Whittier College Baseball: A Legacy of Quaker Values and Athletic Excellence
Whittier College, a private liberal arts institution in Whittier, California, boasts a rich history interwoven with Quaker values, academic excellence, and a tradition of athletic competition. Founded in 1887 and named in honor of John Greenleaf Whittier, a prominent Quaker, poet, and abolitionist, the college continues to uphold the enduring values of respect for the individual, community, service, social justice, freedom of conscience, and respect for human differences. While no longer affiliated with the Society of Friends, Whittier College remains proud of its Quaker heritage. This heritage influences all facets of the college, including its athletic programs. This article delves into the history of baseball at Whittier College, exploring its place within the broader context of the college's development and athletic achievements.
Early Years and Athletic Growth
Construction on Whittier College's first building, Founders Hall, began in 1893. Initially, Founders Hall housed all classes, dormitories, and the library. Several buildings, including a gymnasium, were later added to the College. During the 1920s, Whittier emerged as an athletic powerhouse in California, competing against institutions of similar size as well as larger universities like USC, UCLA, and Cal Berkeley.
A Century of Competition: The SCIAC and NCAA Division III
The Whittier Poets compete in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) of NCAA Division III. The school has fielded sports teams for over 100 years, including men's baseball. Whittier offers over 30 majors and 30 minors in 23 disciplines. The current teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, lacrosse and water polo, women's softball and volleyball, and men's baseball and golf.
The Institute for Baseball Studies
Founded in 2014, the Institute for Baseball Studies began as a partnership between Whittier College and The Baseball Reliquary, a traveling museum from Pasadena founded and run by the late Terry Cannon. The Institute's goal is to prompt the teaching and exchange of ideas, the development of research initiatives, and the creation of public symposia and celebrations highlighting baseball’s significance in American culture. While the original main goals of the Institute emphasized programs, the Institute for Baseball Studies now houses a significant library of books and materials on all aspects of baseball. The foundation of the collection was The Baseball Reliquary’s archives and research materials (and various oddities), now supplemented by significant donations of books (now well over 3000) and periodicals, the papers of distinguished baseball historians and journalists, works of art, and a variety of materials that support multifaceted and interdisciplinary studies at Whittier College.
Facilities and Campus Development
Most of the major buildings on campus were built in the mid to late 20th century - three in the 1940s and 1950s, seven in the 1960s, three in the 1970s and 1980s, and five since 1990. Additionally, several structures on campus have been extensively modified or expanded to accommodate modern needs and a growing student body. A complete renovation of the Campus Center was completed in 2008, while the Graham Athletic Center and Lillian Slade Aquatics Center completed a major renovation and expansion project in 2012.
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Whittier College Today
Today, Whittier College is recognized worldwide as a distinctive and relevant liberal arts college, offering additional graduate degrees in both education and law. More than 50 percent of Whittier College undergraduates, and three of its four Rhodes Scholars, are from underrepresented ethnic and international groups. This kind of cultural diversity, which permeates both classroom and campus community, profoundly strengthens intellectual discourse and provides a realistic exposure to the kind of world students will enter upon graduation. Students and faculty continue a long tradition of community service, echoing the Quaker conviction that helping others is a moral obligation. As of fall 2025, Whittier had 797 undergraduate and graduate students. Whittier College is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).
A Broader Look at Whittier College Athletics
The history of the Whittier football program began in 1907, and since the inception of the SCIAC in 1915, the Poets have won 26 conference titles. From 1957 to 1964, Whittier won eight straight SCIAC football titles under the direction of coaches George Allen (1951-1956), Don Coryell (1957-1959), and John Godfrey (1960-1979). Their most recent championships came back-to-back in 1997 and 1998. Twenty-three Poets have earned All-American honors, the most recent coming in 2007. The football program plays out of Newman Memorial Field, which seats 7,000. Whittier maintained a century-long football rivalry with Occidental Tigers. The Whittier men's lacrosse program was established in 1980. In 1980, the Poets became a member of the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL). From 1980 to 1999, Whittier won ten championships. In 1990, they were recognized by the NCAA but continued to compete in the WCLL. The Poets were the team to beat throughout the 1990s, and it was not until 2000 that Whittier decided to make their mark on the national scene by leaving the WCLL and focusing on being selected for the NCAA tournament. The Whittier men's and women's swimming and diving teams earned Academic All-American status-the women for the fourth straight year and the men for the first time after the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced the programs who achieved this honor for the 2015 Fall Semester. Five hundred forty-seven swimming and diving teams representing 354 colleges and universities have been named College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American Teams.
Notable Figures in Whittier College Athletics
Several notable figures have been associated with Whittier College athletics, further solidifying its legacy in the world of sports:
- George Allen: Head football coach for the Poets from 1951 to 1956.
- Jerry Burns: Former head coach Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
- Don Coryell: Head football coach for the Poets from 1957 to 1959.
- Ty Knott: Former assistant coach for the Poets.
- Duval Love: Offensive line coach for the Poets in 2008.
- Samie Parker: Wide receivers coach for the Poets in 2019.
- Omarr Smith: Defensive backs coach for the Poets in 2004.
- Wallace Newman: Head football coach for the Poets from 1929 to 1950.
- Hugh Mendez: Former head football 1980-89 and baseball coach 1971-87 for Poets.
Challenges and Transformations
In the 1940s, World War II and the call to enlist caused the college-bound and college-enrolled male population to sharply decline; so much so that Whittier College agreed to absorb the entire student body of neighboring Chapman University. Service projects and service clubs, focusing on aiding and comforting soldiers oversees and training in domestic camps, sprung up on the Whittier campus; these efforts included a toy, clothing, and candy drive for children in Japanese-American internment camps. As the war ended and veterans returned home, Whittier College's enrollment lists once again swelled. In November 2022, Whittier College made changes to its Poet Athletics program. There were community protests against the cancellation of athletics programs. Whittier College revived football for 2026, backed By $814K Alumni Fundraising in October 2024.
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