Mitchell also coached at Union High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, received a Medal of Honor from Czechoslovakia for his work in the field of intramural athletics.,[2] and was elected into the National Academy of Kinesiology (née American Academy of Physical Education) in 1930 as Fellow #26.[3]
Early years
Mitchell attended the University of Michigan, where he played on the varsity baseball team for three years, under head coach and eventual Baseball Hall of Fame member Branch Rickey. He usually played center field, or occasionally first base, and he was the team captain in 1912, his senior year.[4]
Immediately after graduating from Michigan, Mitchell managed the Negaunee baseball team, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, for a summer. In the fall of 1912, he was hired as a teacher and coach at Union High School, where "[h]e developed state title contenders in baseball, football, and basketball".[4] In the 1914–15 season, his last at the high school, the basketball team posted a 14–1 record.[4]
Coaching career
Michigan State Normal
In 1915, Mitchell was hired as an assistant professor of physical education at Michigan State Normal College (MSNC)—now known as Eastern Michigan University—in Ypsilanti, Michigan. While at MSNC, Mitchell taught physical education courses geared toward the school's future teachers, covering such topics as playground direction and athletic coaching, and he co-wrote a book about basketball.[4] He was also a successful coach in basketball, football, and baseball.[4]
Mitchell was the head football coach for the "Michigan State Normalites" for the 1915 and 1916 seasons, compiling a record of 5–4–2.[5]
As a result of public and alumni demand for a basketball team, the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, fielded a team of members of the then-current student body and achieved a 1–4 record for the 1908–09 season. However, after three years of demanding a basketball program the student body did not attend the games and the program was terminated due to low attendance.[8] Basketball returned in 1917 in what was considered the inaugural season of varsity basketball, and Mitchell was hired to coach the team. The team finished 6–12 overall (0–10, Western Conference). The following year Mitchell led the team to a 16–8 (5–5) record.[8] While at Michigan, Mitchell also coached the freshman football and baseball teams.[9]
Intramural sports
Mitchell is credited with instituting intramural athletics at the University of Michigan,[8] and he was named the school's first Director of Intramural Athletics in 1919.[9] Mitchell is considered the father of intramural sports and taught a class in intramural sports taken by William Wasson, founder of the National Intramural Association (NIA), the forerunner to the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA).[10]
Mitchell later wrote Intramural Athletics (ED Mitchell - AS Barnes, 1928) and Intramural Sports,[11] and co-authored Intramural Sports with Pat Mueller.[12]
^Cardinal, Bradley J. (2022). "The National Academy of Kinesiology: Its founding, focus, and future". Kinesiology Review. 11 (1): 6–25. doi:10.1123/kr.2021-0064.
^ abcdeThe Michigan Alumnus, vol. 23, Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, 1917, p. 418, retrieved January 18, 2011
