconstruction. The American "Gilded Age" was in full swing. An era which saw unprecedented economic growth for the rich at the expense of working-class people. It was during this trying time in American history when Maryland was introduced to a game it would soon fall in love with.

If there is anybody who knows about Maryland's Lacrosse history, it's Tom Flynn. Flynn wrote a book titled "Men's Lacrosse In Maryland, The Pride of the Old Line State." While Flynn is a lacrosse expert now, it didn't start that way for him. Flynn grew up in New Jersey, and as he said in his book, "I don't recall hearing the sport mentioned while living there and I'm fairly certain I didn't know it existed."

Flynn became exposed to the game briefly in his freshman year of college at St. Mary's College in Maryland only to forget about it after he transferred to James Madison. Flynn eventually fell in love with lacrosse watching his youngest son play the sport to the point where he watches games regularly, and he's now one of the premier experts on the history of a game which dates back to the 17th century.

Lacrosse in Maryland dates back to the late 1800s. In 1878, a group of track athletes from the Baltimore Athletic Club traveled to Rhode Island, presumably by train for a track meet. When they arrived, they saw the game of lacrosse and were immediately "enthralled with it." In an interview with MLL, Flynn stated, "they picked up a bunch of sticks, brought em back" and lacrosse in Maryland was born.

Flynn talked about how some of lacrosse's "regional differences" stem from their origins. He pointed out how Maryland's lacrosse style tends to be more "fast-paced," reminiscent of its track-athlete origins, as opposed to the more "physical style, played on Long Island."

The first lacrosse game in Maryland was played in November of 1878 at the old Newington Park, according to U.S Lacrosse archivist Joe Finn. Just four years later, in 1882, Johns Hopkins University formed Maryland's first collegiate lacrosse team. The Blue Jays played the 1883 spring season before disbanding. Hopkins reinstated the lacrosse team in 1888, where it has since become the only division one team for the university and a cornerstone of their school's culture. Finn said Johns Hopkins was the first school to really take lacrosse "seriously." An investment that has since led to forty-four national championships.*

Flynn pointed out that Hopkins made a "very strategic decision" to pick up lacrosse, "it was a conscious effort to get in some good company." Flynn noted that other high-profile universities, such as Harvard and Yale, had already established lacrosse programs.

The challenge for Johns Hopkins was recruiting. Flynn pointed out that sourcing local talent was a challenge because "there weren't people playing in high school's around them." Johns Hopkins was forced to "go out to high schools in the area and get them to develop lacrosse problems." As the local high school lacrosse programs grew, Flynn states that, "a lot of interplay" between the high schools and Hopkins took place. The high school / college mixed play allowed the sport to flourish. As Flynn states, "all of Maryland's lacrosse teams mixed together and from there it took off."

Maryland has arguably become the epicenter for collegiate lacrosse. There are currently seven D-1 lacrosse programs in Maryland. Schools from Maryland have won 13 NCAA Division I National Championships. If you include championships prior to 1971 (NCAA era), the number balloons to 76.

Competition breeds excellence. Just ask Johns Hopkins and Maryland. The rivalry is the best in Men's Lacrosse and Sports Illustrated even ranked it as one of the top rivalries in college athletics. The school's first faced on in 1895. Johns Hopkins leads the all-time series, but by how much we don't know. The two schools disagree on the head to head record, because Maryland didn't officially have a varsity team until 1924. Perhaps the most interesting moment in the rivalry took place off the field. In 1947, Hopkins students "stole" the Testudo Statue from the Maryland campus. Terrapins fans drove to Baltimore to take it back. A small riot ensued before the statue was eventually returned.

The roots, the growth and the passion for the sport are all reasons the Chesapeake Bayhawks, an original MLL franchise from the establishment of the league back in 1999, found their home in Maryland. The Bayhawks are the most-winning MLL franchise, having won five national championships ('02, '05, '10, '12 and '13). This year they are chasing that winning tradition, currently sitting at a 4-2 record.

"Maryland is the lacrosse capital of the world," said Colin Heacock, MLL All-Star (Team ICE), Chesapeake Bayhawks, University of Maryland Terrapin (National Champion) and Maryland native. Heacock is one of sixteen MLL players from Maryland and one of twenty-seven MLL players who starred on Maryland-based collegiate programs. The All-Star rosters feature six players from Maryland and nine players who played for three Maryland-based universities. Hopkins, Towson and Loyola fans will have plenty to cheer for on July 27th at Navy Marine Corps. Stadium, in Annapolis, Maryland.

The 2019 MLL All-Star Game will be aired live, starting at 7pm, on ESPN2, but don't miss out on your chance to witness another milestone in Maryland's Lacrosse history.

*Hopkins National Championships: 1891, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1941, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1957, 1959, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2005, 2007

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