Photograph, Baseball (George Emma), March 28, 1957. Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

With All-Star Week quickly approaching, the first half of the Major League Baseball season is almost finished. This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) features a photo from the 1957 Villanova University varsity baseball season. Did you know that Villanova first began playing varsity baseball in 1866? The program is one of the oldest collegiate programs in the country! “In a history that spans more than 150 years, Villanova has played more than 3,500 games and has had more than 1,500 student-athletes wear the uniform.”

Check out additional baseball photos in the Villanova University Digital Library. Looking for more information on the history of Villanova athletics? The exhibit, “Wildcats Past & Present: Moments from the History of Sports at Villanova,” features assorted and unique items representative of the varied sports played at Villanova. Prefer a podcast? Both episodes of the History of Athletics at Villanova can be played here.

For more baseball, explore the resources below! Catch a game this weekend: The Philadelphia Phillies begin a home series with the Washington Nationals tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. Congratulations to LSU men’s baseball! The team defeated Florida 18-4 in a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Men’s College World Series finals Monday, June 26, in Omaha, NE.

• Baseball: A History of America’s Game (Rader, 2018)
• Baseball (Burns, 2010) *Academic Video Online
• Baseball (Seymour, 1960)
• Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives
• Baseball: An Illustrated History (Ward, 1994)
• Baseball in America and America in Baseball (Kyle, 2008) *eBook
• Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter’s Box (Bronson & Irwin, 2004)
• ESPN Feature: E60 “Risking It All” [Matthew Szczur] *Video

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library. Her favorite baseball team is the Cleveland Guardians. 

We’re hopping into our trusty time machine and heading back to Villanova, circa 1975.

The first VCRs* rolled off the assembly lines in Japan, and while Saturday Night Live would premiere that fall, every Thursday night Villanova students flocked to the Library to study and work on papers. And, quite possibly, work on growing a mustache that even Tom Selleck would admire.

“How nice, Friday and Saturday are still to come,” wryly notes the Belle Air copy.

Special thanks to Michael Foight, Director, Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement, who discovered this treasure in Falvey’s yearbook collection.

* Note: VCRs are video cassette recording machines. For more on VCRs, check out Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the VCR in Falvey’s main collection.

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

By Kallie Stahl

Reunion 2023 begins tomorrow! This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) features the official reservation form from the 1956 Alumni Reunion. View the full schedule of events for Reunion 2023 here. Graduates from class years ending in 3 or 8 will celebrate milestone reunions with exclusive activities, though all alumni are welcome to attend. Have a fun weekend, Wildcats!

Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

Image courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

Looking for some vacation suggestions for the summer? Check out this book featuring outings in California. Published in 1921 by Peck-Judah Co. Travel Bureaus, you can browse the full publication here.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

The Penn Relays begin today! This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) is taken from the 1960 Belle Air.

“Ed Collymore, anchorman, comes from behind to take Mile Relay after getting baton from teammate Charley Stead. Time was 3:11:8 with teammates (Joe) Manion and (Jim) Blackburn’s efforts” (p. 199).

Good luck to all the athletes competing this week. Go Nova!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication & Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

Image courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

“Halfway home is this putt by Ron Zurinskas. Bob Byrwa attends the pin, while Dave Doyle patiently awaits his turn” (1959 Belle Air, p. 208).

The Masters Tournament, the first of the four major championships in professional golf, aired this past Sunday. This week’s Throwback Thursday (#TBT) features the 1958 varsity golf team (three of the members are pictured above.) The team “turned in the school’s fifth consecutive winning season by triumphing in six of ten matches” (p. 208).

The 2022-2023 Villanova Men’s Golf Team won the Wildcat Spring Invitational for the second straight year at the LuLu Country Club in Glenside, Pa. on April 11, 2023. Best of luck to the Men’s Golf Team this spring!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication & Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library. She enjoys golfing…but only in scrambles. 

Image courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

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By: Isabel Choi

beautiful blooms and morning dew 

Celebrates the work 

Of our favorite poets –  

Frost, Dickinson, Shakespeare, 

Whitman, Cummings, Hughes, 

Many, many more 

Even our poet, McGarrity 

acknowledges 

All the forms, emotions, and hues 

That poetry brings to our hearts 

April, month of 

Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library (1968 Belle Air, p. 137).

Spring is finally here! Warm weather and rainy days are on the way. Don’t forget your umbrellas, Wildcats!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication & Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library. 

Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

Good luck to the (#4) Villanova Women’s Basketball team as they take on (#13) Cleveland State in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament! Tipoff is Saturday, March 18, at 5 p.m. in the Finneran Pavilion. Get your tickets here! Watch on ESPNU. #MarchMadness #LetsMarchNova #TBT

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library. Whiteboard art by Joanne Quinn, Director of Communication & Marketing at Falvey Library.

Students conversing outside Connelly Center, 1990s.

Whether you’re studying or catching up with some friends, we hope you enjoy this warm February day, Wildcats! Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.