Bill Markus Achieves Success;
"The Third H Book of Harvard Athletics, 1963-2012"
is Now Available

 

The recent publication of "The Third H Book of Harvard Athletics: 1963-2012" marked the successful culmination of a nine year project shepherded by William E. (Bill) Markus H'60. The first H book was published in 1925, the second in 1963. The Harvard Varsity Club, producer of the book, asked Bill, in the fall of 2005, to chair the Third H Book Committee. The Committee included former Harvard Varsity Club President Louis Newell H'57 and Harvard Varsity Club Executive Director Robert A. Glatz H'88. Bill called the first meeting in October, 2015. Bill explains why the project took nine years: "One, our committee decided to hire excellent professional writers and an editor, all of whom had great knowledge of Harvard sports history, rather than selecting alumni athletes to write about their particular sport as was done in the first two H Books. John Powers H'71 a Pulitzer Prize winning Boston Globe sports writer and author of eight books, wrote the introductory chapter and the stories of eleven sports. John Veneziano, Harvard's Sports Information Director and Assistant Director of Athletics from 1989 to 2003, editor of the Official Super Bowl Program since 2004, and author of "Numbelievable", wrote 23 of the sports' stories. John T. Bethell H'54, Editor of Harvard Magazine for 28 years and its football reporter now, author of "Harvard Observed: An Illustrated History of the University in the Twentieth Century" and co-author of "Harvard A to Z", is the general editor of the Third H Book. Craig Lambert H'69, Ph.D.'78, an editor and staff writer at Harvard Magazine since 1988 and author of "Mind Over Water: Lesson on Life from the Art of Rowing", wrote the chapter on the History of the Harvard Varsity Club. Though these writers had to work for us in their free time from their regular jobs, they did not deflect from their task; they performed well! Two, Harvard now has 42 sports teams (as compared to seven in the First H Book and twenty in the Second H Book) since women's sports and many new men's sports have been added. Three, the latest H book includes an account of the vastly improved physical plant for athletics. Four, the Third H Book includes the first definitive history of the Harvard Varsity Club." The introductory chapter to the Third H Book reports on general developments in Harvard sports: Title 9 and women's sports, medical treatment of Harvard athletes, strength and conditioning programs, technology in sports, Harvard Band and cheerleaders, athletics and academics, Rhodes Scholars from athletics, Harvard Olympians and international competitors, the decline of the multi-sport athlete, etc. The book contains 980 individual and team photos and 11,400 Major H Letter Winners, 1963-2012. So, the Third H Book is two volumes (1,368 pages), whereas the first two H Books were one volume each. The Third H Book and reprints of H Book 1 and H Book 2 can be obtained by calling the Harvard Varsity club at 617-495-3535 or by visiting the website, www.harvardvarsityclub.org.