| Harland, better known as Tots, was educated in Brooklyn schools and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1919 where he helped organize the first lacrosse team that the high school had in 1916, and was captain of the 1919 team. In 1920, Tots went on to Rutgers University and played on the varsity football team in his freshman year. His outstanding ability gave him the opportunity to reorganize lacrosse at Rutgers. It had not been played since 1883. That year he set up a team and coached it as well. He scheduled games and since that time it has been a major sport at Rutgers.
In 1921 Tots transferred to Princeton University. That year he organized, assisted in coaching and arranged a schedule of games. This was the first lacrosse team at Princeton since 1883. In 1958, "The Tots Meistrell Bowl" was awarded to the winner of the annual Rutgers-Princeton lacrosse game for the first time.
After leaving Princeton, Tots played for the Crescent Athletic Club, helped organize and coach the squadron "C" Cavalry team, and played in many club games including the Olympic trials in 1932. Tots was one of the original organizers of the Metropolitan Lacrosse Association and was its first president. He officiated for ten years, coached for eight and was an active player over a period of nineteen years. After his college life at Princeton , Tots went on to get a law degree from St. John's University in Brooklyn, New York.
Tots' main occupations were as a Real Estate Broker, and owner and director of the Great Neck Dog Training Center, a world renowned dog training school. Tots has written and published many articles and books on the subject of dog training. |
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