The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in New York City public schools. It is the oldest and largest sports league in the United States. The PSAL serves both boys and girls. The PSAL holds competitions in a wide range of indoor and outdoor sports in fall, winter and spring seasons. In 2007, the league included 185 schools involving nearly 2,400 teams. During the 2014–15 school year, the PSAL distributed approximately $27 million to fund over 45,000 student-athletes at hundreds of New York City schools.

Early history

The genesis of the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) came from the appointment in early 1903 of Luther Halsey Gulick as director of physical training for the New York public school system. Compared to other major cities, the athletics program for the New York boroughs were backwards, underdeveloped, and rife with corruption. Gulick found "semi-truant" boys playing baseball for schools they did not attend, and that there was much unsportsmanlike conduct and dishonesty on the playing fields. Only a small percentage of actual students participated in athletics. He saw a serious need for reform and devised a grandiose plan to form a new league—the PSAL—that would involve most of the student population, grade school and high school, and working with two influential New Yorkers—General George W. Wingate (a member of the City Board of Education) and James E. Sullivan (secretary of the Amateur Athletic Union)—presented it in October 1903 to the superintendent of schools, William H. Maxwell. He, with the concurrence of the school board, approved of Gulick's plan. Although the PSAL received sanction by the board of education, it was set up as a private corporation that would not receive public tax money. The founders of the league recruited the businessmen of New York City to serve on the league's board of directors and also become paying members of the league, and also solicited contributions from prominent benefactors. The league was organized into 22 districts (expanded to 25 by 1910), in which each district league administered athletic programs for elementary and high schools within their district. One member of each district league served on the Elementary Games committee and one member of each district league served on the High School Games committee. These committees governed all general matters pertaining to the league. Championships were held at the district, borough, and city levels. By 1914, the Board of Education was fully funding the PSAL. The league began with an athletic extravaganza held at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

on December 26, 1903. It involved 1,040 boys, mostly elementary school students, in basketball and track and field events. Among the high schools, Commerce won the track and field meet and Flushing won the basketball tournament. In the spring, the league held its first outdoor high school track and field championship, won by Brooklyn Boys. Each year thereafter the high school league expanded by adding citywide championships in additional sports. In the school year of 1906–07, cross country and soccer was added, and the 1907–08 school year saw the addition of rifle marksmanship, swimming, tennis, and baseball. The expanded activity of the PSAL served to kill off all the previous leagues by 1908. Rowing was added in the spring of 1907, and several schools, mainly Commerce and Clinton, competed each Memorial Day in the Harlem Regatta. The schools had difficulty getting the use of shells, however, and in 1915 the PSAL withdrew sponsorship. In the 1909–10, lacrosse was added and, after World War I, golf, handball, fall rifle marksmanship, and ice hockey were added. Football was not a part of the league's program in its early years. The PSAL chose not to sponsor football, because the intent of the league was to involve the average athlete in athletics, and football was considered a sport for athletic elites. The Long Island, Metropolitan, and various borough leagues continued to run the football championships for a couple or so years. In the fall of 1905, the New York newspapers began crowning schools with the titular "Greater New York" championship in football. This procedure lasted until about the fall of 1913, when the number of football contenders made it impossible to schedule sufficient games to decide on one champion. Finally, the PSAL began sponsoring football competition by boroughs in the fall of 1919, but no official championships were recognized. The newspapers crowned the borough champions in football. The premier athletic powers in the league were spread over the boroughs and in the different sports. In the Bronx one of the premier powers was DeWitt Clinton, which took more than its share of trophies in the basketball, swimming, track and field, tennis, and football. In Manhattan was Stuyvesant, which rivaled Clinton in basketball, swimming, and track and field, and Commerce, which rivaled Clinton in basketball and football. Townsend Harris produced more than its share of swimming championships. In Brooklyn, Manual Training succeeded Long Island League alumnus Brooklyn Boys' as the borough's power. Another Long Island League alumnus, Erasmus Hall, emerged as a football and swimming power. In the 1920s, New Utrecht take most of the indoor and outdoor titles. Queens produced Jamaica (in ice hockey and rifle marksmanship), Richmond Hill (in golf), and Flushing (in cross country and track and field). Besides Clinton, the Bronx could boast of Morris, which dominated rifle marksmanship early on and took several national championships, and also did well in soccer and tennis. Evander Childs did well in golf, rifle, swimming, and tennis. On Staten Island (Richmond Borough), Curtis became a power in cross country, golf, and soccer. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, new athletic powers came, such as Jefferson, Textile, Brooklyn Technical High School, Monroe, and Madison. Handball and fencing were added to the league program. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

of the 1930s cut somewhat into the PSAL program, and some sports were discontinued.

Sports programs

The following is a list of the sports that the PSAL currently runs under its program.

Boys

;Fall Sports *

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

Bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

( Co-Ed) * Cross Country *

Fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

;Winter Sports *

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

* Indoor Track *

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

Table Tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

;Spring Sports *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

( Co-Ed) *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

( Co-Ed) *

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

* Outdoor Track *

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Girls

;Fall Sports *

( Co-Ed) * Cross Country *

* Multiple Pathways League (MPL)

;Winter Sports *

* Indoor Track *

* MPL

(Co-Ed) ;Spring Sports *

(Co-Ed) *

Flag Football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

* Rugby *

(Co-Ed) *

* Outdoor Track *

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

* Stunt

Equitable access disputes

In August 2006, New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum released a report titled "Making the Team: Gender Inequality in New York City PSAL Sports Teams." The report stated "all types of high schools favored boys sport teams opportunities" and that "the PSAL sports schedule discriminated against girls." It also stated that several women's sports were scheduled during the "off-season" of that sport, while the men's counterparts played during the traditional season. The report alleged that the PSAL was in violation of Title IX of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

. In 2009 the PSAL moved girls' soccer from the spring to the fall season, lining up with the boys' soccer season, after the threat of a lawsuit from the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three athletes. In 2010, the National Women's Law Center filed a lawsuit with the Office for Civil Rights of the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

, claiming that the NYCDOE provided inadequate opportunities for female high school sports compared to those for males. The complaint alleged many public high schools in the city did not offer any girls teams in several sports, a violation of Title IX. Other urban school districts involved in the suit included those of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. In 2015, the ensuing federal investigation concluded that the NYCDOE violated Title IX by failing to provide an equal opportunity for female students to participate in sports. In May 2014, the founder of the Small Schools Athletic League, David Garcia-Rosen, filed a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

complaint with the

United States Department Of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

against the PSAL, alleging that they were in violation of Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The complaint included dozens of charts that illustrated students who attend schools with the highest percentages of students of color had the fewest opportunities to participate in PSAL sports, while the schools with the most white students had as many as 44 PSAL teams. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the PSAL's response to this complaint a "statistical delusion." At a May 28, 2014, City Council budget hearing, 100 students wearing jerseys inside out presented Deputy Chancellor Grimm with thousands of petitions demanding equitable access to the PSAL for students of color. In November 2014, Garcia-Rosen filed a second complaint with the US Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights alleging that the PSAL continued to violate Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not providing students of color with equitable access to a diverse range of PSAL sports teams. On November 20, 2014, student-athlete Jason Puello sued the PSAL in New York State Supreme Court, alleging that the PSAL's age rules are "arbitrary and capricious."Set Back by Hardship, a Student Athlete Runs Up Against an Age Restriction - The New York Times
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Notable PSAL alumni

Listed below are PSAL students who are/were involved in professional or college athletics. Adali E. Stevenson High School * Ed Pinckney (1981) – former NBA player, 1985 NCAA Champion

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

Wolverines * Arthur Bisguier (1947) – chess grandmaster * Jeanette Lee (1989) – professional pool player, No. 1 ranked female pool player in the world * Wolf Wigo (1991) – water polo player and coach, 2× NCAA champion * Benjamin (Benji) Ungar (2004) – NCAA champion fencer Christopher Columbus Explorers * Izzy Molina (1990) – former MLB player for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

* Johnny Monell (2004) – former MLB player for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

DeWitt Clinton Governors * Barney Sedran (1909) – former basketball player,

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Member * Fred DeStefano (1918) – former NFL player * Tubby Raskin (1919) – former basketball player and coach of the

Israel men's national basketball team The Israel men's national basketball team () represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 39th in the FIBA Men's World Ranking, FIBA World Ran ...

* George Gregory Jr. (1927) – played college basketball for

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, first black basketball player to be selected as an All American * George Kojac (1927) – swimmer, Olympic Gold Medalist * Lou Bender (1928) – played college basketball for

, member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame * Bernie Fliegel (1934) – professional basketball player, 1942 ABL Champion * Eddie Lopat (1935) – former MLB player, 5× World Series Champion * Ralph Kaplowitz (1937) – former NBA player * Ben Auerbach (1937) – professional basketball player * Sugar Ray Robinson (1938) – boxer, member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame * Leo Gottlieb (1938) – former NBA player for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

* Dolph Schayes (1945) – former NBA player,

member * Ed Warner (1948) – former college basketball player, banned by the NBA for his involvement in fixing games * Ozzie Virgil Sr. (1950) – former MLB player, first Dominican to play in Major League Baseball * Jerry Harkness (1959) – former NBA player, has the longest game winning shot in a professional basketball game * Gary Gubner (1960) – professional weightlifter and shot-putter, Olympian * Barry Leibowitz (1964) – former ABA and

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

player * Willie Worsley (1964) – former ABA player, 1966 NCAA Champion * Nate Archibald (1966) – former NBA player,

Member * Luther Green (1966) – former NBA player * Tom Henderson (1969) – former NBA player, Olympic silver medalist * Ricky Sobers (1971) – former NBA player, 1st Round Pick in 1975 * Steve Sheppard (1973) – former NBA player, Olympic Gold Medalist * Butch Lee (1974) – former NBA player, first Puerto Rican player in NBA history * Pedro Borbón Jr. (1985) – former MLB player, 1995 World Series Champion * Sam Garnes (1992) – former NFL player and coach * Sanjay Ayre (1999) – professional track athlete, Olympic Silver Medalist * Ramon Guzman (2000) – former NFL and CFL player Evander Childs Educational Campus * Jack Shapiro (1925) – former NFL player, shortest player in NFL history

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

Mustangs * Stan Jefferson (1980) – former MLB player, joined the NYPD after his MLB career * Rod Strickland (1984) – former NBA player and current college coach Herbert H. Lehman High School Lions * Bobby Bonilla (1981) – former MLB player, 6× MLB All Star and 1987 World Series Champion * Doug Marrone (1983) – former NFL player and current NFL coach * T. J. Rivera (2006) – former MLB player, represented Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic James Monroe High School * Hank Greenberg (1929) – former MLB player,

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

Member * Izzy Goldstein (1930) – former MLB player for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

* Mickey Rutner (1937) – former MLB player for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

* Lennie Rosenbluth (1952) – former NBA player, 1957 NCAA Champion * Ed Kranepool (1962) – former MLB player, 1× All Star and 1969 World Series Champion * Dan Monzon (1964) – former MLB player for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

* Ellie Rodríguez (1966) – former MLB player, 2× All Star * Wilbur Young (1967) – former NFL player * Darren Carrington (1984) – former NFL player * Malloy Nesmith Sr. (1988) – former professional basketball player in the Dominican Republic, street ball player John F. Kennedy High School * David Britton (1977) – former NBA player * Miguel Jimenez (1987) – former MLB player for the

* Angel Estrada (2000) – former Arena Football League player * Stephfon Green (2007) – former NFL player * Dwight Hardy (2007) – former basketball player, played in Italy and Turkey * Karamba Janneh (2007) – former soccer player Morris High School * Jack Coffey (1905) – former MLB player and college coach * Bernard Opper (1935) – former NBL and ABL player, 2× ABL Champion * Chris Eubank (1984) – boxer, former WBO Middleweight and super-middleweight champion Theodore Roosevelt High School Rough Riders * Rocky Colavito (dropped out in 1947) – former MLB player, 9× MLB All Star * Ben Oglivie (1967) – former MLB player, 3× MLB All Star * Sammy Mejía (2000) – former basketball player, Drafted by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in 2007 William Howard Taft High School * Irwin Dambrot (1946) – former college basketball player, first round pick by the

* Ed Roman (1948) – former college basketball player, banned for life by the NBA * Joe Hammond – former basketball player, drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers * Artie Green (1979) – former basketball player, drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks

References

External links

* {{New York City DOE, state=expanded Public education in New York City High school sports associations in New York (state) Sports organizations based in New York City 1903 establishments in New York City