Association Work: Whitten, Porter, and the Course of Interscholastics

Who set the stage for the modern world of high school sports? C. W. Whitten and H. V. Porter were the two most influential men in the interscholastic movement in the first half of the 20th century. Working out of a small office suite in a downtown Chicago skyscraper, Whitten was the executive director of both the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) until his retirement in 1942. Porter was Whitten's second-in-command at the IHSA, leaving in 1940 to become the first full-time director of the NFHS. Association Work: Whitten, Porter, and the Course of Interscholastics, a new book recently published by the IHSA and the NFHS, commemorates the lives of the two men and takes a first-time look inside the world of interscholastic sports administration, recounting the many issues addressed and struggles endured by both men. Early in his tenure Whitten was called upon to lead the fight against college sponsorship of high scho