Ralph Jones: Coach on All Fields and Courts

Ralph Jones was a legendary coach at the professional and major college levels before coming to Lake Forest College in 1933, when he became Athletic Director and head coach for football, basketball an...

Bearing Down on Lake Forest - The Chicago Bears Come To Town

After six straight losing seasons, new Chicago Bears manager Jim Finks was looking to change the culture of the franchise – and that included finding an alternative to dilapidated practice facilities...

Winter Club: Recreation for All Seasons

Frederick C. Aldrich is credited with first suggesting the formation of a winter sports club located somewhere near the center of Lake Forest in 1900. The Winter Club was organized two years later.

Kelly Klub: Fun and Games on the Bluff

In the 1890s a group of young men who summered in Lake Bluff during the Camp Meetings formed the Kelly Klub. Their group played an important role in the social life of Lake Bluff’s summer residents an...

Onwentsia Hunt and Mill Creek Hunt Club: Hounds, Horses and Heavenly Hunting

English style fox hunting in Lake Forest started as The Hunt at Onwentsia in 1897. It began as a "paper chase" and was turned into a "drag" hunt around 1904, when it became a dressier and more officia...

Chicago Cardinals: Pro Football on LFC Campus

This National Football League charter franchise, which subsequently moved and played in St. Louis before relocating again as the Arizona Cardinals, trained on the Lake Forest College campus. As the Ch...

Bath and Tennis Club: Entertaining is Simply a Family Affair

In 1960, Ronald Boardman, a partner of E. F. Hutton, organized investors to purchase 62 acres in Lake Bluff, east of Green Bay Road and south of Route 176. Much of the property was part of the former...

Lake Forest Hosts Midwest's First Women's Basketball Game: The Most Exciting Scoreless Hoops Match in History?

In February of 1896 – just five years after Dr. James Naismith invented the sport – excitement was mounting in Lake Forest for Ferry Hall versus Mitchell Hall (Lake Forest University’s female dormitor...

Lake Forest Hosts the World Series - Of Polo

In August, 1933, the Onwentsia Club hosted an event that pitted the best polo players of the eastern and western United States against each other in a best-of-three series. Dubbed “the World Seri...