In the Beginning...
The Early Years (1971-1979)
 

The Early Years (1971-1979) The Golden Age (1980-1990) The Youth Movement (1991-1996) The Phoenix Rising (1997-present)   Articles from the early years: Thoughts from the First Game (by Jim Pistrang) Pre-Game and Post-Game Ceremonies (by Jim Pistrang) The Opposition (by Jim Pistrang) T-Shirts and Uniforms (by Jim Pistrang) The Forgotten Years (by Dan Axtell)

Fall 1971 Jim Pistrang & friends organize a Frisbee Team at Northern Valley Regional High School, Demarest, New Jersey. Contact is made with Columbia High School. March 1972 Columbia High School visits Northern Valley & introduces the game of Ultimate. Jim Pistrang meets Ed Summers, a senior at CHS. June 1972 Northern Valley plays CHS twice. Ed & Jim are accepted at Tufts (class of '76). September 1972 Tufts Varsity Frisbee holds it's first organizational meeting (probably in Richardson House lounge). Captains are: Jim Pistrang (A76), Ed Summers (A76), and Mike Miller (A74) (Jim's friend from New Jersey). Jim & Ed silk?screen the first T?shirts in the basement of Richardson House. The design (made by a woman who lived in the basement of Miller Hall, I think) featured a dove holding a frisbee and the inscription Pax et Frisbus. The first printing used black ink, and was mostly on shirts donated by team members. October 1972 First game, against Clark University at Clark. Tufts won easily. Among the 11 (I think) who played were... Jim Pistrang (A76) Ed Summers (A74) Mike Miller (A74) Craig McRae (?) Yutaka Yoshino (E74?) Steve Goldstein (E76) Pam Dyer (A74) Dave Rosania (A75). Spring 1973 Second printing of T shirts, using blue ink. Practices held three times a week on the quad, team grows to a core group of 15?20. Games played against Clark, Rutgers, RPI, UNH and others. Hampshire College hears about Ultimate, and travels to Tufts for their first game on Mothers Day. Tufts wins easily. Fall 1973 Captains this year are Jim Pistrang, Ed Summers, and Mike Miller. The TCU approves a budget of $500 to cover travel expenses for the team. Fall road trip to Worcester (Clark & Holy Cross), Troy (RPI) and Amherst (Hampshire). Tufts wins all four games. Tufts is featured in a Boston TV news show, playing (and beating) MIT (captain was John Kirkland, possibly the most obnoxious frisbee player I've ever met). Winter 1973/74 Midnight game(s?) against Hampshire at Hampshire in 'the bubble'. Spring 1974 Team roster of about 30 players. Team practices every day on the quad, usually 15 to 20 players show up. Road trip south to play against Yale, Rutgers, Princeton. We beat Yale & Princeton but get stomped by Rutgers. Rutgers plays Tufts on the quad, with largest crowd ever (100?) including Boston Globe and Time Magazine reporters. Tufts takes the field in all?new T?shirts...bright yellow with a frisbee / sun on the front, and the number 3 on the back. Rutgers wins by 1 point. Tufts plays at Hampshire in the second annual Mothers Day game. Game is tied at 35?35 at the end of regulation, and the teams unanimously vote for no overtime. Fall 1974 Steve Goldstein (E76) is made a co?captain. Many games. Spring 1975 Road trip south includes game against former captain Mike Miller & his new City College team in Central Park. Lots of games. Hampshire at Tufts for the third annual Mothers Day game. Hampshire wins. Fall 1975 New captains are Ron Garrell (A77) and Dave Satloff (A77). Many games. We win about 50%. Jim P. tears knee cartilage in tournament at Hampshire...out for the fall season. Spring 1976 Tufts at Hampshire for the fourth annual Mothers Day game, played on the field on the east side of route 116 just north of Bay Road. Not sure if anyone kept score. Jim & Ed graduate. Fall 1977 to Spring 1979 Tufts determines that to remain competitive, they must devote their efforts doing research and development on zone offense and defense.  Also, the team smokes a lot of marijuana.  A disc golf course is set up on campus, frequented by many ultimate players and unobstructed by later additions of Tisch Library and Olin Center.

Next Section:  The Golden Age (1980-1990) The E-Men Survive and thrive through the 80's, building one of the most successful dynasties in early college ultimate