Clark Hetherington Biography

Dr. Clark Hetherington was born in Piqua, Ohio on January 2nd in 1879 and died in 1916. He was the son of William and Lida E. (Wells) Hetherington. He began his education at Stanford University and received his BA of Education in1895. He later received his MD from Chicago Homeopathic Medical College 1901.
In his early years, he was a pioneering, stunt-performing, physically dynamic individual. Being the son of a construction engineer, his family moved several times. His innovative spirit was nurtured when they traveled to California. He was exposed to different privations of the frontier such as mines, mule trains and saloons, as well as “rough and tumble” men (Ennis 1). As a young boy, he was afflicted by several illnesses, but became exceedingly

fond of athletic and gymnastic stunts. He was the first of his peers to ride a bike. He and a friend also developed a gymnasium in which they performed acrobatic feats. In his later years, he became less active and more ascetic because he was periodically ill throughout his adult life. Lacking in his active lifestyle, but retaining his inventive spirit, he continued to challenge his colleagues to excellence and research more about physical education.
Dr. Clark Hetherington’s career extended over 40 years. Throughout that time, physical education endured philosophical and educational changes. His first studies on play transpired at a reform school where he organized the play of inmates, the first time such a thing had occurred. He concluded that 80% of the inmates were there because of “the neglect of their play impulses (The Play and Playground Encyclopedia 1). This meaning, if the boys had a suitable time to play and release their energy and emotions properly, they would not be at the reformatory (surplus energy and Catharsis theories).
Recreation as a social institution is defined as nonprofit, public, commercial recreation service providers.

This has been influenced by Hetherington’s work concerning athletes. During his vocation at the University of Missouri, he served as a Professor of Physical Education. He also organized an athletic department and became the first athletic director of MU (The Play and Playground Encyclopedia 2). Clark then required all athletes to maintain scholastic ability and remain unpaid amateurs while in school. The following year, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) was formed and Dr. Hetherington was one of the executive members. Clark was capable of developing physical education as a school requirement in secondary and postsecondary education, as well as establish undergraduate and graduate professional preparation programs in colleges and universities. Later in 1906, Hetherington helped serve on the Board of Directors for the Playground Association of America. In 1908, he organized a statewide network of rural playgrounds with the goal of having “organized play on every town and rural school in the state of Columbia” (Bandy 1).
Before Clark Hetherington’s involvement in the playground movement, physical education was not accepted as important. There were no departments, majors, jobs or requirements in school for physical education. There was thought to be no educational benefit from physical education and that the acts were unnatural. Parks were a dream and Hetherington’s

research was often not accepted.
Clark Hetherington was the inspiration to a Boxing Gym in Columbia called Mizzou. Mizzou’s first athletics director and professor of physical education was Dr. Hetherington. He viewed play as a critical ingredient to a quality education as well as personal development, health and success (Ennis 2). He worked tirelessly to bring playgrounds and parks to the broader public while also advocating for safer training methods and stricter academic standards for athletes. Clark’s Boxing Gym is a celebration of his tireless efforts to make excellence in recreation a campus tradition (Ennis 3).
Dr. Hetherington did not leave his own books of his research for future generations, yet he founded The American Academy of Physical Education and assisted in forming the Athletic Research Society. He also founded the Boy Scouts of America and the National Amateur Athletic Federation while being involved with the Council of the American Physical Education Association (The Play and Playground Encyclopedia 3). These organizations have led to the beginnings of other organizations centered on physical education and opened man’s view on how important physical education is on life.
Hetherington believed that “Play is the central element in the scheme of human nature that makes volition possible...

Without play man is inconceivable; play makes volition and rational living possible. There is no meaning to the phrase 'mere play,' for play is the most important activity in life” (Bandy 2). Because of his love of being active as a child, it grew into his profession and his life-long passion. Clark and his colleagues rejected the formalized systems of gymnastics for “natural” activities and argued for the educational significance of play and physical education. Believing that “the position of playground supervisor may be no less important than that of the superintendent of schools and that a playground system needs to be run with definite objectives just as a school system” (The Play and Playground Encyclopedia 4), Dr. Hetherington led a committee in defining and setting standards for the different types of playgrounds, the hierarchy of play leaders, the qualifications of playground leadership, and the organization and content of adequate training courses for play professionals (Bandy 3). Hetherington established the Demonstration Play School on the University of California, Berkeley campus. He established Summer Play School which was a balanced blend of physical, moral, and cultural education based around the basic types of child development activities. This has now transformed into Summer School and Saturday Academy. Summer School is simply academics

while Saturday Academy involves types of recreation and play.
Dr. Hetherington believed that, “Play is Nature's method of education – it is identical with the child's spontaneous living” (Bandy 4). Thanks to his contributions, we have playgrounds in every town, have organized athletics departments, are capable to major in different types of recreational programs, and are able to find jobs in fields of physical education. Education has become a major role in schools and communities, parks are now governmentally funded and viewed as a necessity for communities, and children are able to participate in programs such as the Boy Scouts of America. Dr. Hetherington is the reason we have gyms, recreational parks and arcades, family fun centers (i.e. Frankie’s Fun Park and Chuckie Cheeses). He provided us with the blueprints to transform our lives and communities into a place that values the benefits of play. Without his extensive research and effort, I would not be equipped to pursue a career in Human Performance and Recreation.