Crews

Columbia v. Yale v. Pennsylvania. Coach Ed Leader of Yale had plenty of good men to pull the Alaskan cedar oars, supposed to be tougher and springier than spruce, with which he had rigged out his shells this year. It is a heavy crew, too, averaging more than 185 Ib.; Leader's main problem was to find a stroke. Those able strokes, Arthur Palmer Jr. and Woodruff Tappen, had graduated and there was no one else in sight. He decided after elaborate trials that long-legged Robert Goodale was more dependable than Herbert Shepard, who stroked last year's freshmen. But Leader was respectful of Columbia; the way they beat the Navy three weeks ago meant power, a boat that might establish the old-time supremacy of New York City oarsmen.

Columbia paddled in a chilly mist along the Harlem River to the starting line. Macrae Sykes was stroking. He was nervous in his freshman races last year but this year has shown a smooth rhythm, easy to pick up and follow. The third boat in the race was Pennsylvania, whose lightness Russell ("Rusty") Callow, once coach of great Washington crews, defended by saying: "I never cared much for very big oarsmen. This is the best material I've had at Penn." With twelve special buses trailing them along the bank the three sprinted away with Columbia in the lead. After the first quarter of a mile Penn was out in front for a few seconds. But soon Callow's men were fighting along in the wash, and Yale, unable to hold Columbia with a beat of 34, was sprinting in mid-distance. Between the bridges Columbia had the race won. Foot by foot, with beautiful timing, they added to their lead; at the finish they had a boat length, with a few clear feet of open water to spare. Four and a half lengths behind wallowed the Pennsylvanians.

Harvard v. Princeton v. M<< I. T. The M. I.T. crew that led the big Poughkeepsie fleet nearly half the distance last year and finished third was broken by graduations. Coach Bill Haines felt badly about it. "Haven't much . . . cleaned out . . . looks like a licking. . . ." Nobody knew much about Princeton except that John Schultz still runs the boathouse and that all boats are rigged for starboard strokes. Even the coxswain, Captain Robert ("Bish") Colmore, the best head in last year's boat, was out in the early season with a broken arm he got wrestling. Half a dozen men tried out for stroke and none of them turned out to be a sensation. So here were two dark horses in the race--three counting Harvard, also contestant, also rather gloomy. Loud has been the yapping from Harvard alumni about the miserable crews, the continued superiority of Yale. One indignant gentleman of the class of 1903 wrote an open letter to the Crimson suggesting 18 reforms; one was that rowing be put in charge of 50 graduate oarsmen each of whom would have equal rating as a coach and, presumably, give all his spare time to coaching one member of the rowing squad. But Coach Charles Whiteside. graduate of Syracuse, was worried principally about the cold weather that has kept him indoors so long; he had plenty of material, for more men go out for rowing at Harvard than for any other sport, and it was a big and, tentatively, an able crew that waited for the starting sprint on the Charles. All clean-cut Harvard faces in the boat and all good Harvard rowing names except one, Cassedy, the stroke, the best man in the boat. Away they went, ahead almost from the start, with four lengths at the finish. Princeton, fighting it out with M. I. T., took second place with an exciting sprint in the last 100 yards.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.