"Factory Exports Stick Talent," The Evening Sun, May 8, 1969
“What is ‘Kelly Post Lacrosse’? What’s a ‘Kelly Post,’ anyway?”
We’re often asked what “Kelly Post Lacrosse” is, and where this name comes from.
As far as anyone has been able to determine, Kelly Post Lacrosse is the nation’s oldest youth lacrosse program. In 1959, John Patterson, a gym teacher at Dumbarton Junior High School, assembled 15 boys for their first lacrosse instruction. He was quickly joined by other men, including Fielding Lewis, Bill Duquette and Tom and Bart Nuttle. Mr. Lewis is also one of the founders of STX. The Lewis family is still associated with Kelly Post Lacrosse, as Mr. Lewis’ son Duncan is still a member of the board and one of its most talented coaches.
The original name for the program was the Dumbarton Junior Lacrosse Program. The program was sponsored by the Towson Optimist Club, and was for players in the 6th grade and under. The program was run at Dumbarton Junior High School, and is still headquartered there (it is now known as Dumbarton Middle School).
In 1964, league sponsorship shifted to the C. Markland Kelly American Legion Post, and became known as Kelly Post Lacrosse. Subsequently, the program became a part of the Towson Recreation Council, but retained the Kelly Post name. (For more information on C. Markland Kelly, click on "Who Is C. Markland Kelly?" on the menu.)
For many years, Kelly Post was the dominant force in youth lacrosse in Baltimore. In the first ten years of its existence, the Kelly Post Junior team lost only six games.
Over the years, Kelly Post has produced countless high school and college All-Americans, and many members of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. At one point, the program kept a tally of All-Americans, but it was abandoned when the list reached several hundred names.
As the popularity of the sport has grown, a large number of local programs have developed, and Kelly Post Lacrosse is not the dominant force in youth lacrosse that it once was. Nevertheless, it continues to set the standard for teaching the game to young players, and providing an opportunity to play for any boy or girl that wants to participate. There are currently over five hundred players in the various programs that are a part of Kelly Post Boys Lacrosse.
Everyone associated with the Kelly Post program is committed to returning the program to the highest levels of competitiveness, while continuing to provide an excellent learning and growing experience for everyone who wants to pick up a stick and get out on the field.
Due to our program’s unique position in the history of youth lacrosse, we are constantly trying to find more information about the roots of youth lacrosse and of Kelly Post in particular. Check out the image above, or click on the link to read an article about the program from the late sixties, along with a picture of "Billy Ruppersberger" preparing to fight through a double-team! (Adobe Acrobat required.)
If you have old pictures of Kelly Post teams or games, newspaper articles, or old documents related to past Kelly Post teams or the history of youth lacrosse in general, please contact us. We would sincerely appreciate it if you would share this information with us.
