Oberlin College Athletics

Thomas Reed was born May 3, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, to Dr. Dudley Billings Reed, who graduated from Oberlin College in 1903, and Clara Jones Reed, who attended Oberlin College from 1901 to 1904. Thomas Reed came to Oberlin College in the fall of 1933 and received the A.B. in English Literature from Oberlin in 1938. While attending Oberlin, Reed earned two letters as a member of the soccer team, of which he was Captain in 1937, three letters in basketball, serving as Captain of the 1937-38 team, one letter in track, and two letters in Baseball. He was the fourth man in the history of Oberlin to win varsity letters in four sports. During his senior season with the baseball team in 1938, he was the #1 pitcher and shortstop. He won five of the team's 11 games, playing every inning of every game and leading the Yeomen to the Ohio Conference title. He was also a member of the "O" Club. Reed went on to attend the Harvard University Graduate School in Art History from 1939 until 1942. Reed served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1943 -December, 1945, then returned to Harvard, where he completed his doctoral work and received a Ph.D. in 1947. While on the Art History faculty of Brown University, as Instructor and then Assistant Professor until 1957, Reed served for three years on the University Athletic Council. He held the positions of Associate Director and then Director of Camp Pemigewassett, in Wentworth, New Hampshire, until 1988, and remains owner of the camp along with another Oberlin graduate, Al Fauver. After leaving Brown University, Reed was appointed Professor of Art History at the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to teaching, he served for many years as Head of the Department of Art History, Chairman of the Division of Liberal Arts, and for one year as Dean of the Faculty. Thomas Reed retired from RISD in 1981, and now lives with his wife in Oberlin.