Literary and Debating Societies

Literary and debating societies in American colleges can be traced back to the 1730s. At the Free Academy (later C.C.N.Y), two societies were founded, Clionia in 1851 and Phrenocosmia in 1852. In the early years both societies only held debates among their own members, but by 1859 they began joint debates and this continued until the beginning of World War I.

 

Sports at the College

When the Free Academy first opened its doors in 1847, college athletics were not an important part of student life. The original academy building had no provisions for sports or exercise. Gramercy Park was used as the open space for outdoor activities, as was the East River which was close by. By the time the Free Academy became the College of the City of New York in 1866, it had formed a baseball and a rowing team. In 1872 a football club was started and a lacrosse team was organized in 1887.

In the 1890s baseball was a popular sport with City College men, and announcements of upcoming games appeared in New York City newspapers.

 

Students at the college participated in track as early as 1874. The following article describes the 1893 spring game of the College of the City of New-York Athletic Association.

 

 

The 1890s has been labeled the “Golden Age of the Bicycle” when for the first time men and women had their own personal means of transportation. Cycling clubs were formed all over the country and the League of American Wheelman, founded in 1880, had over 100,000 members by the 1890s. The College of the City of New-York had a team of “wheelman” as the following article describes.

 

During Upton Sinclair’s days at the college a football team was formed as illustrated by this 1894 article.