Becoming A Real College: 1910-1929

The college’s library was in Old Main in 1910. Library volumes increased from 1,200 to 7,000 during the tenure of President Lawrence J. Corbly, 1896-1915.
The first building to be constructed as a separate unit from Old Main complex was Northcott Hall, the original science building. Classes first started meeting there in 1916. Northcott Hall was torn down in 1996 for the construction of the John Deaver Drinko Library.
The Pre-Medic Department of Marshall College was organized in September 1920 and Professor W.I. Utterback was appointed director. Utterback is at the far right, front, in this picture from the 1924 yearbook. According to the accompanying caption, “Many have been graduated from our two-year course and are doing well in such leading medical colleges as Jefferson, Richmond, Louisville, Cincinnati, and our State University.”
By 1921, a third building was constructed on campus. The Physical Education Building was built for just that – physical education. Above is the building from the outside. It had become dilapidated in the 1980’s and was demolished.
The 1919 football team was described in the school yearbook as the most successful in the history of the school. Although an earlier team had gone undefeated, the 1919 team won all of its games and played more challenging competition. According to the 1921, Mirabilia, the 1919 team scored 302 points to the opponents’ 13. Falling victim to Marshall were Morris Harvey (University of Charleston), Transylvania of Lexington, Broaddus College, Greenbrier Military School (twice), Muskingum, Davis and Elkins, and Kentucky Wesleyan.
The intrastate battle with WVU in November 1915 drew hundreds of fans from all across central Appalachia. This is a photograph of the crowd that saw Marshall gridiron history made with the famous “tower pass.”
Marshall beat Fairmont State Teachers College 27-0 in October 1928 on the dedication day of Fairfield Stadium. The stadium then seated 12,000 and the college shared it with Huntington High School and later Huntington East High School. At the time of the dedication, the stadium was described as one of the most modern constructions of its kind.
In the center of campus was a baseball field in the early part of the 20th Century. In this 1929 photograph you can see the fans gathering around the diamond. A student activity green still exists there. You can see the James Morrow Library in the left background which is much larger now. The Science Building was constructed later to the right.
The campus in 1925 consisted of Old Main, Northcott Hall and the Physical Education Building. The campus has since expanded in all directions.