Geneva College is proud to currently offer nine women’s sports programs, but can you imagine a time before women’s sports came to Geneva?
In 1916, Edna George, the College’s librarian, was given the responsibility for women’s athletics. She became known as “the founding mother of Geneva College women’s athletics” for her integral role in creating an outstanding intramural sports program for women that sparked investment and growth in women’s sports at Geneva.
Edna was born in MacDonald, Pa., on Jan. 4, 1889, as the youngest of six siblings, four of whom were older brothers. She always accredited her love of sports to her brothers. At an early age, they taught her how to kick a football and she became adept in the art of self-defense because of their mischief.
In the 1952 issue of The Cabinet, Edna told a story about a time she went shopping for shoes with her mother when she was five or six years old. Her mother picked out a pair of patent leather shoes for her, and young Edna said, “Well they are pretty, but I can’t kick a football in them,” making the store clerk laugh at her enthusiasm for sports as such a young girl.
At the age of seven, Edna’s family moved into Fern Cliffe where she had memories of learning how to play basketball in the stable and hayloft that were behind the house. She spent her childhood on Geneva’s campus where her love of sports grew. In 1905, Edna won the Mixed Doubles Tennis Tournament in New Brighton and the Women’s Tennis Tournament at Point Chautauqua. She also became a member of the Geneva women’s basketball team from 1906 to 1909, being named captain of the team in 1908 and 1909.
In 1916, she became the physical education director and an assistant librarian at Geneva, as well as a coach for Geneva’s women’s basketball team from 1916 to 1926. Edna additionally refereed many high school games in the Beaver Valley. Her love of sports, especially basketball, was also evident by the way she would sit as close as she possibly could to the radio to listen to every game. The 1952 issue of The Cabinet explains her passion for sports saying, “If enthusiasm on the part of the spectators and listeners were the most important factor in winning a game, we would win every one.”
One of Edna’s most notable achievements during her time at Geneva was the intramural leagues she started for women. Edna wanted to make sure every woman on campus had the same opportunity as a man to get involved and fall in love with sports. The intramural sports offered in the fall consisted of tennis, archery, hockey, and horseback riding. In the winter, there was basketball, volleyball, skating, ping pong, badminton, deck tennis, and shuffleboard.
In 1932, Edna was forced to retire from the sports world due to severe arthritis. She continued to work as an assistant librarian and resident dean of McKee Hall, using two crutches to get around. In 1955, she moved to the Reformed Presbyterian Home in Pittsburgh where she lived until she passed away on Feb. 17, 1958, at the age of 69.
Edna George made a lasting impact on women’s sports at Geneva. By starting intramural sports leagues for women, she set a precedent that women at Geneva will always have an opportunity to play the sports they love at the collegiate level. To honor her legacy, she was inducted into the Geneva College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.
-Lexi Meese '21, MBA '22
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