The Naval Cadets at Annapolis had a revival of rowing, and early in the year challenged Penn sylvania to a four-oared race on the Severn, which was won by Pennsylvania ; since that time the Navy has been active in rowing ; their race with Pennsylvania was the first collegiate contest, and although beaten, their present rowing was practi cally established.
The Childs' Cup made perhaps the closest college race that has ever been rowed ; the con testants were again Princeton, Columbia, and Penn sylvania, with nearly the same crews as in the previous year. Pennsylvania got in the first stroke and led at the half-mile, when Painter, the Columbia stroke, was attacked by the cramps, and had to let down his stroke ; a few moments later Penn had trouble with the rudder strings and went out of the course, but had a full length at the halfway mark. Painter recovered, and started a spurt that brought Columbia even with Penn sylvania in the last hundred yards, both crews spurting continuously, fighting their way against a strong wind and nearly exhausted ; they zig zagged, stroke for stroke ; but a couple of feet from the line Penn had their oars in the water and were consequently ahead, when one of the men dipped too deeply, threw the boat down for a fraction of a second, and impeded the progress enough to let the Columbia bow over less than a foot ahead ; Princeton was a bad third. Pennsylvania rowed another close race three days later in the National Regatta at Philadelphia and were beaten by the Wyandottes, one of the famous Michigan fours, by three-quarters of a second, and then joined Cornell and Columbia at Lake George for the regatta on July 16.
With the exception of the Yale and the Har vard crews, all the college rowing men of the time engaged in as many regattas as possible ; and the captains believed that the more races rowed, the better the form, and there was no thought that rowing several races was too much for the strength — an idea that now obtains.
In the Lake George Regatta, Cornell came up to form again after their lesson of the year before, and won by two lengths from the Penn sylvania crew, who beat out the Columbia four by a length.
Yale took a well-trained crew to New London made up of strong, heavy men ; they were op posed by a lighter crew from Harvard, and the members of both eights were nearly all in their first year of University rowing. Harvard had
lost Bancroft by graduation, and they had grown a little careless in victory ; the race was over in the first mile, and Yale had shaken off Harvard. Harvard was erratic, and Yale pulled steadily away and won by some eight lengths ; their stroke rarely went below thirty-nine and was often over. The time was extremely slow —24.27. A race had been arranged between the Freshmen of Columbia and Harvard for the New London course a few days after the University race, and the contest was most exciting. Harvard were older and heavier than Columbia, the latter av eraging only one hundred and forty-three pounds, but they fought pluckily ; for a mile and a quar ter there was but little to choose, but here the No. 4 in the Columbia shell broke his stretcher, and threw the crew out for a moment ; he quickly recovered himself and rowed the rest of the way sliding on the rails ; even with this, Columbia came in only a length behind Harvard, both eights being entirely rowed out.
In the fall of 188o an important meeting took place in New York between men from Cornell and Pennsylvania, which in itself has been quite lost sight of, but which has since dominated the policy of the two institutions. They formally agreed in favor of open competition, against match races, and that they would use their influence to further a college regatta open to all. In this meeting was the genesis of the present association.
After the Lake George Regatta, Cornell desired to send their four to Henley for the Visitor's Cup that Columbia had won in 1878, but their title to be representatives was disputed by Columbia and Pennsylvania, on the ground that they had both beaten the Cornell crew in the previous year, and in faster time than Cornell had since made. All three talked seriously of going, but Cornell was the only one that kept to their purpose, and their four entered at Henley, and also arranged a match race with a crew in Vienna, and planned to have several other matches — in fact, a grand tour. Harvard talked a great deal about the employ ment of a professional coach at Yale, and some of the rowing men again wanted to break off the annual race ; such action was not taken, but two races were arranged with Columbia, who had an amateur coach. None of the crews went to Lake George.