Lysle K. Butler Papers, 1920s-1987
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Lysle Kendall Butler was born on August 27, 1903, in West Carrollton, Ohio, the son of Charles W. and Josephine Hunt Butler. During his high school years at Steele High School in Dayton, Ohio, he starred in both basketball and football. In 1921, he entered Oberlin College, again distinguishing himself as an athlete. After winning three letters each in basketball and football, he joined the tennis team during his senior year and earned a seventh letter. He was selected for the All-Ohio football teams in both 1923 and 1924.
After graduation from Oberlin College (A.B. 1925), he coached baseball, football, and track at Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, before becoming head of physical education at Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio. In 1928, he received an A.M. degree from Columbia University, and in 1930 joined the Oberlin College faculty as football coach and Assistant Professor of Physical Education. He coached football for 28 years, basketball for 11, and tennis for 20. His tennis teams were undefeated in 44 consecutive matches. Mr. Butler earned his Ph.D. at the Ohio State University in 1947 and was promoted to full professor at Oberlin College the following year (1948). From 1955-70, he was Athletic Director at the college. During his tenure in this position, he helped to found the National Association of College Directors of Athletics. In 1972, he was named to the Helms Athletic Directors’ Hall of Fame.
Through his career, whether at Oberlin College, at the Ohio Athletic Conference, where he served as president, or at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Lysle Butler insisted that athletics must serve an educational, not promotional, purpose. “The player must not be sacrificed for the championship. His education and his development are the reasons for athletics in educational institutions.” Specifically, he promoted abolishing athletic scholarships and all special privileges for athletes and having all athletic programs financed by college funds. He also favored having coaches teach physical education courses and prohibiting them from recruiting off-campus. He urged that Oberlin enter athletic competitions only at institutions with similar objectives. He explained these convictions in his many published articles, including the undated “Athletic Directors—Planners or Scramblers” and “The Administration of College Athletics.”
In the early 1970s, he warned that college football was in danger of becoming a victim of its own success and advocated development of leisure time physical activities, an unpopular idea at the time. However, he persuaded the Trustees of Oberlin College of his position and was responsible for much of the planning of the Philips Physical Education Center, which has been popular since it opened in 1970.
Mr. Butler was active in the politics of the City of Oberlin, serving two terms on the city council. He was a member of the Allen Memorial Hospital construction board and a trustee of the Lorain County T.B. and Health Association. In 1973, he received the “Senior Citizen Award” from the Oberlin Health Commission.
On December 29, 1928, Mr. Butler married Alice Dorothy Morgan (enr. Cons. 1923-26.) The couple had two daughters: Nancy (b. 1933; A.B. 1956) and Jane (b. 1936).
Lysle Kendall Butler died in Elyria, Ohio, on July 6, 1973
SOURCES CONSULTED
Losses in the Oberlin Family.” Oberlin Alumni Magazine (September/October 1973): 65.
Lysle Kendall Butler. Oberlin College Faculty Memorial Minute.
“Lysle K. Butler Dies At Age 69.” Oberlin News-Tribune (July 12, 1973): 6.
Author: Elizabeth Brinkman Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationAlumni Records, Presidents, Faculty, Staff, and Trustees (RG 28/3): Lysle K. Butler file.
Physical Education Records, RG 9/6.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
The Lysle K. Butler Papers are arranged into the following six series:
Series 1. Biographical Files, 1950, 1955, 1957-74, 1987, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)
Materials include awards and honors, clippings, biographical information, and a tribute to Lysle K. Butler, 1957-58.
Series 2. Instructional Materials and Student Notes, 1950, 1952-69, n.d. (0.6 l.f.)
This series holds the largest segment of the papers. Two folders are restricted. These cover exams and papers for a community health course, and exams for other Physical Education courses.
Series 3. Physical Education Department Files, 1925-78, n.d. (0.25 l.f.)
Includes two folders on the Philips Gymnasium, 1970-71.
Series 4. Talks, 1934, 1951 (0.01 l.f.)
Comprises two talks: “Football,” 1934, and “Rounding out the Program of Physical Education for College Men Students,” 1951.
Series 5. Writings, 1932, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1951-52, 1959, 1964, 1967, 1969-70, n.d. (0.10 l.f.)
Contains published and unpublished writings by Lysle Butler, and writings by others.
Series 6. Photographs, 1920s-50s (0.04 l.f.)
INVENTORY
Series 1. Biographical files, 1950, 1955, 1957–74, 1987, n.d.
Box 1
Awards and Honors, 1970, 1973-74, 1987
Biographical, 1950, 1955, 1987, n.d.
Clippings, re: Lysle Butler, c. 1958-73
Tribute to Butler, 1957–58
Series 2. Instructional Materials and Student Notes, 1950, 1952–69, n.d.
Box 2
Community Health: course material, exams, papers, 1952-63, 1967, n.d. (5f)
restricted access
Community Zoning, 1961–67
Disease, 1968, n.d.
Exams, 1955-68, n.d. (2f) restricted access
Health Education: pamphlets, resources, course material, 1950, 1953–55,
1962–68, n.d. (4f)
Box 3
Personal and Community Health, 1952-69, n.d. (2f)
Personal Health and Hygiene, 1953, 1955, 1959
Personal Health: student notes, 1966-67
Principles of Administration of Physical Education, n.d.
Sex Education, n.d.
Series 3. Physical Education Department Files, 1925–78, n.d.
Box 4
Athletic Policy, Oberlin Statements concerning, 1925-72 (3f)
Correspondence, 1961, 1970, 1978
Dean’s Conference, 1967
Library Acquisitions, n.d.
OAC Championships: Oberlin’s Position, 1934-73
President’s Athletic Conference, GLCA Conference, 1961-70
Philips Gymnasium, 1970-71, n.d. (2f)
Staff Reorganization, 1969
Statistical Records on Physical Education Enrollment at Oberlin College, 1960-67
Series 4. Talks, 1934, 1951
Box 4 (cont.)
“Football,” 1934
“Rounding Out the Program of Physical Education for College Men Students,”
1951
Series 5. Writings, 1932, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1951–52 1959, 1964, 1967, 1969–70, n.d.
Box 4 (cont.)
Published writings by Lysle K. Butler
“After One Hundred Years of American Football—Nothing But Problems,”
Summer 1970
“The Measurement of Certain Outcomes of Physical Education for College
Men,” 1949
“Oberlin Provides Athletic Experience for All Men,” c. 1967
“‘Overemphasis’ at Oberlin,” January 1932
Report from the Athletic Directors National Conference, October 1959
“Why Oberlin Opposes Football Playoffs in Ohio Conference,” February
1969
Unpublished writings by Lysle K. Butler
“Aims, Activities, and Their Time Allotment,” n.d.
“To Crystallize or Innovate?” (two copies), c. 1945
“Football Coaches and the Substitution Rule,” n.d.
“Football Injuries” (two copies), n.d.
“Oberlin’s Athletic Program,” 1964
“Required or Elective Physical Education?,” n.d.
“A Short Paper Prepared on the Negative Side of the Question
‘Resolved that Physical Education Should Be Made an Elective
Subject with Credit Granted for it on the Same Basis as for Other
Subjects in the Curriculum,’" n.d.
“Why Football?,” n.d.
Writings by Other Authors, 1941, 1951-52
Series 6. Photographs, 1920s–1950s, n.d.
Box 4 (cont.)
Photographs, 1920s-50s, n.d.