Key Figure Profile

Charles H. McCloy

Charles Harold McCloy was not a Springfield alumnus in the current project evidence, but he is a major figure for this site because Kautz annual reports place him in the YMCA's national physical education work in China before his later academic career in the United States.

The current source set anchors him in Peking and Nanking as National Physical Secretary and National Physical Director, showing how YMCA physical education administration in China fed into a broader transnational science of physical education.

  • Education: Ph.B., Marietta College (1907); M.A., Marietta College (1910); study at Johns Hopkins Medical School, 1910 to 1912; Ph.D., Columbia University (1932)
  • Key contribution: national-level YMCA physical education administration in China before later leadership in measurement and anthropometry
  • Documented geography: Peking, Nanking (Nanjing), and later Shanghai
  • Historical importance: links YMCA China physical training work to later academic and professional authority in physical education
Portrait photograph of Charles Harold McCloy
Portrait of Charles H. McCloy from the University of Minnesota Libraries Gallery, Kautz Family YMCA Archives.

Research Summary

McCloy belongs near the front of this project because he shows that YMCA China physical education was not only a local service activity but a national administrative field with trained specialists moving between China and the United States.

The University of Minnesota's China annual reports currently secure his role in 1914 to 1916. The University of Iowa finding aid adds a later institutional biography, including his Marietta, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia training, but that education summary is treated here as a secondary authority layer rather than a substitute for person-level archival records.

UMN Discovery Layer

McCloy is now connected to a clearer University of Minnesota discovery path. The Gallery item for Charles H. McCloy supplies a strong public-facing portrait record, while Training Local YMCA Leaders places him within the exhibit's broader narrative about YMCA physical education staff, training schools, and the later Springfield pipeline.

Primary and Secondary Source Layers

Primary Sources

  • verified Charles Harold McCloy
    Springfield College Archives. 1930. Charles Harold McCloy. Springfield College Digital Collections. Marianna Trekell Collection, item 27644. https://springfieldcollege.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15370coll2/id/27644/ (accessed 2026-04-06).
    Locator: Item 27644, Marianna Trekell Collection

  • verified C. H. McCloy, National Physical Secretary of China. Annual Report for the year ending Sept.. 30, 1914
    C. H. McCloy. 1914. C. H. McCloy, National Physical Secretary of China. Annual Report for the year ending Sept.. 30, 1914. University of Minnesota Libraries. Annual and Quarterly Reports of YMCA International Work in China, item p16022coll358:6417. https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/item/p16022coll358:6417 (accessed 2026-04-06).
    Locator: UMedia item p16022coll358:6417

  • verified C. H. McCloy, National Physical Director, National Committee, China. Report for the year ending Sept. 30, 1915. Nanking
    C. H. McCloy. 1915. C. H. McCloy, National Physical Director, National Committee, China. Report for the year ending Sept. 30, 1915. Nanking. University of Minnesota Libraries. Annual and Quarterly Reports of YMCA International Work in China, item p16022coll358:6879. https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/item/p16022coll358:6879 (accessed 2026-04-06).
    Locator: UMedia item p16022coll358:6879

  • verified C. H. McCloy, Associate National Physical Director, Young Men's Christian Association, Nanking, China. Annual Report for the year ending Sept. 30, 1916
    C. H. McCloy. 1916. C. H. McCloy, Associate National Physical Director, Young Men's Christian Association, Nanking, China. Annual Report for the year ending Sept. 30, 1916. University of Minnesota Libraries. Annual and Quarterly Reports of YMCA International Work in China, item p16022coll358:3486. https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/item/p16022coll358:3486 (accessed 2026-04-06).
    Locator: UMedia item p16022coll358:3486

  • partial Papers of Charles H. McCloy
    University of Iowa Libraries. 2008. Papers of Charles H. McCloy. University of Iowa Libraries. Biographical note and scope/content section. https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/scua/archives/guides/rg99.0139.htm (accessed 2026-04-06).
    Locator: Biographical note

Secondary Sources

  • verified Charles H. McCloy
    University of Minnesota Libraries. n.d.. Charles H. McCloy. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. University of Minnesota Libraries Gallery item 330. https://gallery.lib.umn.edu/exhibits/show/reachgold/item/330 (accessed 2026-04-07).
    Locator: University of Minnesota Libraries Gallery item 330

  • partial Training Local YMCA Leaders
    University of Minnesota Libraries. 2026. Training Local YMCA Leaders. University of Minnesota Libraries. Reaching for Gold exhibit section. https://gallery.lib.umn.edu/exhibits/show/reachgold/training (accessed 2026-04-07).
    Locator: Training gallery context

Image Evidence

Portrait of Charles Harold McCloy from the University of Minnesota Libraries Gallery
University of Minnesota Libraries Gallery portrait captioned “Charles H. McCloy, YMCA Physical Director in China, 1913-1921.”
Springfield portrait of Charles Harold McCloy
Springfield College portrait photograph of Charles Harold McCloy, retained as additional image evidence.
First page of Charles H. McCloy's 1915 annual report from Nanking
First page of McCloy's 1915 annual report from Nanking as National Physical Director for YMCA China.
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Evidence Sources