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Carolina Story: Virtual Museum of University History

Athletic Reform

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In 1934, Graham took on athletic reform. He had been an active athlete as an undergraduate. His brother Archibald "Moonlight" Graham played professional baseball with the New York Giants for one inning in 1905, a moment which was dramatized in the film Field of Dreams. Because Graham believed strongly in college athletics as an amateur activity, he wanted to end payments to recruits, put sports under the control of academics, and forbid post-season games. College presidents across the nation endorsed Graham's proposals, but after months of divisive argument, his plan failed.