30. Boys Varsity Tennis Jacket 1972

This varsity tennis jacket was given to Co-Captain Nancy Neff ’72, the first girl to play on a boys’ athletic team at Dalton in the 1970’s.

As the first girl to play on a boys’ athletic team at Dalton (and in our league), this varsity jacket was given to me at the Father-Son Sports Dinner after three years of play when I was co-captain. I was happy to receive it, although I have never actually worn it, as it is much too big!

Dalton’s encouragement of a girl on a boys’ team was highly unusual at that time, two years prior to the passage of Title IX, which prohibited discrimination against women in athletics. The idea that a woman should be able to pursue her interests is indicative of the progressive thinking that has always been at the core of Dalton’s educational philosophy.

I was impressed by the widespread support I received at school. In my first match, when the rival coach threatened to pull his team from the courts rather than play a team with a female player, the Dalton coach refused and responded that the rival school’s action would be a default. The other coach conceded, I played and we won.

When the year-end Father–Son Sports Dinner was held, the question arose as to whether I should be invited. Unbeknownst to me, the other team members lobbied on my behalf. I attended the dinner with my father and 150 male athletes. I cannot imagine a more supportive Dalton community which made, what could have been an uncomfortable experience, a memorable one that I remember each time I look at my varsity jacket.
—Nancy Fuld  Neff ’72