COLLEGIATE ROWING, 1875-1898 Harvard accepted the challenge of Yale to row an annual four-mile race, and agreed to with draw from the Rowing Association, but not until after the regatta of 1876, though they would also row the race with Yale.
The coxswainless sixes were not the most satis factory of craft, and the challenge to row in eights with coxswains was pleasing to Harvard, and their race of this year is the first collegiate contest that ever took place in eight-oared shells in this coun try. A six is not so hard to steer from bow as a four-oared shell, and the skill shown by the bow men was of a high order, as the regatta of 1875 bears witness ; but the skill was more than could be reasonably expected of a college man who had not had many years of rowing, and there was too often the chance that the boat, manned by a fast crew, might be beaten because of the inability to find a man who could steer. The change to eights with coxswains was a following of English fashions, the Oxford-Cambridge race being rowed in that sort of a boat, and Yale in withdrawing to row only with Harvard had the great English race strongly in mind. The coxswainless crew is an American idea, and the six of that style has never been rowed outside of this country. The increase in the distance to four miles was another instance of the English influence at Yale which may be traced to Cook, who had picked up more than mere rowing styles while abroad.
The first Yale-Harvard four-mile race in eights was held on June 3o, on the Connecticut River, at Springfield, and Yale won without effort by over seven lengths in 22.02. This Yale eight was an excellent exponent of the Cook stroke, and rowed the whole course at from thirty-two to thirty-four and with a firm, regular swing ; Harvard was poor, their stroke was jerky, and the slide so fast that a writer of the time naïvely said they "came forward with a rush very taking to the eye." The stroke was the same for scarcely two minutes in succession, and Bancroft had it all the way from thirty-five up to fifty.
The college regatta happened on July 19, and again on Lake Saratoga ; the Cornell crews made a record by winning all three events. There were six crews in the University race, — Cornell, Prince ton, Harvard, Columbia, Union, and Wesleyan ; the Harvard six was made up out of the eight that Yale had beaten a few weeks before, and so unsatisfactory had been their performance in that race that Cook of Yale came up to Saratoga for several days and helped out Loring, who was then coaching, and essayed to teach the Yale stroke to the Harvard men, at rather a late hour. The race was in the morning, and Cornell, the gallant John Ostrom setting a powerful thirty-eight and backed up by John Lewis, the stroke of the Freshman crew of the previous year, took the lead ; Harvard, Columbia, and Wesleyan were together for a minute, and then Harvard started out for Cornell with Columbia hard after them ; Harvard reached the stern of the Ithaca shell, but then Cornell spurted, and at the two-mile mark had two lengths ; Columbia was steering badly, and it was only a question of Harvard or Cornell. Coming
into the last half-mile, Bancroft started a grand spurt, and the crimson shell went up on Cornell, yards at a time. But scarcely had they lapped when Ostrom yelled, " Hit her up, boys," and Cornell opened the space as quickly as it had been cut down, winning by a length and a half ; Harvard was four lengths before Columbia, and they led Union by two lengths. Wesleyan was fifth and Princeton last. Cornell's time was slower than usual, 17.o 11.
Charles S. Francis of Cornell sculled away from H. A. Danforth of Harvard, F. D. Weeks, Columbia, and George D. Parmley, Princeton. Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia were the only contestants in the Freshman race, which Cornell won easily.
The only collegiate race of an international aspect that has ever been rowed in this country occurred during 1876 at the Centennial Exposi tion in Philadelphia, when the fours of Yale and Columbia met First Trinity, Cambridge, made up from men who had sat in the winning boat in the University race, and they were thus well entitled to row for England. Neither Yale nor Columbia was strictly representative ; Yale had defeated Harvard in eights, and Cornell had beaten Har vard in sixes, while Columbia had been third in the intercollegiate regatta; but both Columbia and Yale had good fours. In Yale's crew rowed R. J. Cook, W. W. Collins, D. H. Kellog, and Julian Kennedy (stroke), while Jasper T. Good win stroked Columbia, and with him E. E. Sage, Gaspar Griswold, and C. S. Boyd. Unfortunately a real trial was prevented by the collapse of the Cambridge captain, W. B. Close, when well up in the middle of the one-and-one-half-mile course ; Close had been ill during the whole time in Philadelphia, and would not have gone into the race had the substitute been in training. Yale won the race by two and a half lengths from Columbia. This race was on September i, and two days before the three crews had rowed in the heats of the amateur champion fours. Close had collapsed in the first race of Trinity, and Colum bia after winning from the Elizabeth Boat Club of Portsmouth, Virginia, had been unable to row in the semi-finals on account of illness. Yale won their heat, beating the Vesper and Crescent Clubs of Philadelphia, but were beaten by the London Rowing Club four in the semi-final by only one second ; the Beaverwycks of 'Albany won the final trial from the London Club in one of the closest races that has ever been rowed ; the two boats came to the finish line bow and bow and the " Beavers " won only because their oars were in the water when the bow hit the line, while London was on the recovery. Calhoun Megar gee of Pennsylvania and Julian Kennedy of Yale were entered for the singles, but Megargee was beaten in his heat, and Kennedy did not row on account of the race in fours.