Alan N. Dennison to William Dulles Jr.

Smith's European Hotel.

Columbus, Ohio., March, 25, 1901.

William Dulles., Jr. #135 Broadway. New York City.

My dear Dulles:--

Your letter of Feb. 21st., was delayed in reaching me, but I hope that what information I can give you, will not be too late.

I have no pictures whatever such as you suggest and I am sorry to say that I cant recall very many of the athletic men. But I will try to brush up my memory and tell you of as many, as I can.

I think that the honors athleticly lay between Funkhouser and the man who gradauted first in our class, whose name I cannot remember, but you will know him as having got the Mental Science Fellowship; he afterwards studied law in Baltimore and was, as you probably will recall, the Author of some Legal Works. He held some record on the track and also was one of our good early Foot-ball Players.

Funkhouser I still consider one of the best all around baseball men, that Princeton ever produced. He was our best pitcher, one of our best catchers, and the best first baseman and outfielder that I saw during my three years in Princeton. He played professional ball with a St. Louis team, as an outfielder, immediately after leaving college, and is now a doctor I beleive.

Funkhouser was known also as one of the best built men, and one of the best men in the gymnasium in our time.

Another man who should have made his mark, was Hunt- he played second base under me- in the Varsity Team. I beleive that had he had the modern training, he would have been the speediest hundred yard runner

#2. of his time. He was timed on our old track in competition nine and three quarter seconds, hundred yards, but the record was dis-allowed because the claim was made that the last forty yards had a fall, - this I believe to be untrue because the track was made under the supervision of the then Prof. of Civil Engineering, I myself superintending. I have always thought that Hunt should have been given the first credit of beating the ten second record.

Another man you may have not thought of -Noble. I cant give you any data about him, except that he suprised us all by winning the sevenmile walk at Saratoga against a number of competitors, beating the Harvard crack who was then supposedto be invincible.

The only other men that I can recall after this long interval of time with the exception of Karge, are men who spent their time in the gymnasium - these Haines - "Tam" Johnson - and Alex Brown. Haines, if you remember had a superabundance of shell muscle and was especially good on the rings. As for Karge, as you know he was our first basemen on the Varsity Team, but he never distinguished himself in track work because he was just too lazy to do anything.

I just happen to remember of Stevenson, who I presume was the most powerful man in the class, and if you remember he was stroke-oar in the crew in our Senior Year. He also was on the first foot-ball team that Princeton sent out under what were then the New Rules.

As for myself I did nothing special, except one year I got the record for the standing high and standing broad jumps. I was also President of the Base-ball Association in my Senior Year. I beleive I did win some college championship or other, in boxing.

I am very sorry that I can not give you any further details, I suppose I could do so if I had a catalogue of the men, but after a lapse of twenty three years, and having been so far removed from my class mates, it is a difficult matter to remember even my friends.

#3. If I should happen to think of any others I will send their names to you and whatever data I may recall.

As to the fourth proposition in Mr. Moffatt's letter I dont see that there is anything that the class of '78 can want "emphasized," because we were, to tell the truth, exceptionally weak in athletic sports.

I dont know when I will see my old friends again, my dear Dulles, but I do certainly hope that I will meet as many of them as possible on our twenty-fifth anniversary. If you should happen to see any of my friends in the class, I wish you would give them my kindest regards, and tell them all to be at Princeton in 1903.

Most sincerely yours. Alan N. Dennison (M.D.)