On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched man's first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik I. The event was to affect the lives of most Americans, including hundreds of high school seniors throughout the country who were at that time contemplating attending Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass.

Most high school seniors thought that they were getting out just in time. Self-appointed critics in the post-Sputnik days said that the United States was "lagging behind" the Russians and advocated a stiffening of the school curriculum and an increase in high school science training.

The 1173 members of Harvard's Class of 1962--out of the 4200 who applied and the 1487 admitted--discovered that Harvard College was too stable a place to be changed over-night by a crash program "to catch up with the Russians." At a time when radical changes hit all of American secondary education and many other colleges, '62 experienced no direct effects of the post-Sputnik era. The Faculty in the last four years continually attempted to straighten out the honors-non-honors program and wondered about the place of specialization in science courses for non-scientists, but these debates were routine compared to previous changes in undergraduates' education at Harvard.

A far more significant event for those who would join the Class of 1962 was the announcement one year before Sputnik that Harvard would launch a massive effort to raise $82.5 million for higher education.

For when the Class arrived in Cambridge, the hard work of the Program for Harvard College was essentially over. The Class had only to enjoy the fruits of the Program and watch the College build. The Class's stay here was relatively easy: money was no longer a pressing need at Harvard and '62 was assured of Harvard's vitality at least for the next four years.

When the Class registered in September 1962 there were houses at Plympton and Mt. Auburn Sts., at Brattle and Hilliard Sts., at DeWolfe and Grant Sts., and on Quincy St. between the Fogg Museum and the Faculty Club. In addition, Cronin's was found on Dunster St. Before they left, members of the Class would be the first to enter Quincy House; would use the 11-story Leverett Towers and plush Loeb Drama Center; and would see the beginnings of LeCorbusier's Visual Arts Center. And, although many would have to walk further to Cronin's many more could walk a shorter distance to the infirmary, with the opening in 1961 of the 10-story Holyoke Center.

A third event during this group's high school senior year, Yale's 54-0 humiliation of the Harvard football team in a televised game, may have affected some applicants' thoughts about attending Harvard College. But the widely-publicized defeat apparently did not turn away many potential varsity athletes.

The Class of '62 ended its career at college with one of the best athletic records of any Harvard class. Members of the Class, except for Mark Mullin in track, Grady Watts in lacrosse, and probably Bob Kaufmann in swimming, were not really the prominent members of each team but their combined talents were the backbone of most athletic teams in the past three years.

The Class contributed to football teams that gained a 17-10 record over three years, including a co-championship in its senior year; and in 1961 62 the group supplied teams that won six out of a possible 15 League championships and for the fifth straight year gained a higher percentage of wins than any other school in the Ivy League.

The group of 1173 men that stumbled into the Yard September 25, 1958, went through an orientation week of the usuals: being told to look to the left and to the right, etc., being told to use their native intelligence, being told to fear not, if they could not do the work they would not be here, and being told that Harvard allowed complete freedom--including the freedom to fall flat on your face.

Of the entrants, 35 to 45 would achieve sophomore standing, 11 were admitted directly from their junior year, 407 brought with them Harvard scholarships, and 150 brought National Merit, General Motors, or similar stipends. They came from every state--all 49 at that time--and from 21 foreign countries. Fifty-four per cent came from public schools.

And there were, in addition to 48 voluntary commuters, 69 "forced commuters," the product of a short-lived policy that was supposed to remedy Harvard's overcrowding problem. It didn't.

Although most freshmen immediately hit the books, some served on the Freshman Union Committee, which in October appointed eight subcommittees to investigate the possibility of presenting a Dartmouth Weekend Dance. On that weekend appeared the Yardling, a magazine issued less and less throughout the year.

As varsity coach John Yovicsin discovered a slick sophomore quarterback named Ravenel, the freshman class proved its athletic prowess early with a 6-1 football team, led by the quarterbacking of diminutive Grady Watts. TDs by John Damis, Gil Bamford, Roy Williams, and Deve Ward brought a big 25-0 win over Tufts in the opener.

After a national magazine recognized the undefeated freshmen's accomplishments, the team ran into trouble at Princeton. But few of the 3000 onlookers one week later will forget the team's exciting 14-3 win over Yale. Few on the team will forget the 65-yard interception run by captain Bill Swinford for a fourth quarter score. The rugged lineman repeated the feat in a varsity game two years later.