Laura Dodd
In the 1960s, Laura Dodd was a young girl in high school with little to no athletic opportunities available to her. Men dominated the sports arena, while most women were expected to marry, maintain a household and remain agreeable. According to a historical exhibit at the College of Wooster, female athletes weren’t considered serious competitors, but were viewed as women who simply wanted to keep their figure attractive. So, it was controversial when Jim Lorimer announced he was starting the first Ohio Track Club Girls Team in 1959.
Lorimer himself was a track athlete in high school, so when the 1959 Olympics came around, he was eager to watch the competition. It was unsettling, however, how far behind the U.S. women’s team was. One member of the U.S. Olympic Committee even suggested that women’s track and field be eliminated.
“So that we all might be spared the unaesthetic spectacle of women trying to look and act like men,” the unnamed member was quoted in a transcript of Not Just a Game: Power, Politics, and American Sports.
Even though this sexist mindset was prevalent, Dodd and her teammates kept their heads held high.
“I know that was the sentiment of a lot of people, that women shouldn’t be out there dirty and sweating,” Dodd says. “But that attitude didn’t bother me or my teammates. We never really thought about it.”
Dodd joined the team at just 13 years old after her gym coach noticed she had a competitive edge in class. She fell in love with the team and excelled in sprinting and hurdling events. Throughout her years on the team she would call their coach Mr. Lorimer, and jokes that she still uses the formal prefix to this day.
“He would always involve everybody in everything, so there weren’t just a few stars,” she says. “He had a vision to give us all these opportunities.”
The team collected trophies, medals and titles throughout the years, winning awards in state, regional, national and international competitions. Lorimer knew that women in the U.S. were being outdone in the Olympics by other countries, so he decided to train one of the most successful teams in Ohio.
Although all the young women on the team graduated and moved on to different parts of the country, Lorimer had such a big impact on their lives that they continue to come back together to reminisce about old times. On June 15, the team celebrated their 60th anniversary reunion.
Dodd says after the celebratory reunion dinner, the team went to Lorimer’s office and talked for hours.
“We talk about how our lives have been impacted by the team – people were even tearing up,” she says. “It’s a very emotional thing. Even though we were so young, it was so much more than just competing in a sport.”
All of her teammates agree that the experience changed their lives for the better, even years down the road. Dodd never would have had the confidence to become a police officer if not for the lessons learned while competing on the team. At the time, there weren’t many women in the Columbus Police Department, but with her self-confidence and encouragement from her dad, she took the academy test to qualify for a position.
“It was probably one of the greatest things to happen in me in my life.” - Laura Dodd
“I think track and field really had an impact on that,” Dodd says. “Because I thought, if I did that then there was no reason I couldn’t be on the force.”
The women on Lorimer’s team have all gone on to do great things, crediting their success to years spent on the track. Estelle Baskerville Diehl worked on the Ohio Department of Education and assisted the public school district superintendents, treasurers, community members and more. Diehl also served on the board of many philanthropies such as the Columbus Urban League, Friends in Action, the League Against Child Abuse and the Isabelle Ridgway Care Center.
Sylvia Cox Heeter went to Harvard University and Harvard Law School. She practiced law from 1969 to 1985 and was the second woman ever elected to the Council of the Boston Bar Association.
These are just a few of the many tales of success and happiness that originated from the OTC.
Dodd cannot say enough about her teammates and coach, gushing about how wonderful the reunion was and how great it was to see their Mr. Lorimer again.
“It was probably one of the greatest things to happen in me in my life,” Dodd says.
Mallory Arnold is an editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
