Generations: Emerson Family Spans More Than 90 Years of Hillsdale Athletics
#### Written by Doug Goodnough
More than 130 years ago, the first member of the Emerson family walked the Hillsdale College campus as a student. Since that time, 18 additional family members have attended Hillsdale, leaving a family heritage of which very few can boast.
They eventually became teachers, preachers, farmers, and business owners. While at Hillsdale, a good number of those Emersons were student-athletes. The first documented Emerson to don the Hillsdale White and Blue was Ward, who enrolled in the fall of 1932. He was a member of the baseball and football teams before the Great Depression forced him to leave school and start a business and family in Upstate New York. But that was not the end of his—or his family’s—Hillsdale story.
Several other Emersons followed in the 1930s and were teammates with legendary Hillsdale student-athletes like Johnny Williams, Red Farquharson, and Al Rizzardi.
The second generation of Emerson student-athletes arrived in the 1960s in the form of Ward’s sons, Art and Paul. They continued the family athletic legacy and encouraged the next generation to follow in their footsteps.
When Lisa Emerson graduated in 1992 as a member of the newly formed women’s swim team, she (for now) completed the Emerson athletic legacy.
Three generations of Emersons, one Hillsdale athletic family.
**The First Generation**
**Ward Emerson, ’47**
Ward Emerson was one of six children of Charles and Anna (Slaybaugh) Emerson to attend Hillsdale College. However, he was the first family member to participate in athletics when he earned a spot on the Hillsdale baseball team in 1933.
Because of his “squatty” build, he was a natural catcher, and his teammates quickly gave him the nickname “Tubby.” It was more of a term of endearment until an opposing player occasionally tested Ward’s fortitude.
“He was a big man, but not a tall man,” said his son, Art. “You didn’t come into home plate, or he would knock you over.”
When the Great Depression took hold, Ward decided to leave school in 1935 and return home to Potter, New York, to work in real estate, farm, and raise a family. He was even involved in local politics.
After Ward’s father died in 1945 after a long ministry as a Baptist preacher, his mother, who attended her first class at Hillsdale in 1893, decided to finish her degree. Needing just 10 credit hours, Anna petitioned the College to let her take correspondence courses from her New York home. Hillsdale agreed.
His mother’s decision apparently sparked something inside Ward, who by 1945, was married with five children. Following his mother’s lead, he moved his entire family back to Hillsdale to attend classes, and in 1947, he graduated. Ward and his 72-year-old mother received their Hillsdale diplomas together, which made headlines in the local newspapers.
“I think he was just stubborn enough to finish [his degree],” Paul said of his father. “When he started on a job, he finished it. He was proud when we went to Hillsdale and graduated.”
Moving back to Potter after graduation, Ward ran a successful poultry and livestock business and was the manager of the local semi-pro baseball team that included many family members. Years later, he would enjoy watching his son, Paul, and later his grandsons, Doug Allen, ’83, and Mike Emerson, ’91, play baseball for Hillsdale, oftentimes from a folding lawn chair somewhere beyond the outfield fence, proudly wearing his Hillsdale baseball hat.
“He always talked about the old baseball field and also the friends he met playing baseball,” said Mike of his grandfather, who played home games on Martin Field behind Central Hall.
**Art Emerson, ’39**
Ward’s younger brother, Art, arrived on Hillsdale’s campus in the fall of 1935. Labeled the best athlete of the brothers, he quickly established himself as a standout shortstop and third baseman for the Dales. During that time, Hillsdale was the only college in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) to offer varsity baseball after the other conference schools dropped the sport in 1929. That meant scheduling games with much larger schools such as the University of Michigan, the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, and Michigan State University.
Art’s teammates were Hillsdale College Hall of Famers Rizzardi, ’38, Farquharson, ’38, and Williams, ’37; the latter two went on to professional baseball careers. Also, his future brother-in-law, Eugene Charland, ’38, was a team captain and left fielder on a Hillsdale team that was called “one of the best baseball teams in years” in 1935.
Art’s story unfortunately had a tragic ending. In January of 1939, he was playing in a pickup football game back in New York when he suffered a head injury and died, just months before his graduation.
**Eugene, ’38, and Margaret Emerson Charland, ’40**
A member of the baseball and basketball teams, “Gene” served as a captain for both. In basketball, he was one of the top scorers in the MIAA as a senior, earning honorable mention all-conference honors. In baseball, he was a steady presence in left field.
However, his eventual wife, Margaret Emerson (Ward’s younger sister), was an accomplished student-athlete in her own right despite women’s intercollegiate sports still decades away from reality. The College’s Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) offered a robust menu of intramural sports like basketball, volleyball, baseball, fieldball, tennis, archery, and fencing. In fact, the MIAA conducted a “Play Day” for female student-athletes, the precursor to conference-sanctioned athletics. Margaret, a four-year WAA member, earned the College’s doubles deck tennis championship in 1938, and she also was a member of the champion Chi Omega baseball team in 1940.
**The Second Generation**
**Art Emerson, ’64**
When Ward’s son, Art, followed in the steps of his older sister, Donna Emerson Marcus, ’60, to Hillsdale in the fall of 1960, he was hoping to join the Hillsdale baseball team like his father and late uncle. However, he learned quickly that academics came first.
“It was just way too much,” he said of trying to play baseball while taking a full load of classes.
Later in his college career, he was sitting in a religion class taught by Dr. Leo Phillips, who just happened to be the men’s cross country coach.
“He got me interested in [cross country],” Art said of Dr. Phillips. “I enjoyed the company and the people.”
In 1963, Hillsdale won all but one of its races, as Art said teammates like Darrel Morton, ’64, Wendell Shiffler, ’65, and Richard Adams, ’64, “were the stars and great, great people. The people I met here changed my life.”
The most important person he met at Hillsdale was his future wife, Janet Prew, ’66, to whom he proposed in the Arb during his senior year. A member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, he also received the honor of “Man of the Year” by the Chi Omega sorority in 1964.
He said he was thrilled when his daughter, Lisa, ’92, decided to attend Hillsdale and continue the Emerson athletic tradition.
“I was very proud,” said Art, who went on to have a successful insurance career in Florida and metro Detroit. “She decided to join the Chi-O sorority, like my wife, which was neat.”
**Paul Emerson, ’68**
Paul’s road to Hillsdale College took a detour. When he graduated from high school, he enrolled at Albion College. However, that didn’t quite work out.
“I made the baseball team, but I forgot to go to class,” Paul said. “So I went home and worked as a truck driver. After a while, I decided this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
After a semester off, Paul’s father steered him to Hillsdale. There, he found his home both in the classroom and on the baseball field. As a fiery left-handed pitcher and outfielder, Paul had an “edge” to his game, according to his brother, Art.
“He had the competitive spirit,” Art said of Paul, who was deemed the best athlete of the siblings. “He was always a natural.”
The team MVP in 1968, Paul said he had many baseball memories, including pitching against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. However, the experiences off the field were just as memorable.
During one spring trip south, he remembers the team stopping at a restaurant. A waiter told Jerry “JJ” Simmons, the only African American player on the roster, that he would not be served.
“We got up and left,” said Paul, experiencing his first taste of segregation. “So, when we were down [South], we made sure somebody stayed with JJ all the time.”
Getting married before his senior year at Hillsdale, Paul fondly remembers having his wife, Corinne, attend games at Simpson Field.
Despite Paul’s early aversion to attending class, he had a 34-year teaching career in his hometown of Penn Yan, New York. Nearly 60 years later, he proudly displays his Hillsdale baseball memorabilia, including his vintage team jacket, glove, and several wooden bats.
**Generation Next**
**Doug Allen, ’83**
Doug Allen, ’83, described himself as “a little bit wild” as a farm boy from the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. After graduating from high school, he spent most of his summer milking cows on his uncle’s farm, not sure of his next step.
Then reality literally hit him in the face.
“I got slapped in the face by a [cow’s] tail,” Allen remembered. “I said, ‘Now it’s time to do something different.’”
He remembered the stories his grandfather and some of his aunts and uncles shared about Hillsdale. After visiting the College, he decided to follow in his family’s footsteps.
“I think I was the first grandchild to go to school [at Hillsdale], and I think that made Gramps pretty proud,” Allen said of his grandfather, Ward.
Another proud moment was when Allen earned a spot on the Hillsdale baseball team as a catcher, playing the same position as his grandfather.
The accounting major and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity member said the lessons he learned both in the classroom and on the field at Hillsdale served him well.
“I’ve been in several different places and have a lot of management experience,” said Allen, who currently works in inventory and purchasing for an alarm distributing company in Florida. “I had to adapt to everything. That’s honestly what I did at Hillsdale. I had to grow up, and I did. I was proud I was able to do that.”
He used his Chargers baseball experience to help his two sons become NCAA Division I college baseball players. The Allen branch of the Emerson family tree eventually produced a Major League Baseball player. Doug’s youngest son, Logan, is currently a starting left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians.
Allen said he looked up to his three Hillsdale uncles and is proud to have followed them as Hillsdale graduates—and student-athletes.
“They were big role models for me,” said Allen of his uncles, Art and Paul Emerson and the late Gene Charland. “I spent a lot of time with the Emerson side of the family, and they were very instrumental.”
**Mike Emerson, ’91**
You won’t find Mike Emerson’s name in any of Hillsdale’s baseball record books. Although he wasn’t a starter during his four-year career, his impact on the program as a senior captain and teammate was felt by those who played with him.
As a boy, he heard about his grandfather’s and father’s Hillsdale baseball stories, and when it was time for him to make a college decision, he wanted the opportunity to make his own memories.
“I always saw the Hillsdale hat he wore and the jerseys and coats,” Mike said of his father, former team MVP Paul. That intrigued me. It made me fall in love with Hillsdale and want to have a chance to play baseball.”
He got that chance, joining the Chargers in the fall of 1987. The outfielder from Penn Yan had a main goal: “To come out with a letterman jacket. I wanted those leather sleeves, and I wanted to wear that ‘H’ on my chest.”
Going on the annual Florida spring trip was a highlight, especially playing at the Kansas City Royals’ spring training facility in Haines City. Competing against larger schools like the University of Toledo and the University of Michigan was also a thrill.
However, his top highlight was being named a captain of the 1991 team. After the season, he earned the team’s Hustle Award.
“That showed me that what I was doing mattered, and other people saw that,” said Emerson, an accounting and history double major and member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. “I never gave up.
“I think I relish it now more than ever before,” he said of his Hillsdale experience. “I really was able to have a significant experience that was similar to my grandfather’s and father’s. It’s something that will never be taken away from me, having that connection with them.”
**Lisa Emerson Tobin, ’92**
When it was time to attend college, Lisa Emerson Tobin wasn’t interested in continuing the Emerson family legacy at Hillsdale.
“I was adamant about not going [to Hillsdale],” she said. “I wanted to do something different.”
But she was eventually persuaded by her parents to visit Hillsdale.
“I walked up the hill, and it was so beautiful,” Lisa said of her campus visit. “The whole campus resonated with me. And then having the unique experience of being a part of the first swim team was really cool.”
A standout high school swimmer, Lisa carved out her own Hillsdale athletic tradition as a member of the new Chargers swim team. She anchored the breaststroke events and was a member of several relays.
“It was fun to be on the team,” she said. “I remember those experiences riding the bus up north for meets and staying in the hotels. One of the reasons I rushed Chi-O [sorority] was because of my teammates Kelly Brown [Buckley, ’92] and Jill Fielding [O’Connor, ’90]. We were all so close.”
“Of all the [Emerson] women who went [to Hillsdale], I was the only one who played a sport,” Lisa said. “It’s kind of a wild thought. In hindsight, it makes it extra cool.”
Lisa expanded the Emerson family legacy when she married Jay Tobin, ’88, in 2020. A standout infielder for the Chargers, he was grafted into the Emerson athletic family tree at Hillsdale.
“Hillsdale keeps giving back,” said Lisa, who finished her 23rd year as a third-grade teacher at Detroit Country Day School. “This huge family just keeps growing. I feel like [Hillsdale] keeps giving back to me, not just in the degree, but in the people, in the relationships.”
Although family is a tie that binds, similarly athletics binds many of the Emersons to Hillsdale College. The proof has been well-documented over the years in the form of pictures, trophies, letterman sweaters, newspaper articles, and memories to last a lifetime.
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Doug Goodnough, '90, is Hillsdale’s senior director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
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_Reposted from the fall 2025 issue of Arete._
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