Page 5 - Alumni Newsletter Winter 2012-2013

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WINTER
2012
5
instill this love of sports and competition in
his students. And so much to the surprise
of his charges, he excitedly declared a “Field
Day Athletics Sports” to be held at a large
field in Bournabat, a suburb of Smyrna.
Much to the surprise of their headmaster,
students showed little reaction. MacLach-
lan began to think of ways to get them
excited about his idea.
Perhaps offering prizes would do the
trick. He threw himself into the task of
contacting the business offices of British
merchants in town and managed to col-
lect more than a hundred dollars.
He purchased a variety of prizes and put
them on exhibition in a prominent show
window in the city with a list of the events
to be contested.Those events included
marbles, leapfrog, kite flying, jump-
ing, pole vaulting, running, tug-of-war,
hurdles, three legged races, sack races, etc.
MacLachlan had worked hard. But it was
worth it as such exciting competitions and
the prizes were now sure to arouse the
enthusiasm of his students.
He waited expectantly for his charges to
practice for the event. Very few bothered.
The minister was dismayed.There were
only two weeks left until the Field Day.
At this rate, it was sure to be a failure.
It was then that he hit upon the idea to
open the competition to other schools,
state and private. No sooner had he made
this announcement, than his students
jumped to the challenge.The idea of other
people walking away with prizes destined
for them was more than they could bear.
The boys began practicing zealously.
Excitement of the event spread through-
out the city.The “Smyrna and Cas-
saba Railway Company, pasted posters
throughout the city advertising special
excursion trains for the “Field Day Sports
of the American Boys School.”
The press wrote up articles about the
upcoming event. MacLachlan even asked
the French Sacre Coeur College to send
its brass band to furnish music for the
afternoon.The school quickly obliged.
The day dawned bright and sunny. An
astounded MacLachlan watched as more
than four thousand people showed up.
The success of the event exceeded all
expectations. Very proudly, he noted that
the great bulk of the prizes were carried
off by his very own students.
It was a great moment in the school’s
short history.The next day, MacLachlan
was approached by a deputation of the
city’s leading schools to congratulate him
on the day’s uccess. But they had a re-
quest: would MacLachlan help them form
a “Smyrna Schools Athletic Association”?
Needless to say, MacLachlan agreed
wholeheartedly. For many years to come,
an annual interscholastic Field Day was
held at the same plot of land in Bourn-
abat, but with an additional twist: a
championship cup was awarded to the
school with the highest number of points.
The competition for this cup alone cre-
ated an intense frenzy among the schools.
Inspired, the Pan-Ionian Association of
Smyrna began to hold their own yearly
successful sports competitions.
In 1896 – just four years after MacLach-
lan held his Field Day - the first modern
Olympics were held in Athens. MacLach-
lan couldn’t help chuckling to himself.
“We are not bold enough to publicly
proclaim our initiative in the revival of
this ancient and world renowned contest,”
he wrote in his 1937 memoires, Potpourri
of Sidelights and Shadows from Turkey.
“We will leave it to the research experts
of the future to trace back to its original
source the modern little spring from
which trickled the stimulating life spirit
of athletic revival in modern Greece.”
MacLachlan now adamantly wanted to
establish a rich athletic program in the
school’s curriculum. But how? The school
had no field to speak of. But just beyond
the school’s wall, there was a large vacant
lot – easily accessible from the back alley.
This would make an ideal playing field.
But as usual, it was same age old question:
where could he possibly find the funds to
purchase it?
Unbeknown to him, the S.S. Saghalien
steamer ship was making its way to the
port of Smyrna. A couple was standing on
the deck watching the Turkish coastline
approaching.They would prove to be
some of the greatest friends that IC had
ever known.
Historical information based on: an interview
with Dr. Howard Reed (summer 2011);
Potpourri of Sidelights and Shadows from
Turkey, by Alexander MacLachlan, 1937.
To be continued …
Smyrna
(Part III)