Tennis Anyone? Butler Team in 1899

Two members of the Butler University tennis team posed for this photograph in 1899. Carl McGaughey, who was related to the prominent physician Samuel McGaughey, is on the left while E. S. Powell is the right. The McGaugheys lived on East Washington Street near the site of the present Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Note that the court is marked and appears to be grass or dirt. Although tennis is an old sport, it really did not take root in the United States until the 1880s. By the turn of the last century, the sport was growing in popularity.