Early in 1882 Pennsylvania challenged Yale and Harvard to a race in any sort of a boat, at any place, and for any distance ; but neither accepted, though Yale, in the heat of an annual dispute with Harvard about a race date, was on the point of arranging the race with Pennsyl vania. But there was rowing in plenty this year ; the Lake George Regatta, coming into promi nence again, brought several of the colleges back to competition and more crews rowed than at any time since the breaking up of the old Row ing Association. Harvard was again challenged by Columbia to row a University and a Fresh man race, and both contests were arranged.
Columbia did not contest for the Childs Cup, leaving only Princeton and Pennsylvania. Their race was very even, and on the last quarter Pennsylvania gained nearly a length on a spurt ; Princeton tried to respond, but suddenly, when nearing the finish, Howell, the Prince ton stroke, fainted, nearly falling out of the boat.
The experiments with the fast stroke at Yale, and the apparent success of crews everywhere who rowed short and high, culminated in the Yale crew of 1882. Davis, the professional, was in high favor at Yale, owing to his record of victories, and at the beginning of the year he offered to take full charge of the training and rigging ; and if the Yale eight did not beat by a full minute the previous records for the four miles at New Haven, he would be content to be turned adrift with all his inventions. The saner rowing men were opposed to the full play of these ideas, which among other things contemplated a stroke run ning to fifty; but the Davis men won, and he took charge. He had a boat made sixty-eight feet long with a narrow beam, and each pair of men sat in separate cockpits ; from a distance the boat looked like four pair-oared shells, and his idea was that by thus dividing the men the oars would have a chance to get solid water, for with the short, quick stroke the spacing would be very short. Of course it was but a whim. He trained the crew in a shuttle-like stroke that was all arms and legs, and the pace ran away up forty-four was rowing slowly. The trial in the harbor came off with leading members of the boat club as witnesses, and the eight went the four miles in 20.09, whereas the record had been 2 I. i 5,
and the prediction of Davis was justified. The crew went to New London full of confidence and beat the record every time that they rowed ; it was a big crew with enormous strength, and their average weight was one hundred and seventy seven and a half pounds — the heaviest college crew that had yet rowed. They could keep up the steady pace of forty-six for the whole course without effort.
Harvard had a lighter eight that had been well coached by Colonel Bancroft and Mr. R. C. Wat son, and it was the fastest boat that had gone out of Cambridge in some years. On the records it did not seem possible for Yale to lose, and when the crews were lined up at the start, Yale, for getting the contest and thinking only of making a record, called over to the Harvard men to bet that the time would be under twenty-one minutes.
Yale started at forty-eight, with Harvard ten below ; but their shuttle stroke did not send the shell far ahead, and at the mile they had only three-quarters of a length lead. The Yale cox swain steered far eastward and entered the eel grass on the flats, while Harvard kept in the channel with the tide ; for nearly two miles Yale was on these flats, and in that time Harvard put on five full boat lengths, while Yale at forty-four could scarcely make their boat move. Harvard, in spite of their lead, were almost demoralized and swinging very badly. Yale came out of the grass and into the tide again, and with a stroke of forty-six went after Harvard, going up yards at a time. But the Yale cox went off on another tack, and where he had been over one hundred yards to the east of his course, he now veered to the west, and at the finish was on the other side of Harvard with the Yale shell only half a length behind the exhausted Crimson crew, who had been rowed out in the first part of the course in trying to keep up with the terrific pace of Yale. Harvard's time was 2o.472, and Yale was faster than that of any previous Yale crew in spite of their wanderings. Rowing men were glad that the freak stroke had not won ; but its speed had been demonstrated, and the same sys tem remained for the next year at Yale ; it was reasoned that any stroke was good which could send a shell along at the rate that Yale had trav elled over parts of the course.