Abercrombie, Ronald T.

Johns Hopkins University
1958

Dr. Ronald Abercrombie was educated in the public schools of Baltimore. He received his B.A. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1901 and his M.D. degree in 1905. He entered Hopkins in the fall of 1897 after graduating from Baltimore City College. As a freshman in 1898, he played on the second Johns Hopkins championship lacrosse team, and he served as captain of the Hopkins' championship teams in 1899 and 1900. He also played on the 1902 championship team coached by the late William Schmeisser. He was known throughout and after his playing career as one of the greatest centers of all time, and was especially noted for his face-off ability. It has been said that he never lost a draw in his playing career.

Dr. Abercrombie also coached some of Hopkins' teams in the early 1900s. He organized the first Mt. Washington Lacrosse Team in 1904. He introduced Father Bill Schmeisser to take over active work in lacrosse. He wrote the first illustrated article on how to play lacrosse, published in 1904 by the B. Appleton & Company. He edited the late Wiliam Schmeisser's book on how to play lacrosse. Dr. Abercrombie was instrumental in introducing lacrosse at the Naval Academy.

He introduced the lacrosse net and also the shorter handled sticks used by attackmen in 1898. This was indeed a great milestone in the game of lacrosse. He was the first chairman of the National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association for six years, and served as its president in 1900 and 1901. He was responsible for the revision of the rules published in 1901. Dr. Abercrombie officiated many games before the officials of the association were organized, and he acted as a voluntary coach at both Mt. Washington and Hopkins over a period of years.

Dr. Abercrombie's records in medicine in the different hospitals in Baltimore, both as a teacher and as a physician, are legendary. His accomplishments on and off the field of lacrosse are perhaps even greater, making him a worthy inductee into the National Hall of Fame.

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