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Various College Races

- Many of the colleges have various challenge cups and trophies for sculling, pair and four oars, for which its members may compete.

B. FLETCHER ROBINSON.

ROWING IN THE UNITED STATES.-The earliest obtainable record [ROWING a of boat-racing in America is of college making, and goes back to 1833, when Yale attained local fame at the fairs and at Fourth of July festivities in the rural districts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. College archives fail to deal specifically with these first aquatic conquests, but time and collegiate fancy have jointly cast a glamour of romance over those primitive athletic days, when training was an unexplored mystery and desultory practice the order of the day. At all events, tradition eloquently expounds the prowess of Yale oarsmen in those ancient days. For ten years there was no boat-racing at Yale other than these annual descents on the country fairs, and rowing was neither recognised nor an organised college sport.

At Harvard, with splendid facilities offered by the Charles River, an incipient spirit marked the year '39, or thereabouts, but, according to an ancient oarsman of my acquaintance, there was no organisation, and while Yale humbled the pride of the country "Bumpkins" at Fourth of July regattas, Harvard was no less victorious in winning admiration from the fair ones who lined the banks of the Charles whenever the college boys went out for a pull. Meantime there was the same kind of pleasure rowing on the Harlem River at New York, on the Schuylkill at Philadelphia, and on the Detroit River at Detroit; but at none of these points was there organised boating.

The Detroit Boat Club was organised February 18th, 1839, and held the first boat race of which there is any record on May 24th, 1842, the contestants being confined to the members of the club. a Later The next association of the kind to be formed was the Yale Boat Club, organised in 1843 by seven members of the class of '44. The Yale Club had a four-oared Whitehall boat 19 feet long, about 4 feet wide, and manned by 12-foot oars. in the same year a lapstreak gig for eight oars was purchased, and became the pride of the University; it was long and narrow and so fast that the extraordinary tales of earlier boats were in great danger of being effaced altogether from collegiate memory.

At about this time Harvard, too, had displayed an inclination for some racing and several inter-club meets were held. In '44 the Harvard class of '46 had the distinction of organising the first boat club of the University, and purchased an eight-oared boat "Oneida," that had been built for a race between Boston mechanics. It was a heavy lapstreak, 37 feet long, 3½ feet in its widest part, and tapered gradually to bow and stern; it sat low in the water, had no sheer, was floored half way up to the gunwale with wooden strips, and had hard- ROWING] wood gratings at either end, that were the crew's absolute delight. On every state occasion these gratings were rubbed, oiled, and polished until they shone again; plain, flat, wooden thole pins fitted into the gunwale. The "Oneida" stands out prominently and gallantly in the first days of college boating. She won the first race with Yale in '52, and in fact was not beaten until '56, when racing boats pure and simple were introduced. The Yale contemporary of "Oneida" was the "Shawmut," which had room for six, with the captain's seat at the extreme stern, and elevated so that he could look over the heads of the crew. These were the days when college boats were constructed more for pleasure than for racing, and accommodation was invariably made for guests. There was no training"; rowing was a recreation, first, last, and always; crews were chosen on account of their popularity as well as for their strength and general fitness, and when they rowed, the remainder of the university turned out to watch and to cheer. About the only system observed was one conveying absolute control of the boats in the evening to the best oarsmen, that is, the likely candidates for the 'Varsity boat; while the beginners or the second graders were permitted to take their boating in the morning. 66 Beginning with the establishment of rowing clubs in '43 at Yale, and followed by Harvard in '44, rowing took an impetus that carried it along merrily for a few years, but rather left it to shift for itself at about 49.

The first Harvard-Yale boat race was rowed in '52, on Lake Winnipiseogee in New Hampshire, in eight-oared barges over a two-mile course. The curious feature of this race was a trial in the morning and the final in the afternoon over the same course and by the same crews, Harvard winning both with the famous "Oneida." Another curious feature was that the stroke oar in both boats sat on the starboard side.

From the very beginning, the faculties at both Harvard and Yale had merely tolerated boating. In '51 a students' row at Harvard resulted in a faculty order prohibiting the construction of new boats. Yale boating, although not actually frowned upon by the faculty, had by no means received either a helping word or hand. Meantime the boating spirit had been spreading throughout the country, though, as at the Universities, it remained devoted almost entirely to pleasure rowing in barges.

Perhaps there was more interest displayed at Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill, than elsewhere, but the next club to be formed was the Atalanta in New York, organised in 1848 and followed in 1853 by the Bachelors' Club, which still thrives as the oldest boat club in Philadelphia.

The second race between Harvard and Yale was in 1855, rowed at Springfield, a mile and a half and return, and again won by Harvard in an eight-oared barge, Yale rowing a six-oared barge. Yale's boat, with wooden outriggers, was considered to be the superior, but the crew pulled a short, jerky stroke-60 to the minute, old-timers declare. This victory gave rowing at Harvard great impetus, pacifying the faculty and resulting in the building of the first 'Varsity boat, which was a rudderless 51-foot lapstreak, with out-riggers and spruce oars, then seen for the first time at Cambridge. a There was no race with Yale the next year, nor indeed the following one, but the latter year-1857-marked an epoch in American rowing, for it was signalised by the construction at Harvard of a six-oared shell-the first one in America-40 feet long (made short in order to turn a stake easily), 26 inches wide amidship, and weighing 150 pounds. The shell was made of white pine and fitted with iron out-riggers similar to those now in use, except for the swivel row-lock. Added to this were spoon oars. It was a great stride in rowing and the Harvard crew of '58, it may be well imagined, were a rather proud lot. In May, 1858, the Harvard Magazine proposed the establishment of an annual inter-collegiate regatta and circulars were forthwith sent to Brown, Yale, and Trinity, which resulted in a meeting of delegates at New Haven, May 26th, and in the arrangement of a three-mile race, July 23rd, at Springfield. Considerable preparation was made by both Harvard and Yale for this event, but the drowning of the Yale stroke a few days before the regatta put an end to all thought of racing for that year.

The rowing movement continued, however, and in the following year-'59-both the Harvard and Yale crews settled more earnestly to their work. For the first time training was instituted. It will be amusing reading for athletes of to-day to quote a leaf from the daily work of those college oarsmen: "arose at six, walked and ran before breakfast, on an absolutely empty stomach, between three and five miles, running in heavy flannels more than half the distance and part of that at full speed.

After breakfast and recitation rowed about four miles at speed, and again in the afternoon the same distance much of the rowing being on time. Beef, mutton, bacon, chicken, toasted bread, boiled rice, and weak tea constituted the menu; no wine or beer and but a few vegetables were permitted." • The race of '59 was rowed on Lake Quinsigamond, near Worcester, Mass., a mile and a half and return in six-oared shells, and was won by Harvard, Brown also competing.

The following year, '60, was a repetition in entries and results of '59, Harvard rowing in a new shell, longer and narrower than any she had yet used. From 1860 to 1864 there were no races between Harvard and Yale; both colleges, however, organised crews each year which did some training and were continually seeking improvement in their methods. The stroke had been very short, both of the universities averaging from 46 to 50 and even, it is creditably reported, attaining on spurts as high a figure as 60.

In '64-the next race between the two -Yale, captained by Mr. Wilbur Bacon, had her first victory over Harvard. A second victory was achieved in '65, Yale making the remarkable time of 17 min. 41 sec. The form of the men was not good; they rowed a quick, jerky stroke, but their time was excellent, and they had the great advantage of long practice together.

Yale's work in both these years in fact was the direct result of indefatigable effort generously applied.

In 1866 Yale began a series of experiments with strokes that lasted with more or less disaster-for about ten years. Not content with the good material (of its kind) which Mr. Bacon had succeeded after his several years of hard work in developing, new men came into control, and a stroke rowed principally with the arms was introduced.

Meantime club rowing was growing apace. During the absence of races between Harvard and Yale from 1860 to 1864 there had been a marked increase in the boating spirit at Philadelphia and particularly around New York. A number of boat clubs had been formed and inter-club racing became quite a feature of the season.

The desire for organisation followed as a natural sequence, and in 1866, on November 25th, the Hudson River Amateur Rowing Association was organised by the Atalanta, Atlantic, Gulick, Waverly, Columbia, Mutual, Hudson, Vesper, and La Favorita clubs. That the social element figured largely in the rowing club life may be judged by the published object of this Association, which was "to perpetuate the healthful exercise of rowing and to cultivate friendly intercourse among members of various rowing clubs." The organisation of an official body and the holding of regattas naturally boomed the sport, especially at Philadelphia, where the number of boat clubs multiplied rapidly, and the [ROWING Schuylkill Navy assumed the lead it has always maintained. A stretch of the Schuylkill River bank bordering Fairmount Park was secured by about a dozen clubs and a beginning made that has resulted in the building of club houses not equalled anywhere in the world. There are now a good dozen of these houses, usually occupied by two clubs, built of stone, thoroughly equipped and costing on an average about $10,000 each. The oldest of the Philadelphia clubs are the Undine, University, Crescent, Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Malta, Quaker City, Bachelor,