1998 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE | MARY CANDLER
Milligan College proudly inducts Mary Candler Eyler into its Athletics Hall of Fame for her tenacious spirit and devotion to physical education.
Mary Candler was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, in 1903. She graduated from high school at the age of 15 and from the Georgia State College for Women at age 18. She then began teaching at the college. It was during this period that she met her future husband, Clement Eyler. They married in 1926 and came to Milligan that fall.
When Ada Bess Hart left Milligan in 1933, Mary took over as the girls’ physical education instructor. Teaching physical education to women at Milligan in the 30’s and 40’s was a challenge. Certain restrictions existed for women, such as what they could and could not wear. The dean and assistant dean of women carefully scrutinized their attire; women were not even allowed to be seen in pants. Mrs. Eyler, apparently, challenged the dean on this issue, only to be ignored. Women also had no intercollegiate sports open to them.
However, this did not deter Mrs. Eyler who strongly advocated intramural sports and went on to establish Milligan’s intramural program. She taught tennis, ping-pong, bowling, folk dance and swimming. It was her desire to teach athletic skills that would enable her students to remain physically active throughout their lives.
Many of Mrs. Eyler’s students received their American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor certification under her supervision and spent their summers teaching swimming and working as lifeguards. Her first love, though, was English folk dancing. She spent a summer in England studying with the world-renowned Mae Gad, completing three years’ worth of study in three months. Mary returned to Milligan with new skills and an invigorated spirit. There are probably some of her students who can still dance a technically perfect jig!
Early in 1942, Mrs. Eyler’s husband left to serve in the war. She completed the school year, but the couple did not return at the end of WWII. Dr. Eyler went on to teach at Tennessee Tech and Cumberland College, where Mary continued to teach physical education, health and nutrition. She was a faithful wife, mother and beloved teacher to all of her students.
Now 95 years old and living in Biloxi, Mississippi, Mrs. Eyler is unable to attend this evening’s event. But she is with us in spirit. Her two daughters, Peggy Soukup of Gulfport, Mississippi, and Anne Clodfelter of Brownstown, Indiana, are here to accept her award. How proud she would be to see all of the athletics opportunities that exist for Milligan women today!