Alberto Regina Papers
Collection Scope and Contents
Most of the materials found in this collection pertain to Alberto Regina’s professional career as a leader within the YMCA of Argentina. The majority of this collection is made up of newspaper clippings, including a scrapbook of special clippings (series 2c), and other printed materials. These materials are items that Regina collected whenever he found an article about himself, the YMCA he was a part of, as well as basketball and other Pan-American sports throughout South America. Most of the printed materials are written in Spanish.
There are also three photo albums that were most likely put together by Alberto Regina himself. The albums capture pictures of the teams he was a coach for, colleagues and friends, as well as family photographs (series 2d). Correspondence between Alberto Regina and his friends and family can be found in series 2a. Included in this series are postcards from Alberto Regina and letters of condolence including a letter from Harold T. Friermood (the senior secretary for health and physical education) written to Regina’s family after his passing. The impact that Regina left on the YMCA of Argentina, as well as the world of sports in South America can be explored through series 2f. This series contains the various memorials and dedications made in honor of the life and work of Regina in South America.
Included in series 3e are objects of which Regina collected pertaining to his position as a teacher, leader, and mentor within the YMCA. These pieces include merit awards, two Springfield College felt patches, and a miniature bat signed by his students. A highlight of Regina’s work as a teacher within the YMCA can be found in the two bound volumes of course materials that Regina used to teach the future coaches in the sport of basketball.
Dates
- Creation: 1900-2010
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1919-1948
Creator
- Regina, Alberto (Person)
- Regina, Teresa, Ms., '63 (Donor, Person)
Language of Collection Materials
Most of the materials in this collection are in Spanish and Portuguese. A few pieces are in English and are denoted as such.
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted
Conditions Governing Use
Rights status not fully evaluated.
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Biography Note
Alberto Regina was born in 1900 in South America. He began working for the Buenos Aires YMCA at the age of 13 as an office boy, where he found what was to become his life work. He entered the Instituto Tecnico, the YMCA College of the South American YMCA and obtained his undergraduate degree in 1924. He traveled to Chile in 1924 to take a position as the Director of Physical Education in Chile to work with the basketball and volleyball association. In 1928 Regina became the Physical Education Director of the YMCA in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During his time at this YMCA he coached various sports teams; including the national Argentinian water polo team in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. He taught classes to train the future leaders in physical education and the world of sports, as well as courses in Calisthenics for the businessmen of Buenos Aires. He also made his presence upon radio stations giving programs on physical education as well as leading group calisthenics exercises.
In 1930 Regina was offered a scholarship from Springfield College (then the International YMCA College) to study as a graduate student. Regina returned to South America in 1931 to coach a championship basketball team in Santiago, Chile and then in Rio de Janeiro. In 1936 Regina traveled back to Springfield College to continue taking courses towards his degree. It was during this time that he met Josephine Puglia, who was to become his wife. He also traveled around the United States from New England, Ohio, and North Carolina giving lectures on physical education. From his trips to the United States he learned a great deal about North American sports and physical education. He was able to bring this knowledge back with him and implement what he had learned within his own YMCA. He returned to Argentina and became the Technical Advisor (Trainer) to the Argentine Federation of Sports from 1938-1940.
In 1947 Regina was awarded the travel scholarship of the YMCA International Committee to visit and study various YMCAs in the United States. He traveled to many places including New York and Boston where he found inspiration amongst the leaders of this country. On this trip, Regina fell ill and had to undergo a serious operation in Springfield, MA. He returned to Argentina after the operation where he suffered complications from the surgery which would eventually bring an end to his life on January 24th, 1948.
Extent
4 Linear Feet (8 Boxes)
Abstract
Alberto Regina will always be remembered in South America as one of the most influential figures in the world of physical education. Having been a teacher and mentor for approximately 1,200,000 people, his influence and knowledge has affected generations. In the United States, Regina is portrayed as the Naismith figure for basketball in Argentina. Alberto Regina lived from 1900-1948; working approximately 35 of these years within the Argentinian Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Regina came to Springfield College in 1930 on a scholarship to study in the YMCA graduate program. Regina held many esteemed positions within South America including: The Acting Director of Physical Education for the Chilean Associations of Basketball and Volleyball, the Director of the Department of Physical Education for the YMCA in Buenos Aires, and the Technical Advisor (trainer) to the Argentine Federation of Sports. He also coached the national Argentine water polo team in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. The tragic and sudden death of Regina came in 1948, while Regina was only 47 years old. This collection portrays evidence of his influence by documenting his work within the YMCA through manuscript journals, newspaper clippings, scrapbook and photo albums, various awards and medals, as well as dedications and memorials in honor of his life and accomplishments.
Arrangement
The collection came into the archives with no coherent organization. Upon review by the processor, there was a clear distinction apparent between materials that were of biographical nature (personal photographs, correspondence, and newspaper clippings) and materials that were of a professional nature (class syllabi). These materials were separated and placed with their corresponding themes. All folders within subseries are arranged in chronological order. Most folders contain only a few items (between 1 and 4).
The collection is organized into 2 series, with the first series organized into 3 subseries and the second series organized into 6 subseries:
1. Professional Career
1a. Professional Work
1b. Correspondence
1c. Printed Materials
2. Personal Life
2a. Correspondence
2b. Legal Papers
2c. Printed Materials of Biography
2d. Biographical Information
2e. Memorabilia
2f. Memorials and Dedications
History of the Collection
Collection was donated to Springfield College by Teresa Regina (daughter of Alberto Regina) in March 2012.
Digitized Materials
Digital Materials Searches
Processing Information
The three scrapbooks in this collection were photographed using a canon EOS Rebel T1i Camera mounted on to a Bencher Copymate II copystand. I used the Zoom lense, on the portrait setting of the camera. The height of the camera on the column was at the highest setting it would reach. The lights were angled at about 90 degrees. The office lights were on. I manually controlled the setting of the lense in order to photograph pages without any images present. Pages with images, or text were automatically focused using the settings on the camera. In order to photograph the pages of the scrapbooks with minimal glare, the plastic sheets were removed and archival tape was used to hold the items in place. The tape was then removed and the plastic covering was returned to its normal state inside of the album. Blank pages within each of these scrapbooks were photographed.
For preservation purposes, the photographs and other materials were removed from the pages of the scrapbook, after all of the digital preservation was completed. These scrapbooks along with their blank pages were then taken out of the collection. I then preserved the materials from inside of the scrapbooks and arranged them in archival folders in the page order that they were origionally found inside of the scrapbooks. A PDF document was created for each scrapbook in order to retain the origional composition of the physical object.
Subject
- Friermood, Harold T., 1902-1999 (Person)
- Springfield College (Organization)
- International Young Men's Christian Association College (Organization)
- Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (Argentina) (Organization)
- Young Men's Christian Association (Organization)
- Title
- Alberto Regina Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Rebecca Overton
- Date
- 2012-03
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2022-05: Transferring information from original Word document to ArchivesSpace
Repository Details
Part of the Springfield College Archives and Special Collections Repository
Springfield College
Judd Gymnasia
263 Alden Street
Springfield Massachusetts 01109 U.S.A. US
413-748-3309
jmonseau@springfieldcollege.edu