Mr. (Geneva) Lacrosse: Dr. Jay Byington Covert
By John Marks, Curator of Collections
The May 10, 1916 Hobart Herald had this notice. “Country Club” and “lacrosse” aren’t two things one would expect to see together. Dr. Covert was around 40 years old in 1916.
In my May blog article, I introduced Jay Byington Covert as captain of Hobart College’s first lacrosse team. His introduction to the game was in 1898 when, “Dr. Leighton threw a ball at me and it hit me in the mouth.” Rather than walking away, Covert went on to become possibly the biggest promoter of lacrosse in Geneva.
Hobart’s first year of lacrosse was Covert’s last at the college. Upon graduation, he went to Columbia University for medical school. At that time, graduate students were eligible to play varsity sports. Seasons were more informal and team managers, not athletic directors, arranged the schedule. In 1899, Columbia played five games, but the manager scheduled them all within the same week. It was also exam week. Covert recalled, “We’d play a game, go home, sit down, eat, study half the night, get up in the morning, take an exam, and play again that afternoon.” That was enough for him. He abstained from lacrosse, graduating with his medical degree in 1902.
After his internship, Covert returned home to practice with his father, Dr. Nelson Covert. He began refereeing Hobart home games. Among his other activities, detailed below, he refereed until the early 1930s when he became a judge of play.
In 1922, Hobart decided that all athletics would be coached by faculty or alumni. Dr. Covert had been unofficially assisting the team for years. He was made the head coach for the 1923 season, assisted by local alumni who, like him, had been star players at the college.
The 1924 team with coach Dr. Covert in front row, far right.
In 1924, Covert hired Ernie Paul away from Syracuse University as an assistant coach. In addition to lacrosse, the doctor was the college physician, and athletic teams doctor. These obligations, along with his day job tending to Geneva patients, led Covert to step down in 1925 and Paul became head coach.
The Geneva Times interviewed Dr. Covert in 1956 when the North-South lacrosse game was played here. Among his many memories was delivering Bill Dobbin into the world, then watching him excel at lacrosse at Geneva High and Hobart. Dr. Jay Covert may have contributed more to local lacrosse in more ways than any other person.
Next month: Box lacrosse in Geneva
For more information about lacrosse in Geneva, watch this video.