The Boston Athletic Association

The Boston(ˈbôstən) Athletic(ˌaTH(ə)ˈledik) Association(-SHē-,əˌsōsēˈāSHən)

ABOUT US

Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the Boston Athletic Association was established(əˈstabliSHt) on March(märCH) 15, 1887 under its first president, Robert F. Clark(klärk), and with the support of leading(ˈlediNG,ˈlēdiNG) sports enthusiasts(enˈTHo͞ozēˌast), entrepreneurs and politicians(ˌpäləˈtiSHən) of the day. According to Article II of the B.A.A.’s 1890 Yearbook Constitution(ˌkänstəˈt(y)o͞oSHən), their objective was to encourage all manly(ˈmanlē) sports and promote(prəˈmōt) physical(ˈfizikəl) culture.

“There is no more important part of our mission than that. It’s to help people be as fit and as healthy as they want to be.” - Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Chief(CHēf) Executive(iɡˈzekyədiv) Officer

In 1888, the B.A.A. completed(kəmˈplēt) its magnificent(magˈnifəsənt) clubhouse in Boston’s Back Bay(bā) on the corner of Exeter(ˈegzitər,ˈegzətər,ˈeksitər,ˈeksətər) Street and Blagden Street, on the present-day site of the new Boston Public Library. In addition(əˈdiSHən) to such facilities(fəˈsilədē) as a gymnasium(jimˈnāzēəm), bowling(ˈbōliNG) alley(ˈalē), billiard(ˈbilyərd) hall(hôl), Turkish(ˈtərkiSH) baths(baTH) and tennis(ˈtenəs) courts(kôrt), the Association also owned a shooting range and a country club. Active sports of the day included boxing, fencing(ˈfensiNG), water polo(ˈpōlō), and athletics.

The club held its first organized track and field competition(ˌkämpəˈtiSHən) in 1890. The Association chose a mythical(ˈmiTHək(ə)l) unicorn(ˈyo͞onəˌkôrn) as its symbol(ˈsimbəl), which remains on the Boston Marathon(ˈmarəˌTHän) medals(ˈmedl) to this day.

Ten years after it was established, the B.A.A. held the 24.5-mile B.A.A. Road Race to conclude the B.A.A. Games, a springtime athletic competition. The Boston Marathon, as the race(rās) would later become known, was held on April(ˈāprəl) 19, 1897 with a starting field of 15 runners. Ten participants(pärˈtisəpənt) finished the inaugural(inˈôg(y)ərəl) run, which began in Ashland(ˈaSHlənd), Mass., and the race to Boston has been held in every subsequent year. In addition to its indisputable(indisˈpyo͞otəbəl) position as the world’s oldest annual(ˈanyo͞oəl) marathon, “Boston” is widely(ˈwīdlē) regarded(rəˈɡärd) as one of the world’s most prestigious(preˈstējəs, preˈstijəs) road races. The Boston Marathon is held on Patriots(ˈpātrēət)’ Day (third Monday in April). The centennial(senˈtenēəl) Boston Marathon was on April 15, 1996 and drew one of the world’s largest field of finishers (35,868).

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https://www.baa.org/about/about-us