| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Elizabeth Abigail Hardin |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | Montclair, New Jersey |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1] |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | baseball, basketball, field hockey, golf, rowing, tennis |
| College team | Vassar College |
| Updated on 14 June 2016 | |
Elizabeth Abigail Hardin was a female athlete who competed in multiple sports including basketball and golf. She attended Vassar College from 1912 to 1916.
In 1913, during her freshman year at Vassar, Hardin set a world record in shot put, throwing a eight pound shot put 33 feet and 3⁄4 inches. The following year she broke that record, sending it 34 feet and 4 inches.
Early life edit
Before she enrolled at Vassar at the age of 16, Hardin went to school at Townsend's School, a girl's boarding and day school in Newark, New Jersey.[2]
- Freshman year
During the 1913 Vassar College field day, Hardin threw a basketball 80 feet and 11⁄10 inches, over three feet further than the previous collegiate record set by Inez Milholland.[3] Hardin also broke Milholldan's eight pound shot put world record with a 33 feet and 3⁄4 inches throw.[4] For comparison, gold medalist at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Pat McDonald furthest throw to that date was 39 feet and 33⁄4 inches with a 24 pound shot put.[1] Hardin's baseball throw went 205 feet and seven inches, breaking Dorothy Smith's record of 204 feet and five inches.[5][6]
Hardin was awarded a letter her freshman year at Vassar.[2] According to the diary of Mary Pollock, Hardin was a member of the varsity field hockey team.[7]
When asked about his daughter's athletic ability, her father John R. Hardin was quoted by The Daily Book in 1913 stating, "Elizabeth is just a healthy, vigorous girl who loves the outdoor life and is filled with the exhilaration of youth [...] From her childhood she has excelled in athletic achievements. This was very largely due that she has her two brothers' companion and chum."[5]
- Sophomore year
Hardin competed at the Vassar College indoor athletic meet on February 28, 1914. In the basketball throw, Hardin hurled the ball 75 feet. The previous record for the indoor meet was 66 feet and 7 inches set by Dorothy Smith.[8]
At the 1914 Vassar College field day, Hardin again competed, breaking two of her own records.[9] She threw a basketball 88 feet 10 inches, almost nine feet further than her 1913 record.[10] Hardin's eight pound shot put throw went 33 feet and four inches, over a foot past her world record.[11]
Hardin was a member of the 1914 varsity basketball team. She played forward on the Vassar Class of 1916 team in a intra-school league. The 1916 class defeated the Class of 1917 to win the school championship.[12]
With her world record in shot put and collegiate records in distance thrown of a baseball and basketball, Hardin started to gain national recognition while attending Vassar. In 1914 The Washington Herald wrote, "It is useless to hold out any longer that woman is the coming man. In her onward march she has steadily disproved the assertions of those jealous rivals of the other sex who triumphantly proclaimed that there were some things she could not do. And now since Miss Elizabeth Hardin, of Montclair, N. J., has thrown a basket-ball 88 feet 10 inches and a eight pound shot put 33 feet 4 inches it is time for all the skeptics and detractors to stand back and give her room."[13]
- Junior year
Hardin served as the secretary of the Vassar Athletic Association during her junior year.[14] She continued to play in the intra-school basketball and field hockey teams.
At the 1915 Vassar College indoor meet Hardin took first place in basketball throw and long jump as well as second place in flying rings.[15]
The record Hardin set in the baseball throw compitition at the 1913 Vassar College field day was broken during the 1915 event by freshman G. Banfield who threw the ball 211 feet and 3 inches. When it was Hardin's turn, however, she reclaimed the collegiate record throwing the baseball 217 feet and 3 inches. Hardin surpassed her own world record in shot put, sending the eight pound sphere 33 feet 11 inches. She led the school in the basketball throw competition but the ball fell three feet behind her collegiate record.[16]
- Senior year
During her junior year, the Vassar College Class of 1916 elected Hardin president of the Vassar Athletic Association for their upcoming senior year.[16]
Hardin competed in her final Vassar College field day in 1916. She placed first in the baseball throw (214 feet and 9 inches), the basketball throw (80 feet and 31⁄2 inches) and shot put (31 feet and 5 inches).[17]
Hardin was selected for the varsity team in basketball and field hockey.
Golfing career edit
Personal life edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "Vassar Girl All-Around Champion Athlete". The San Francisco Call. San Francisco, California. July 13, 1913. p. 5.
- ^ a b "Vassar girl, sweet 16, wins coveted "V"". Hopkinsville Kentuckian. Hopkinsville, Kentucky. July 12, 1913. p. 3.
- ^ "Athletic Association". The Vassar Miscellany. XLII (10). Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar College: 746. July 10, 1913.
- ^ "Breaks world record". The Washington Herald. Washington, D.C. May 4, 1913. p. 33.
- ^ a b "Miss Elizabeth A. Hardin". The Day Book. Chicago, Illinois. May 19, 1913. p. 19.
- ^ "This Girl Can Throw a Baseball Further Than Any Other Girl in the World". The Tacoma Times. Tacoma, Washington. May 17, 1913. p. 5.
- ^ Pollock, Mary (May 26, 1913). "Varsity hockey announced tonight". Marry Pollock Diary. 1913–1917. Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar College Library: 155. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ "1916 Wins Indoor Meet". Miscellany News. Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar College. March 6, 1914. p. 4.
- ^ "Two new records for Vassar girl". The Washington Herald. Washington, D.C. May 10, 1914. p. 39.
- ^ "Miss Elizabeth Hardin Proves Regular Star". The Times Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. May 10, 1914. p. 4.
- ^ "Vassar Girl Throws Basketball 88 Feet". The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. May 10, 1914. p. 2.
- ^ "Varsity Basket Ball Team". Miscellany News. No. 15. Poughkeepsie, New York. June 5, 1914. p. 1.
- ^ "Untitled". The Washington Herald. Washington, D.C. May 11, 1914. p. 4.
- ^ "Athletic Association". Miscellany News. Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar College. May 8, 1914. p. 2.
- ^ "Indoor Track Meet Won By Juniors". Miscellany News. Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar College. March 5, 1915. p. 9.
- ^ a b "Athletic Association". Miscellany News. No. 17. Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar College. May 14, 1915. p. 4.
- ^ "Field Day". Miscellany News. No. 1. Poughkeepsie, New York. May 12, 1916. p. 3.