The Beginning Years of Lehigh Lacrosse

In 1884, the Lehigh Lacrosse Club was founded and played its first game against Stevens Institute of Technology in 1885, which resulted in a 4-0 loss. The sport of lacrosse was emerging, and not much talent existed in those early years. However, in 1887, one of the lacrosse players captained and trained the Lehigh team to succeed at a higher level of competition. With this fast development, Lehigh was awarded a membership in the Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association in 1888. During the team’s first season, Lehigh was able to secure third in the league, defeating Stevens but falling behind Princeton and Harvard Improving with the 1889 season, the team placed second, defeating teams such as Rutgers and Harvard. For the first time in Lehigh Lacrosse Club history, the team won the Intercollegiate Lacrosse Championship of the United States in 1890, beating Stevens, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins, and gaining national attention for lacrosse.

Image is courtesy of Lehigh Special Collections