Were Jean Graham Bingham an athlete today and boasting the same credentials she earned as an undergraduate in the 1940s, undoubtedly she would be considered one of the top athletes at Boston University and earning the recognition that the top female athletes receive today.
A 1947 graduate of Sargent College, Bingham participated in 10 varsity sports at Sargent College and played on a club field hockey team. Her achievements on the field were duplicated in the classroom as she was the class valedictorian and president of the Athletic Association. She was elected to Twiness, the highest scholastic and leadership honorary society in Sargent College.
Bingham participated in soccer, basketball, speedball, fistball, lacrosse, volleyball, softball, archery and horseback riding. However, her best sport was field hockey.
She was elected to the Boston field hockey team and to the Northeast Regional team. Her senior year, Bingham was elected to an All-American team of the U.S. Field Hockey Association as a center halfback. It was the first of six straight years she was named to the national team. In 1948, 1949Â and 1950, Bingham was a member of the U.S. first team and a member of the U.S. Reserve team the following three years.
Following two years as a teacher at Weeks Junior H.S. in Newton, Bingham returned to Sargent College as an instructor (1949-51) and was the faculty advisor to the Student Government and on the field hockey staff of the Sargent Camp faculty.
In 1948 and 1950, Bingham was selected to two USFHA teams which toured abroad. In 1948, she traveled to England, Scotland and the Netherlands. In 1950, she traveled to the Union of South Africa for the International Federation of Women's Hockey Association and traveled extensively in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia.
Bingham was also instrumental in the development of field hockey in Alabama both at the collegiate and scholastic level. In addition, she was a key force in the Girl Scouts and Mountain Brook PTA.
