About Us

The Portsmouth Sports Club has been supporting young athletes in Portsmouth, Virginia since 1946. We strive to promote a love of sports and recognize outstanding athleticism in our community.

Want to get involved? Contact us or get in touch with a current member to learn more about membership, sponsorship, or scholarship opportunities.

Our Mission

The mission of our club is to promote, inspire, and reward outstanding athleticism. We award several scholarships per year to top male and female athletes at local high schools.

It’s not just about recognizing achievement — it’s about encouraging young athletes to continue reaching for their dreams and investing in the future of sports.

Our History

The Portsmouth Sports Club was founded in March 1946, when Pete Glazer, a Portsmouth sportswriter, Meyer Jacobson, a local businessman, and J. Herbert Simpson, a local sportsman, met to formalize the Club’s beginning with 75 charter members. The founders’ goal was to promote sports in general and to recognize the achievements of local individuals in athletics.

The club awarded its first scholarship to a high school athlete in 1972. From then on, club members continued to raise money and award scholarships to deserving students.

In 1991, the Sports Club formed the Portsmouth Sports Foundation to create an endowment fund for scholarships. This endowment allowed the club to expand its reach and support more students every year.

Today, the Portsmouth Sports Club carries on its original mission by identifying and recognizing exceptional student athletes. Now offering five named scholarship awards for various sports, we strive to support students in our community through our endowment, sponsorship, and annual fundraising events.

Portsmouth Sports Foundation

The Portsmouth Sports Foundation generates and manages our annual endowment to fund our scholarship awards. This endowment is made possible by our members, sponsors, community fundraising events, and individual donors.

The Foundation is managed by our dedicated board of directors. Contact us to learn more about making a tax-exempt contribution to support our efforts.

Supported High Schools

We’re proud to offer scholarship awards to students from local high schools in the Portsmouth area. The schools we currently support are:

Churchland High School

Manor High School

I.C. Norcom High School

Western Branch High School

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is selected each year by the Portsmouth Sports Club Nominating Committee. Each member of the board demonstrates the skills, dedication, and integrity to provide outstanding leadership to our club.

Officers

President

Dennis Lewin

Vice-President

Pete Axson

Secretary

Janet Thornhill

Treasurer

Suzanne Skinner

Immediate Past President

Frankie Edmondson

Directors (Board Members)

Pete Axson

Rick Corey

Merrill Craig