The Sport Psychologist.

1995, 9, 391-405
© 1995 Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.

Sport Psychology: The Griffith Era, 1920-1940

Daniel Gould and Sean Pick

University of North Carolina at Greensboro
This review examines the development of sport psychology in the years 1920 to
1940, with particular emphasis on Coleman Griffith. Griffith was the most active
person in the field in this era and was the first North American lo devote a
significant portion of his or her career to research, teaching, and service in spwrt
psychology. The approach Griffith look in conceptualizing and studying spon
psychology will also be emphasized. In essence, the most lasting legacy of Griffith
is the research to practice orientation he epitomized that provides an excellent
model for contemporary sport psychologists lo emulate.

In another article in this issue, Davis, Huss, and Becker (1995) have shown that
the work of Norman Triplett and others in the years from 1895 to 1919 is noteworthy,
because this work demonstrates that interest in sport psychology dates back to the tum of
the century in North America. Yet neither Triplett nor any of the other individuals who
examined sport psychology topics in these early years devoted a significant portion of his
or her career to working in the field. It was not until the 1920s that someone devoted a
significant portion of his career to research, teaching, and service in sport psychology. That
individual was Coleman Roberts Griffith, who has been appropriately called the father of
American sport psychology (Kroll & Lewis. 1969). Griffith is important not only because
of his historical significance but also because of his orientation lo studying the field. His
orientation, which emphasized the integration of research and practice, was an excellent
one and should be emulated by contemporary sport psychologists.
This review has three purposes. First, general developments in sport psychology
between the years of 1920 and 1940 will be examined. Second, the career of Coleman
Griffith will be discussed. Third, lessons that can be leamed from Griffith and the orientation
he took to working in the field will be identified, as well as how these lessons relate to
contemporary research and practice in sport psychology.

Developments in Sport Psychology: 1920-1940

As will be documented later in this manuscript. Coleman Griffith and his students were
the major contributors to sport psychology between the years 1920 to 1940. Apart from

Daniel Gould is with the Department of Exercise and Sp«rt Science at the University
liversit of
North Carolina at Greensboro. Greensboro. NC 27412-5001. Sean Pick was an undergraduate
student in psychology and is now an alumnus of the University.

391
392 • Gould and Pick

the work of Griffith, developments in sport psychology during this periixl were in many
ways similar to those in the early years (1895 to 1919). Isolated individuals showed interest
in the area, but few researchers developed systematic series of studies in spon psychology
or developed courses or graduate programs in the area.
For example, in 1927 Elmer Berry of Harvard University wrote The Philosophy of
Athletics, Coaching, Character, With the Psychology of Athletic Coaching, which included
an extensive section on the psychology of coaching. This work was largely social philosophi-
cal and made little reference to sport psychology as a science. In addition, no additional
books or manuscripts followed.
C. Ragsdale of the University of Wisconsin wrote The Psychology of Motor Learning
in 1930. It has also been reported that he started a motor leaming laboratory at his institution
(Vanek & Cratty. 1970). However, no record of publications or presentations coming out
of this laboratory was identified.
The only attempt apart from Griffith's work to initiate a systematic research program
in sport psychology took place at Stanford University and focused on the measurement of
the reaction lime of the football line charge (Miles, 1928; Miles & Graves, 1931). Walter
Miles was a psychologist who used a multiple chronograph to simultaneously record the
reaction of seven linemen to an auditory signal (Miles, 1928). Follow-up articles (Miles,
1931; Miles & Graves, 1931) reported a number of related experiments conducted on
Stanford football players. In general, it was found that reaction time was specific to the
skill being performed and assessments should closely approximate that skill (Miles. 1931).
Hence, a player with the slowest finger reaction time u-as not found to have the slowest
football charge reaction time. Similarly, a number of other factors (e.g., cadence of and
anticipation of signal) that influenced the football line charge were discussed. Despite this
encouraging line of initial research, however. Miles did not publish any additional sport
psychology research.
While Miles focused on what would be labeled motor control issues today. C.H.
McCloy and his physical education students at (he University of lov/a conducted a systematic
series of studies on personality in sport (Wiggins, 1984). These studies (McCloy, 1930;
O'Neal, 1936; Richardson, 1936) were all published in the Research Quarterly and ftKUsed
on whether character could be developed through sport and physical education participation.
Unfortunately, more questions were raised than ansv/ered with this research, and McCloy
did not continue with this line of investigation. Instead, he tumed his anention to ability
tests and measurement issues, becoming well known for his work in these areas of physi-
cal education.
Although the above work was noteworthy because it reflected continued interest in
psychological aspects of sport and physical education, the most important work (both in
volume and quaiity) in this era was conducted by Coleman Griffith. And it h because of
Griffith's pervasive influence that this era bears his name. The remainder of this manuscript
will focus on Griffith and his work.

Coleman Griffith: America's First Sport Psychologist

In 1970 Walter Kroll and Guy Lewis published their classic article "America's First Sport
Psychologist." which identified and discussed the seminal works of Coleman Roberts
Griffith (see Figure 1). Prior to this time the contributions of Griffith had, for the most
part, gone unnoticed, with most professionals believing that sport psychology was a totally
new field arising in the 1960s. In this section many ofthe points made by Kroll and Lewis
(1970) will be examined by discussing Griffith and the rise of sport psychology at the
 The Griffith Era • 393

Figure 1 — Photos of Coleman Griffith as (A) a baseball player al Greenville College,

(B) director of the Research in Athletics Laboratory at the University of Illinois, and (C)
:) lifelong active outdoorsman.
394 • Gould and Pick

University of Illinois. In addition, we will add to tfie knowledge base on Griffith by tracing
his academic lineage.

Griffith, Sport Psychology, and the University of Illinois

Prior lo 1925, sporl psychology was more of a hobby than a field as no one individual
committed a major portion of his or her career to the area on a full-time basis, and few
systematic lines of research were conducted. This all changed in 1925.
On September 15, 1925, the board of trustees of the University of Illinois approved
Mr. George Huffs proposal that a Research in Athletics Laboratory be established under
the directorship of a young psychologist, Coleman Griffith. Although Griffith was selecteti
to direct the laboratory, it was George Huff, the Head of the Department of Physical
Welfare, who frrst initiated the idea (Griffith, 1930). As Griffith (1930) indicated.

In the Spring of 1925. Mr. George Huff... revealed a plan which had been seething
in his mind for some time and which called for the establishment and adequatL-
endowment of a laboratory for research in athletics. Mr. Huff had in mind a laboratory
which would devote itself to problems in psychology and physiology of athletic
activity quite independently of any attempt to "create bigger and better athletit
teams." It was his idea that athletic competition fumished conditions under which
certain problems could be worked out in a way that would serve science and the
profession of coaching. It was his belief that greater skills and better mentality in
the playing of different games would satisfy the alms of the coaching profession to
better advantage than was the case where too much attention was paid to the physical
features of competition; but he appeared to be interested also in the contributions
that might be made to pure psychological and physiological science. It was his
intention that a program of considerable magnitude might be formulated and carried
out. (p. 36)

Although the Research in Athletics Laboratory was officially established in 1925.

the seeds for this first American sport psychology laboratory were sown much earlier
(Kroll & Lewis, 1970). In 1918, as a psychology graduate student, Griffith initiated a series
of informal observations into the namre of psychological factors involved in basketball
and football.
It was not until Griffith received his PhD in 1920 that he became seriously interested
in sport psychology and collected reaction time data on the fiMtball t1eld of the University
of Illinois. These, as well as other psychological observations, were later incorporated into
a special section of an introductory psychology course taught by Griffith. University athletes
would only enroll in this section of the course because Griffith taught general principles
of psychology through athletic examples and analogies. However, as time passed, the
course underwent considerable revision and was reformulated and called the Psychology
of Athletics. Griffith (1930) indicated that the second course differed from its predecessor
for the following reasons:

Instead of confining itself to the illustration of psychological facts and principles by

drawing upon athletics . . . the new course sought to make a serious psychological
analysis of all phases of athletic competition, to review the literature already available
which bore upon such problems as skill, leaming, habit, attention, vision, emotion,
and reaction time, and again, wherever possible, such new knowledge as time and
the facilities warranted, (pp. 35-36)
 The Griffith Era • 395

It was a combination of these initial efforts by Griffith that impressed George Huff and
provided a catalyst for his conception of a Research in Athletics Laboratory.
The Board of Trustees approved of the "Research in Athletics" project, and the
laboratory took shape after Mr. Huff secured financial backing for it from the athletic
association. The laboratory was housed in a new gymnasium at the university (which was
renamed the George Huff Gymnasium in 1937) and consisted of two rooms. One room
was 500 square feet and was used as an animal laboratory (where a rat colony was kept
and used for learning experiments), a physiology laboratory, and a workshop. A second
room (550 square feet) was used for conducting psychological research (Griffith, 1930).
In addition to Dr. Griffith, a technician was also employed in the laboratory lo
construct any needed apparatus (K.J. McCristal, personal communication, fall 1975). Ex-
amples of laboratory equipment developed by the technician included the following: appara-
tus for reaction time to muscular load; test of baseball ingenuity; test of muscular tension
and reali2ation: tests of four different types of serial reaction times; tests for steadiness,
muscular coordination, and leaming ability; tests for reaction time to light, sound, and
pressure; test for measuring flexibility of coordination; test for measurement of muscular
sense; and test of mental alertness (Kroll & Lewis, 1970). Griffith indicated that to the
best of his knowledge, the Illinois laboratory was the second laboratory in the world devoted
specifically to spon psychology research. The other laboratory to which Griffith referred
was one of several laboratories within the Institute of Physical Education in Leipzig and
Berlin, Germany (Griffith, 1930).
At about the same time the Research In Athletics Laboratory was being developed,
Griffith outlined what he felt were the functions of the sport psychologist. Consequently, in
1925 Griffith wrote his classic paper' 'Psychology and Its Relation to Athletic Competition"
published in the American Physical Education Review. In it Griffith proposed that the task
of the sport psychologist was threefold and included the following:

1. Teach young and inexperienced coaches what psychological principles were used
effectively by more experienced, highly successful coaches. In essence, the sport
psychologist was to observe the best coaches of the day and record the principles
that they consciously or unconsciously followed in developing an athletic team.
2. Adapt the information already gained in the field of psychology to sport. Thus,
the sport psychologist .should apply what is known in general psychology on
such topics as perception, memory, emotion, and personality to the athletic context.
3. Use the scientific method and experimental laboratory to discover new facts and
principles that would aid the practitioner in the field. By conducting both basic
and applied research, sport psychologists should systematically and carefully
identify "the principles that are used in competition, that is not of muscles only
but of alert minds as well" (Griffith, 1925. p. 55).

Utilizing his well-equipped laboratory and implementing his clearly delineated philos-
ophy of the role of the sport psychologist Griffith began the first sport psychological
research program in the United Slates. The laboratory became a center for four types of
systematic observation and research:

1. The gathering, compiling and interpreting of records from different practice fields,
the data in many ca.ses being used immediately in helping athletes to increase skill
and minimize errors.
396 • Gould and Pick

2. The observations of shifting moods and temperaments of athletes when apparatus

failed to do so. it was important that coaches understand personality traits, conse-
quently analysis of games from a psychological angle was stressed.
3. The surveying of athletic aptitude and athletic talent. A strong relationship was
found between quickness, powers of attention, alertness, reaction speed, coordination
and mental ability. Through tests of this type a start was made toward a vocational
guidance service for future coaches.
4. The solving of special psychological and physiological problems for which purpose
large sums of money were spent to the procurement of necessary equipment. (Seidler.
1948, p. 55)

Typical examples of specific research conducted were reflected in Griffith's vita and in
the University of Illinois Annual Reports of 1930 and 1931 (Huff. 1930. 1931). The
following examples of projects from the Research in Athletics Laboratory show that Griffith
and his students concentrated the bulk of their experimental research efforts on the areas of
leaming athletic skills, psychomotor skills, and personality variables (Kroll & Lewis, 1970):

• Effect of physical exercise on rate of leaming

• Effect of fear on muscular coordination of gymnasts
• Methods of acquiring basketball shooting skills
• Effects of emotions and anxiety on leaming
• Methods of teaching football
• Psychological hunches and jinxes
• Effect of will power on performance
• Sense of balance as a measure of athletic skill
• Effect of tap dancing and other forms of gymnastics instruction on basic
motor rhythms
• The psychology of pep sessions
• Sleep in athletes
• Relation between exercises, leaming, and resistance to disease

Although much of Griffith's work was experimental and although he was a strong
proponent of empirically based research, Griffith was also receptive to using other methods
of inquiry. He felt psychology was too young a science to answer all the questions asked
of it. In 1928, for instance he wrote.

There are a great many problems that cannot now even be experimented upon for
we do not know how to formulate proper methods. Many of the questions asked of
psychologists by people on the street cannot be answered because the science is still
in its youth. We have a great many opinions about some mental facts; but we are
aimost as afraid of these opinions as we are of the opinions people get from tradition
and from hearsay. (Griffith, 1928, p. ix-x).

Recognizing the limitations of experimentation, then, Griffith on many occasions took to

the field to systematically observe, interview, and film athletes. One of Griffith's most
famous interviews took place in 1924 when he interviewed future ha!l-of-fame football
player Harold "Red" Grange, clearly the best player of his time. In that year. Grange
scored four touchdown runs on four carries in the first 12 minutes of the Illinois-Michigan
game. Griffith interviewed Grange as to the conscious involvement that takes place during
 The Griffith Era • 397

broken-field running. Grange responded that he was unable to recall any details of the
touchdown runs, and Griffith took Grange's responses as partial support for the notion that
athletic responses become automated (Kroll & Lewis, 1970). In fact, the only detail Grange
could recall after one of his touchdown runs was that a Michigan player had a hole in
his sock.
Griffith did not confine his interviews only to high-caliber athletes. He also corres-
ponded with the leading coaches of the day in attempts lo gain insight into how psychological
factors are involved in motivating and training athletic teams. Perhaps Griffith's most
notable correspondence occurred with legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne
in 1925 when they discussed the most appropriate ways to motivate a team. Through a
series of correspondences with Rockne, Griffith was able to gain insight into the role of
"optimizing" motivation in athletic teams as Rockne identified the problem of having
teams overmotivated or too keyed up.
Overall. Griffith's research productivity was tremendous for his day. as he published
over 40 articles of both a basic and an applied nature (with over half of these articles
specifically dealing with spori psychology) from 1919 lo 1931. More impressive tban the
quantitative aspects of Griffith's productivity, however, were the qualitative contents of
these manuscripts. Kroll and Lewis (1970) indicaled that Griffith's articles "appeared in
Ihe most prestigious joumals in psychology and education" (p. 3). Similarly. E.G. Boring
(1950). the noted historian of psychology, designated Griffith a,s one of a select number
of psychologists having the ptMeniial to infiuence the field of psychology as a whole,
Griffith wrote a number of books on general psychology, educational psychology,
and applied psychology. However, the texts written by Griffith that are of most interest
to sport psychologists are his two classics: The P.sychology of Coaching, published in 1926.
and The P.sychology of Athletics, published in 1928. The Psychology of Athletics was more
academic and outlined how psychological facts and principles were related to the physical
and mental nature of athletic performance. In contrast. The Psychology of Coaching focused
on increasing the effectiveness of coaching methods. The following is a list of the table
of contents from Psychology of Athletics (1928):

1. The General Problem

2. Making tbe Most of Your Eyes
3. How to Hear Signals
4. Tbe Sixth Sense or the Muscular Sense
5. Attention and the Psychology of Strategy
6. Habit, Memory, Leanring and Forgetting
7. Planning the Practice Periods
8. The Psychology of the "Heady" Player
9. How to Use Feelings and Emotions
10. Personality and Will Power
11. Morale
12. Play, Work, and Fatigue
13. Athletic Ideas and Traditions: What Are They and How Are They Developed
14. The Rewards of Whole-Hearted Competition
15. The Psychology of Crowds and of Cheerleading

The following is a list of the table of contents from Psychology ofCaoching (1926):

1. Getting Reach to Coach

2. Planning the Practice Session ,
398 • Could and Pick

3. How lo Present Material Effectively

4. Planning the Season's Campaign
5. Playing the Game
6. The Jinx and How to Handle It
7. The "Yellow Streak" and How to Conquer It
8. Morale
9. Personality and Wii! Power
10. The Personal Touch in Coaching

Between the years of 1925 and 1931, sport psychology flourished al Illinois under
the direction of an outstanding psychologist and in a well-financed and well-equipped
laboratory. Yet, in 1932 the first sport psychology laboratory in the United States closed.
The athletic association, which had provided ihe strong financial base for the program, felt
the economic reality of the Great Depression and was forced to drop spons such as soccer.
Because of such economic strife, the Research in Athletics Laboratory was forced to close
as well. Consequently, in 1932 Coleman Griffith resigned his position as director of the
laboratory and focused his attention on his duties as a professor in Educational Psycholog>
(throughout the years ofthe Research in Athletics Laboratory, Griffith also held an appoint-
ment in the Educational Psychology Department) and later in 1932 became the head of
the Bureau of Institutional Research for the University. Sporl psychology had not heard
the last of Coleman Griffith, however.
Despite the abrupt ending ofthe Research in Athletics Laboratory, Griffith remained
interested in the p.sychological aspects of sport. For example, ihe Universiry of Illinois
archives contains 18 chapters of an unpublished text authored by Griffith and Robert C,
Zuppke, the head football coach at the University of Illinois. It was in 1938, however, thai
Griffith initiated one of his largest research projects in sport psychology. This was the year
he was hired by Philip Wrigley lo be the sport psychologist for the Chicago Cubs ba.seball
team. Thus, in 1938 Griffith was supplied with $1,500 of laboratory and filming equipment
to conduct tests and observations on every player on the team from spring training until
the close of the season.
Player ability, baseball skill learning, personality, leadership, and social psychological
factors influencing performance were examined in a series of extensive studies on each
player, with the results being summarized in a lengthy unpublished report. Especially
interesting were his psychological profiles of such baseball greats as "Dizzy" Dean.
According to Griffith's son, Wayland (personal communication, August 1994), Griffith\
work with the Cubs went well, as the team had a very successful .season, winning iheir
division. In fact, one pitcher. Bill Lee, was so thankful for the help Griffith provided him
on the psychology of fooling batters that at the completion of Ihe sea.son he bought Griffith
a new set of golf clubs in appreciation of his efforts. More importantly, Griffith was offered
a full-time consulting position with the Cubs.
Griffith elected not to accept the offer from the Cubs, in part because of a concem
with disrupting his son's high school education. Hence, the completion of the 1938 Cubs"
report marked the end of Coleman Robert Griffith's productive research and service effort.s
in sport psychology.

Coleman Griffith: The Psychologist

Coleman Griffith was bom May 22, 1893, in Guthrie Center, Iowa. He was not an only
child as previously reported (Kroll & Lewis, 1970). Rather, he was the first of four children.
Griffith received his AB from Greenville College in Illinois in 1915, where he met his
 The Griffith Era • 399

future wife. Mary Louise Coleman. While at Greenville, Griffith was very active in athletics,
as well as in a wide variety of extracurricular activities.' An inspection of the university
newspaper, Vista, in the years 1912-1916, for instance, showed that Griffith was the
freshman class president, president of the literary society, and a member of the male quartet.
Some of his many athletic interests and accomplishments included numerous intramural
tennis and handball championships, a member of his class baseball and basketball teams
and the organizer of numerous gymnastics events. It is not surprising, then, that after his
graduation in 1916 he accepted a faculty post at Greenville, serving as the physical director
and an instructor of education and German. He even edited a gymnasium manual for
the college.
In 1917 Griffith continued his education at the University of Illinois, receiving his
PhD in psychology in 1920. He chose as the topic of his dissertation the study of Organic
and Mental Effects of Repeated Bodily Rotation (Griffith, 1920). Most likely his interest
in this topic was influenced by the work on similar topics by his advisor, Madison Bentley,
during World War I.
In 1927 Griffith studied at the University of Berlin as one of the first recipients of
the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (KroM & Lewis, 1970). Interestingly,
while studying in Berlin, Griffith enrolled in Albert Einstein's philosophy seminar and on
at least once occasion was invited to sail with Einstein (W. Griffith, personal communication,
August 1994). Although no tangible evidence was found to support a direct link between
Griffith and the Institute of Physical Education in Leipzig and Berlin, Germany, we suspect
thai an important one existed. It is likely that such a relationship existed for three reasons.
First. Griffith's academic mentors all had connections to Wilhelm Wundt's psychology
laboratory in Leipzig. Hence, Griffith would have contacts at that University. Second,
Griffith identified his Illinois Research in Athletics Laboratory as the second of its type
in the world, referring to the institute of Physical Culture laboratory in Leipzig and Berlin
as the first. And, third, the German lab had three psychologists (R.W. Schulte, N. Sippel,
and F. Geise) who were all very active authors and researchers studying topics similar to
those pursued by Griffith (Vanek & Cratty, 1970). Although these arguments are plausible,
no research articles or correspondence could be found to support the connection between
Griffith and the Institute of Physical Education.
Griffith's academic lineage was outstanding and can be seen in Figure 2. His major
professor at Illinois was Madison Bentley who was one of the most influential experimental
psychologists of his time (Dallenbach, 1956). In tum, Bentley was mentored as an undergrad-
uate by Harry Wolfe of the University of Nebraska and received his PhD under the direction
of Edward Titchener of Cornell, the dean of experimental psychology in America (Boring,
1927). Both Wolte and Titchener received their d(x:torates in Leipzig under the direction
of Wilheim Wundt. Wundt is considered the individual most responsible for scientific
psychology and is also considered the father of experimental and physiological psychology
(Feldman. 1932). Given the lineage of such mentors, Griffith was well trained to establish
sport psychology in America.
In terms of his own mentoring of students, Griffith was described as a "prophet
without disciples" because none of his students went on to pursue careers in sport psychology
(Krol! & Lewis, 1970). This most likely resulted from the fact that no graduate degree in
physical education existed at the University of Illinois until 1942. However, Griffith
sponsored as many as eight masters thesis students through the College of Education. Three

' In 1994 Coleman Griffith was inducted intotiieGreenville College Athletic Hall of Fame
400 • Gouid and Pick

Wilhelm Wundt
University of Leipzig

Hany Wolfe Edward Titchener

PhD Uipzig (1886) PhD Leipzig (1892)
University of Nebraska Cornell University

Madison Bentley
PhDComell(l898)
University of Illinois

Coleman Griffith
PhD University of Illinois (1920)

Figure 2 — Academic heritage of Coleman Griffith.

of these individuals went on to have important influences on physical education. K.J.

McCristal went on to teach at Michigan State University and later became dean at the
University of Illinois. C O . Jackson spent his career teaching at the University of Illinois
and edited the journal The Physical Educator for 23 years. Finally, Thomas K. Cureton.
one of the leading exercise physiologists of his time, credited Griffith with sponsoring his
master's thesis before physical education was recognized as a graduate major.
In addition to his work in sport psychology. Griffith made major contributions to
other areas of psychology as well. After the Research in Athletics Laboratory closed, he
headed the Bureau of Institutional Research, which had the purpose of surveying "the
social needs of the state of Illinois and the nation iuid fill the timeiable with courses that
produce men and women fitted to fill the needs already surveyed" ("'First U.S. Sporl
Psychologist." 1991, p. 8). Duringthls time he published a number of books used throughout
the psychological and educational psychology fields: An Introduction to Applied Psychology
(1934); Introduction to Educational Psychology (1935); Psychology Applied to Teaching
and Learning (1939); and Principte.s of Systematic P.sychology (1943). Griffith held his
Bureau post until 1944 when he was named provost ofthe university. His service as provost
ended in 1953, and in 1956 he became head of the National Education Association's newly
established Office of Statistical Information, which was designed to set up programs to
collect statistical data to be used lor long range educational planning purposes. After his
retirement from Illinois in 1962, Griffith worked lor the Oregon State System of Higher
Education. Griffith died in his sleep at the age of 72 in 1966.
While Griffith had a very successful career, it was not without controversy. For
example, the circumstances surrounding tbe closing of the Research in Athletics Laboratory
are somewhat unclear. While Ihe dominant opinion is that the lab closed because of the
economic depression of the 1930s, Kroll (1971) indicated that a reliable source from the
 The Griffith Era • 401

Illinois campus in 1932 suggested that a contributing reason for the closing of the Research
in Athletics Laboratory was a loss of support from Robert Zuppke. the football coach.
According to this source, Zuppke failed to see any improvement in the play of his teams
as a result of Griffith's research efforts. This might also explain why the Griffith and
Zuppke football psychology coaching book was never completed, even though over 18
chapters had been written. It Is also of interest to note that if this account is correct,
Zuppke's criteria for evaluating the success of Griffith's research would have differed from
(hose of George Huff, who envisioned the lab and its research to contribute to a better
understanding of human behavior in sport and in general, independent of creating more
successful athletic teams.
A second controversial issue arose when Griffith served as the provost ofthe university
("First U.S. Sport Psychologist," 1991). Griffith resigned from his position in 1953 in the
aftermath of scandal in which the board of trustees fired University President George
Stoddard. Apparently Stoddard had publicly criticized a University of Illinois physiologist,
Andrew Ivy, who claimed to develop a miracle cure for cancer—a drug called Kreboizen.
Stoddard agreed witb the American Medical Association and other groups that were skeptical
nf the effectiveness of the drug and wanted the university to have nothing to do with ivy.
rhe board disagreed with Stoddard's position on this and many otber politically "hot"
issues and released him from his duties. Griffith, who was personally very close to Stoddard,
differed with the board's decision and resigned (W. Griffith personal communication,
August 1994).

The Legacy of Coleman Griffith

.Although Griffith and his work are extremely interesting from a historical perspective,
Griffith had little direct effect on the growth of research and practice in sport psychology.
During the 1920s and 1930s, sporl was not seen as a major area of importance for the
parent discipline of psychology, and physical education graduate programs were only
beginning to emerge (Kroll, 1971). In fact, the Department of Physical Welfare that
sponsored the Research in Athletics Laboratory did not even offer graduate degrees. Hence,
higher education in the 1920s and 1930s was not ready for Griffith's spon psychology.
Although the times may not bave been ready for Griffith's sport psychology in the
1920s and 1930s, it is our contention that an understanding of Griffith and his work is
very important for contemporary sport psychologists. Many of Griffith's ideas and his
general orientation are applicable to sport psychology today. Some of the more important
lessons that can be leamed from him are outlined below.

Delineation of Functions of the Field

Observational and interview studies of outstanding coaches and athletes is a growing area
of sport psychology today. Interestingly, however, almost 70 years ago Griffith (1925)
spoke of the importance of this type of research in outlining the functions of the field. In
particular, he felt sport psychologists should .systematically observe tbe best coaches of
the day and identify the principles they use, and pass what they leam onto fledgling coaches,
in addition, Griffith recommended that sport psychologists have a responsibility to apply
what bas been ieamed in the general field of psychology to sports. As Griffith pointed
out. there is much to be leamed from general psychology, and as sport psychologists we
mu.st keep abreast of developments in psychology at large. Lastly. Griffith encouraged the
use of scientifically based methods to answer problems faced by those involved in sport.
402 • Gould and Pick

Using Griffith's functions of the field, then, is an excellent and fruitful way to conceptualize
sport psychology today.

Receptivity to Multiple Ways of Studying Sport Psychology

Griffith was trained in experimental psychology and was theoretically driven and method-
ologically rigorous in his orientation. However, he did not seem to be constrained by a
sole focus on an experimentally based laboratory research. He added to his laboratory
research with field investigations and experiments and with systematic observations of and
interviews with aihletes and coaches. As previously stated, Griffith interviewed coaches
such as Knute Rockne and athletes such as Red Grange and conducted research using both
animal and human subjects. One of Griffith's most Interesting field studies involved fear
and confidence in trapeze performers where he manipulated the quality of the person doing
the "catching" on release moves. For Griffith, then, one methcxl was not enough—different
methods needed to be used in different situations and to answer different questions. More-
over, for the field to advance, multiple methods had to be employed. Today's sport
psychologist would do well to heed this advice.

Advancing Both Research and Practice

One of the most impressive characteristics of Griffith's work was the equal emphasis he
placed on conducting original research and using sport psychology knowledge to impRwe
professional practice. This equal emphasis can be seen not only in his two spon psychology
books—-one aimed at an academic understanding of the field and the other coaching
practices—but also in his record of publications. He was just as likely to publish in an
applied outlet such as the Athletic Journal or highly regarded research joumals like the
Journal of Experimental Psychology and The American Physical Education Review (the
predecessor of the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport). Moreover, unlike many of
today's researchers Griffith did not appear to view one of these types of publications as better
than the others. Rather, he viewed them as important but different types of contributions to
the field. Given the research-to-practice schism thai is often so apparent in contemporary
sport psychology today, we would all do well to adopt Griffith's orientation on this matter.

Contributions to Psychology and Sport

Griffith saw sport psychology both as a way to further knowledge of human behavior
(using sport as a laboratory for developing a better understanding of human behavior in
general) and as a means of facilitating the performance and experiences of those involved
in these activities. Sport psychology has the potential to serve these same two functions
today. That is, it can develop its own unique knowledge specific to the context of sport
while at the same time developing more general knowledge that can contribute to the
understanding of psychology at large.

Positive,, but Realistic, Expectations for the Field

Anyone who reads Griffith's work will quickly leam of his enthusiasm for sport psychology
and its potential to make athletics a better place for all involved. At the same time, however,
Griffith was very candid in his remarks about the role of sport psychology in revolutionizing
sport and coaching. For example, Griffith (1925) stated that
 The Griffith Era • 403

a great many people have the idea tbat the psychologist is a sort of magician who
is ready, for a price, to sell his services to one individual or one group. . . . It is
supposed that he is merely waiting until he can jump into an athletic field, tell tbe
old-time successful coach that he is all wrong and begin, then, to expound his own
magical and fanciful theories as to proper methods of coaching, the way to conquer
overconfidence, the best fomis of strategy and so on. This, of course, is also far
from the truth, {pp. 193-194)
The psychologist is not proposing any revolutionaiy changes in the world of athletics.
. . . All that we ask is that we be forgiven for our vague and technical vocabulary,
and that we be given a chance to work out slowly and carefully the principles that
are used in competition that is not of muscles only, but of alert minds as well. (p. 199)

Similarly, in his 1928 book Griffith stated.

But a word of caution! The importance of the relations between psychology and
athletic competition must not be over-estimated. Of late years tbe word "psychology"
has come to be a word to conjure with. The rapid development of the science and
the publicity which certain kinds of psychological work have had has done the
science no good. We should not expect too much from psychology, for it is not the
kind of patent medicine that will cure all ills, and fulfill all promises. (Griffith, 1928,
p. ix)

We would all do well to heed Griffith's remarks in the area, as it is not uncommon for
some members of our field to oversell their research and consulting services and make
unrealistic claims of their effectiveness. We must remember that while we can certainly
help athletes better achieve their goals in sport, the athlete is the one who actually performs
and delivers the goods. Sport psychologists are but one of a number of professionals such
as coaches, athletic trainers, and strength coaches who assist in this process. Moreover, as
is the case with coaches, as sport psychologists we do our best work when we facilitate
progress in athletes so that they independently monitor their own behavior and achieve
self-control. |

Focus on Performance Enhancement and Personal Growth

Although much of Griffith's research focused on facilitating tbe acquisition and performance
of athletic skills, he was equally committed to personal development through sport. For
example, in 1931 he published an article entitled "Character Through Physical Education"
in which he emphasized tbe importance tbat sport participation could play in the moral
education of children. Similarly, in 1928 Griffith wrote.

Mere exercise of the body . . . [does] not meet the call that is upon us for the
development of human personalities. To speak of "physical training" makes us
guilty of a serious understatement of the facts.. . . Physical training, organized play,
and vigorous competition concem a person, and they lead to growth in certain of
the most desirable qualities of that person. This is their justification. (Griffith, 1928
p. viii-ix)

Hence, Griffith was concemed not only with what made Dizzy Dean, Red Grange, or
404 • Gould and Pick

Knuie Rockne great but also with how sport psychology could be u.sed lo facilitate the
development of all those engaged in sporL

Recognition That Knozvledge Knows No Intemational Borders

As a Guggenheim fellow, Griffith recognized the importance of keeping abreast of sport
psychological developments in other countries. In fact, his own work was probably influ-
enced by individuals working in Germany. This is a far cry from contemporary American
sport psychology. In trips abroad, the first author has realized how little American sport
psychologists know of important developments in Europe. This lack of knowledge is easy
to understand because of the large size of our continent, because the United States has
more spon psychologists than any other country in the world, and because most of our
computerized literature searchers fail to tap the European and Austro-Asian material. The
fact still remains, however, that the development of sport psychology can be hampered by
not taking advantage of advances being made in other parts of the world. Coleman Griffith
was certainly not hampered by such geographic or national boundaries.

Conclusion
Bronowski (1973) has shown that many of the world's great scientists were not recognized
as such until long after their work had been completed. Given the infancy of sport psychology
at the time Griffith worked, his specific research findings had little, if any, long-lasting
effect on the field. However, his orientation and approach to sport psychology was years
ahead of his time. For this reason, we implore contemporary sport psychologists to not
only appreciate and applaud Griffith for his initial efforts in our field, but lo leam from
his legacy and adopt many of the elements he used to approach research, teaching, and
consulting in sport psychology.

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Acknowledgments
The authors wouid like to thank David Wiggins, Eileen Udry, Robin Vealey, and Maureen
Weiss for their helpful comments on drafts of this manuscript. A special thanks is also given
to Dr. Wayland Griffith, a distinguished scholar in his own right, for allowing the Urst author
to interview him relative to his father's career as a sport psychologist and personal demeanor.
Finally, the contributions of Jack Trager, Athletic Director, and Jane Hopkins, Director of the
Library, at Greenville College in providing information on Griffith's undergraduate education
and teaching position arc most appreciated, as are the efforts of Maynard Brichlord. Director
of the University of Illinois Archives, for his efforts in assisting the authors in obtaining
information on Griffith's career at Illinois.