Who's No. 1?

TigerBlog was an American History major while in college in West Philadelphia.

He's pretty sure that everyone else in his class who had the same major is a lawyer now. How many of them besides TB have a job with the word "Historian" in the title? 

One thing that is fascinating to TB is that so much of what is taught in history classes these days hadn't even happened yet when he was in school. It's like turning on the oldies station on the radio and hearing songs from when he was in high school or college. 

What does that say about him? 

History, of course, has always fascinated TB. That's why he majored in it. These days, his primary focus is Princeton Athletic history, which all by itself includes history, philosophy, drama, sociology, literature, art and pretty much any other humanity and social science. Maybe he should see about teaching such a class here? 

It can be a lot of fun to be the Department of Athletics' historian.

Take yesterday, for instance. TB received an email from Jerry Carino, one of the top sportswriters in the state of New Jersey. He's working on a project for the Gannett papers (Bergen Record, Asbury Park Press, among others) to name the top 50 collegiate women athletes in New Jersey history. 

He asked TB if he could recommend some Princeton women for the list. Has anything ever been more in TB's wheelhouse than that? 

TigerBlog, of course, wrote a book on the history of women's athletics at Princeton. During that project, he was asked to make a list of the greatest women athletes Princeton has ever had in order, and each time he tried it, he came up with a different list. 

For Carino's project, the requirement is that an athlete was to be considered based on what she had accomplished at a New Jersey college, not beyond it, unless it was something that happened within one year of graduating. He cited the conundrum of Carli Lloyd, the Rutgers soccer player who was a third-team All-American in college and then went on to become of the greatest American women's soccer players ever. What to do with her? 

TB calls that "The Striebel Effect." Matt Striebel had a college career similar to Carli Lloyd's (really, really good but not elite) as a lacrosse player at Princeton (he also played soccer and has the distinction of scoring goals in both the soccer and lacrosse NCAA tournaments). After graduation, he went on to be one of the greatest professional and international midfielders of all time. Where would you rank him on a list of college athletes? 

Anyway, back at the top 50 in New Jersey history, TB started in the same place he always starts when it comes to all-time great Princeton women athletes, with Princeton's two women who have won two Olympic gold medals. That would be water polo player Ashleigh Johnson and rower Caroline Lind, though Lind doesn't quite make the "one year" rule because she graduated in 2006 (as an NCAA champion) and didn't win Olympic gold until 2008 and 2012.

Beyond those two? There are so many that it's hard to choose. It's the same issue that TB has always had when it comes to a list like this.

Carino's email also took TB back to his days as a sportswriter in the 1980s and early 90s. He saw a lot of great women athletes at other schools then, especially at Rutgers and really at the College of New Jersey, which was then Trenton State College. One name TB gave Carino was Gina Carey, a field hockey/lacrosse player at TSC who is now an assistant coach there. 

For the Princeton names? TB is still mulling it over. He has a few days to come up with the list. 

Does anyone have any advice? Feel free to let TB know.

In the meantime, he's looking forward to the final product and to see all the names on the list. One thing TB did tell Carino yesterday: He'd rank Ashleigh Johnson No. 1.