Marsh, Allison Wilson.

Allison W. "Eli" Marsh, professor of Physical Education at Amherst College from 1917 to 1958, was born in Quincy, Massachusetts on July 28, 1892. At Amherst he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a Master's degree at Harvard University. After teaching at Ohio Wesleyan University and Ohio State University, he joined the Amherst faculty in 1917. During that time he was chairman of Department of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics from 1950 to 1958 and was one of two men to serve twice as president of the College Physical Education Association. In 1924 he married Margaret Alexander.

Known to his students as "Eli," Professor Marsh was one of the chief architects of the physical education program at Amherst. He was consistently opposed to professionalism in college athletics and became a respected spokesman on the subject nationally.

Professor Marsh introduced soccer to Amherst College in 1920 and was its head coach until his retirement, compiling a 38-year record of 147 won, 62 lost, and 15 Little Three championships.

In retirement, Professor Marsh devoted much of his time to painting and held many one-man exhibitions in Amherst and Wellfleet, his summer home on Cape Cod. On his retirement, Amherst conferred on him the honorary L.H.D. degree in 1963, as did Washington and Jefferson College in 1971.

Allison "Eli" Marsh died April 3, 1976 in Northampton.

From the guide to the Allison "Eli" Marsh (AC 1913) Papers, 1915-1979, (Amherst College Archives and Special Collections)