After this race the 'Wards issued a challenge to row any four in the world, and though several answered, only the St. John's men actually cared to race ; and they accepted with the Paris four that had won the championship of the world in the previous year in the regatta on the Seine, where they had beaten the fastest crews of England, among them the London Rowing Club four and the Oxford Etonians. The race was set for October on the six-mile course, with a turn at Springfield, and with it went the championship and $3000. The St. John's four well sustained their title of champions of the world, and though the Wards led at the start, the New Brunswick crew soon took the lead and won by nearly a minute in 39.281— or three quarters of a second slower than the Wards had beaten the previous St. John's four. The Paris four was later beaten by Renforth's four from England, and in the second race Renforth col lapsed under the strain, and St. John's won ; Ren forth died the same day.
International races were becoming more and more prominent ; Walter Brown went over to England and beat William Sadler on the Tyne, and an international regatta was arranged for Halifax. The Wards could not get a boat to enter, and the Biglin four rowed and were de feated. The success of these regattas and the desire to have an international regatta in this country led John Morrisey to arrange for a great series of races at Saratoga in September of 1871, and the large purses brought the best oarsmen of England and America. England had the Taylor Winship four that had won at Halifax and were the world's champions, and in which rowed J. H.
Sadler, later the champion sculler of England ; the Tyne crew had Harry Kelley and Robert Chambers. The American crews were the Wards, with Ellis in the place of Charles Ward, the old Stranger four from Poughkeepsie rowing as the Dutchess County crew, the Biglin four with John and Bernard Biglin, Coulter and McKaye, and the McKee crew from Pittsburg. Such interest had never before been manifested in any race as when these men took the line to start on their four-mile journey. The race was between the Wards, the Biglins, and the two English crews, but the Corn wall men reached the turning boat first and came down at forty strokes to the minute, winning by three lengths from the Tynesiders, with the Tay lor crew and the Biglins in a dead heat for third place. The time was 24.4o, and has never been equalled. The Tyne crew used the greased slide, while the Wards and the other crews were on fixed seats. Sadler won the single sculls very easily, with Harry Kelley second, John Biglin third, and Ellis Ward fourth.
Although the professional rowing had the greater public attention, the amateur oarsmen were active ; that rivalry between the college and the club crews had already started, and the Ata lanta six of New York, the champion club crew, in 1871 beat both Harvard and Yale, the former at Ingleside and the latter at Lake Saltonstall.
The Atalantas then challenged the champion London Rowing Club four to a race over the Putney-Mortlake course for the following year, but they were beaten in a close race ; the Ata lanta crew was Edward Smith, Alexander Handy, T. Van Raden, and Russell Withers.