The Boat Race 1914
71st Boat Race | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | 28 March 1914 | ||
Winner | Cambridge | ||
Margin of victory | 4+1⁄2 lengths | ||
Winning time | 20 minutes 23 seconds | ||
Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) | 31–39 | ||
Umpire | Frederick I. Pitman (Cambridge) | ||
|
The 71st Boat Race took place on 28 March 1914. Held annually, the Boat Race is a
Background
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[1] The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.[2][3] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2015, broadcast worldwide.[4] Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1913 race by three-quarters of a length,[5] and led overall with 39 victories to Cambridge's 30 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).[5][6]
Oxford's coaches were G. C. Bourne who had rowed for the university in the 1882 and 1883 races, his son Robert Bourne (who rowed four times from 1909 to 1912),[7] and Harcourt Gilbey Gold (Dark Blue president for the 1900 race and four-time Blue). Cambridge were coached by Stanley Bruce (who had rowed in the 1904 race).[8] For the eleventh year the umpire was old Etonian Frederick I. Pitman who rowed for Cambridge in the 1884, 1885 and 1886 races.[9]
According to author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater, the Cambridge crew "rapidly developed into a crew which gave every promise of being quite sensationally fast."[10] Conversely, he noted that Oxford suffered "from a dearth of material" which, followed by constant changes in the crew order, resulted in a "merely eight good men in a boat — and nothing more".[11]
Crews
The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 12 st 9.25 lb (80.2 kg), 3.25 pounds (1.5 kg) per rower more than their opponents. The Oxford crew saw five participants return, including cox Henry Wells who was taking part in his fourth race. Cambridge's crew also included five participants with Boat Race experience, including Sidney Swann who was making his fourth appearance in the event.[12] Swann and Ewart Horsfall had both won gold medals in the men's eight at the 1912 Summer Olympics, rowing for Leander Club. They defeated New College in the final for whom Arthur Wiggins, Beaufort Burdekin and Frederick Pitman rowed.[13]
Seat | Oxford |
Cambridge | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | College | Weight | Name | College | Weight | |
Bow |
R. W. Fletcher | Balliol | 11 st 10.5 lb | D. I. Day | Lady Margaret Boat Club | 11 st 6 lb |
2 | B. Burdekin | New College | 12 st 4 lb | S. E. Swann (P) | Trinity Hall | 11 st 13 lb |
3 | H. K. Ward | New College | 12 st 9 lb | P. C. Livingstone | Sidney Sussex | 13 st 7 lb |
4 | E. D. Horsfall | Magdalen | 12 st 7.5 lb | J. A. Ritson | 1st Trinity | 13 st 7 lb |
5 | J. B. Kindersley | Exeter | 12 st 9.5 lb | K. G. Garnett | 1st Trinity | 13 st 12 lb |
6 | A. F. R. Wiggins (P) | New College | 12 st 13 lb | C. S. Clark | Pembroke | 13 st 1 lb |
7 | G. W. Titherington | Queen's | 12 st 10 lb | C. E. V. Buxton | 3rd Trinity | 12 st 2.5 lb |
Stroke |
F. A. H. Pitman | New College | 12 st 6 lb | G. E. Tower | 3rd Trinity | 11 st 12 lb |
Cox | H. B. Wells | Magdalen | 8 st 8 lb | L. E. Ridley | Jesus | 8 st 7 lb |
Source:[14] (P) – boat club president[15] |
Race
Cambridge won the
It was the last race until
References
Notes
- ^ a b "Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight". The Observer. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Smith, Oliver (25 March 2014). "University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ "The Course". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Boat Race – Results". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Classic moments – the 1877 dead heat". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Burnell, p. 40
- ^ Burnell, pp. 110–111
- ^ Burnell, pp. 49, 108
- ^ Drinkwater, p. 131
- ^ a b c d Drinkwater, p. 132
- ^ a b c Ross, p. 230
- ^ "Rowing at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ^ Dodd, p. 321
- ^ Burnell, pp. 50–51
- ^ Drinkwater, pp. 133–134
- ^ Clark, Nick (6 April 2014). "The tragic fate of the 1914 boat race crews revealed". The Independent. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-9500638-7-4.
- Dodd, Christopher (1983). The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race. Stanley Paul. ISBN 0-09-151340-5.
- Drinkwater, G. C.; Sanders, T. R. B. (1929). The University Boat Race – Official Centenary History. Cassell & Company, Ltd.
- ISBN 978-0-333-42102-4.