A portrait photograph of Springfield College president, Ernest M. Best, in a physical education uniform. The photograph appears to have been taken when Best was a teenager involved with the Canadian YMCA.
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Publisher:
Springfield College
Notes:
Ernest Best began his career as a student at Springfield College (then the International YMCA Training College), graduating in 1911. He returned in 1913 as a teacher of Religious Education and Normal Religious Work. In 1916 he left Springfield College to go overseas and join the war effort as a Senior Officer with the Canadian YMCA War Services in France. In 1937 he returned to Springfield College as its fifth president, a position he held until 1945.
The date written on the back of this photograph indicates the image is from 1909 however when comparing it to pictures of Best from the Massasoit (Springfield College's Yearbook) it is believed that the picture is from much earlier than 1909. There is also some doubt as to whether or not the image is even of Ernest Best.