Coach Robert P. Hulburd coached the Phillips Academy lacrosse team from 1956 until 1986. He lived in Taylor Hall for some time throughout his career. During the years 1960 to 1967, he kept a scrapbook focused on the Andover lacrosse program. The scrapbook included newspaper articles, photographs, and letters. The majority of the content pertained to the varsity team, but he also added in content about the junior varsity team.

The results of games were recorded on score sheets, which were filled out throughout the game. Andover played many college freshman teams such as Yale, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, and Brown. Many of the opponents they faced were the same as the team’s current opponents: Deerfield, Tabor, Northfield Mount Hermon, and Exeter. The annual Andover-Exeter lacrosse game was the highlight of the spring and was written about often in the school newspaper.

Newspaper articles about the team included articles from the Phillipian as well as from newspapers from outside the Academy. Articles often highlighted Andover wins and significant achievements or events for the Andover lacrosse team. There are numerous roster sheets in the scrapbook, which list the players and their numbers. Several scouting reports were also enclosed including scouting reports about the Andover team and its strengths and weaknesses.

The letters that were enclosed in the scrapbook both congratulated Coach Hulburd for his wins and inquired about potential recruited athletes. Coaches who sent letters to Coach Hulburd coached at many prestigious universities including Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, and Yale.

Robert P. Hulburd passed away in 1995. According to the Phillips Academy website, Coach Hulburd was inducted into the Andover Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. Current Andover lacrosse head coach Steve Moreland, who was coached by Hulburd when he was at Andover, wrote, “Coach Hulburd coached in an era when few boys had played lacrosse before entering high school, and he successfully converted newbies to skilled players in short time. He drilled the fundamentals, demanded hard work, but always kept it fun.”
Box 45, 47

by John T. Lu, class of 2016