:The Boat Race 1897
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox University Boat Race
| name= 54th Boat Race
| winner =Oxford
| margin = {{frac|2|1|2}} lengths
| winning_time= 19 minutes 12 seconds
| date= {{Start date|1897|4|3|df=y}}
| umpire =Frank Willan
(Oxford)
| prevseason= 1896
| nextseason= 1898
| overall =22–31
}}
The 54th Boat Race took place on 3 April 1897. The Boat Race is an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race. The crews were almost evenly matched weight-wise, Oxford marginally the heavier, whose crew consisted almost entirely of veterans of the event. In a race umpired by former rower Frank Willan, Oxford won by {{frac|2|1|2}} lengths in a time of 19 minutes 12 seconds, the victory taking the overall record to 31–22 in their favour. It was Oxford's eighth consecutive victory and the third fastest winning time in the history of the event.
Background
File:McLean DH Vanity Fair 1897-04-08.jpg coached the Oxford crew.]]
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the boat clubs of University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues"){{Cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/apr/06/theobserver | work = The Observer | title = Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight | date = 6 April 2003 | access-date = 11 September 2014 }} and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the {{convert|4.2|mi|km|adj=on}} Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.{{Cite web | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/10719622/University-Boat-Race-2014-spectators-guide.html | work = The Daily Telegraph | access-date = 20 August 2014 | date = 25 March 2014 |title = University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide | first = Oliver |last =Smith}}{{Cite web | url = http://theboatraces.org/the-course | title = The Course| access-date = 20 August 2014 | publisher = The Boat Race Company Limited}} The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities, as of 2014 it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide.{{cite news|title=Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race crew|date=6 April 2014|publisher=CBC News|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/former-winnipegger-in-winning-oxford-cambridge-boat-race-crew-1.2600176|access-date=20 August 2014}}{{Cite web | url = http://theboatraces.org/tv-and-radio | title = TV and radio | publisher = The Boat Race Company Limited | access-date = 5 July 2014 | archive-date = 8 August 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160808043710/http://theboatraces.org/tv-and-radio | url-status = dead }}{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o2QpA0fGyiIC&q=%22boat+race%22+%22united+kingdom%22+audience&pg=PA287 | title=Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture| first1 = Andrei |last1=Markovits|first2=Lars |last2=Rensmann| publisher = Princeton University Press| date= 6 June 2010 | isbn=978-0691137513|pages=287–288}} Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having beaten Cambridge by two-fifths of a length in the previous year's race, and held the overall lead, with 30 victories to Cambridge's 22 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).{{Cite web | url= http://theboatraces.org/classic-moments-the-1877-dead-heat | publisher = The Boat Race Company Limited | title = Classic moments – the 1877 dead heat | access-date = 11 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141028142809/http://theboatraces.org/classic-moments-the-1877-dead-heat | archive-date= 28 October 2014}}{{Cite web | url = http://theboatraces.org/results | title =Men – Results | publisher = The Boat Race Company Limited | access-date = 27 September 2014}}
Oxford were coached by G. C. Bourne who had rowed for Oxford in the 1882 and 1883 races, William Fletcher, who rowed for Oxford in the 1890, 1891, 1892 and 1893 races and Douglas McLean (an Oxford Blue five times between 1883 and 1887). There is no record of who coached the Cambridge crew.Burnell, pp. 110–111 Oxford were very quick, and set a full course record (on the ebb tide) of 18 minutes and 27 seconds two weeks before the race.Drinkwater, p. 103 Conversely, according to author and former rower George Drinkwater, Cambridge "never fulfilled its early promise ... always slow into the water." The umpire for the race for the ninth year in a row was Frank Willan who won the event four consecutive times, rowing for Oxford in the 1866, 1867, 1868 and 1869 races.Burnell, pp. 49, 59
Crews
The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 6.25 lb (78.8 kg), {{convert|0.875|lb|kg|1}} per rower more than their opponents.Burnell, p. 66 The Cambridge boat included four former Blues in their number five William Augustus Bieber who was participating in his third Boat Race. Five of the Light Blues were studying at Trinity Hall. Their number four, American rower Benjamin Hunting Howell, was the only participant in the race registered as non-British, hailing from the New York.Burnell, p. 39 All but one of Oxford's crew had rowed in the event prior to 1897, only G. O. C. Edwards was new to the race. Eight of the nine members of the Dark Blue crew were educated at Eton College; four of their crew were studying at New College. George Drinkwater, former Oxford rower and author stated "this year saw the finest Oxford crew that has ever rowed".Drinkwater, p. 103
File:Dudley-Ward William Vanity Fair 1900-03-29.jpg rowed at number seven for Cambridge.]]
| class="wikitable" | ||||||
| rowspan="2" scope="col| Seat
! colspan="3" scope="col| Oxford ! colspan="3" scope="col| Cambridge | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name
! College ! Weight ! Name ! College ! Weight | ||||||
| Bow | J. J. J. de Knoop | New College | 11 st 6 lb | D. E. Campbell-Muir | Trinity Hall | 11 st 5 lb |
| 2 | G. O. C. Edwards | New College | 12 st 1 lb | A. S. Bell (P) | Trinity Hall | 12 st 1 lb |
| 3 | C. K. Phillips | New College | 12 st 0.5 lb | E. J. D. Taylor | Gonville and Caius | 12 st 13 lb |
| 4 | C. D. Burnell | Magdalen | 13 st 9 lb | B. H. Howell | Trinity Hall | 12 st 9 lb |
| 5 | E. R. Balfour | University | 13 st 8.5 lb | W. A. Bieber | Trinity Hall | 13 st 1 lb |
| 6 | R. Carr | Magdalen | 12 st 11.5 lb | D. Pennington | Gonville and Caius | 12 st 9 lb |
| 7 | W. E. Crum (P) | New College | 12 st 3 lb | W. Dudley Ward | 3rd Trinity | 12 st 6 lb |
| Stroke | H. G. Gold | Magdalen | 11 st 11 lb | W. J. Fernie | Trinity Hall | 11 st 13 lb |
| Cox | H. R. K. Pechell | Brasenose | 8 st 0.5 lb | E. C. Hawkins | Gonville and Caius | 8 st 1 lb |
| colspan="7"|Source:Dodd, p. 312 (P) – boat club presidentBurnell, pp. 50–51 |
Race
File:University Boat Race Thames map.svg, along which the race is conducted]]
As a result of their impressive performances during the buildup to the race, Oxford were clear favourites to win.Drinkwater, pp. 103–104 Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Oxford. The race was started at 2:24 p.m. in a light breeze from the east on a favourable tide.Drinkwater, p. 104 The Light Blues made the quicker start, with stroke William James Fernie taking his crew off at 41 strokes per minute. Within a quarter of a mile, Cambridge held a half-length lead but the Dark Blues began to draw back into contention and took the lead just before Craven Cottage.
A spurt at the Mile Post from the Light Blues kept them in touch but Oxford rowed away from them, taking a clear water advantage by Hammersmith Bridge, effectively ending the contest. Oxford extended their lead "as they liked" and passed the finishing post two and a half lengths clear of Cambridge, in a winning time of 19 minutes 12 seconds. It was Oxford's eighth consecutive victory and was, at the time, the third fastest winning time in the history of the event. It took the overall record to 31–22 in Oxford's favour.
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References
Notes
{{reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{Cite book | title = One Hundred and Fifty Years of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race | first = Richard | last = Burnell | author-link = Dickie Burnell | year=1979| isbn= 0950063878 | publisher = Precision Press}}
- {{Cite book | title = The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race | first = Christopher| last = Dodd | isbn= 0-09-151340-5 | publisher =Stanley Paul |year= 1983}}
- {{Cite book | title = The University Boat Race – Official Centenary History | first1 = G. C. |last1 = Drinkwater | first2= T. R. B. |last2=Sanders |publisher = Cassell & Company, Ltd.| year = 1929}}
External links
- [http://theboatraces.org/ Official website]
{{The Boat Race}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1897}}
Category:1897 in English sport