1939: Rowing

Harvard's exceptional record of victories in 1939 in all classes, i.e., Varsity, Junior Varsity, Freshman and 150-pound crews, clearly entitles her to first place in Intercollegiate Rowing in United States. Add to this the three victories of her Varsity in the English Henley to capture the Grand Challenge Cup and Harvard's Varsity can be considered as the World's Champion for 1939.

This does not overlook the magnificent victory of California in winning the Varsity Race at Poughkeepsie in a field of seven crews making a new record of 18:12 6/10, and the fact that Washington's Varsity was only 1 and 4/10 seconds behind California in that race. Syracuse deserves honorable mention for winning first place in the Junior Varsity Race at Poughkeepsie in a field of six crews, and Washington's Freshman crew for winning first place at Poughkeepsie in a field of six crews.

Harvard climaxed the most successful season in its history with its second successive 'clean sweep' of the New London Regatta with Yale. Two weeks later, the Varsity Eight won the Grand Challenge Cup at the 100th anniversary of the Henley Royal Regatta at Henley, England. This was the second time Harvard had won 'The Grand,' the former occasion being 1914, just prior to the World War.

Harvard's is the only American or Canadian crew ever to bring 'The Grand' to this side of the Atlantic.

Harvard Varsity's only defeat was by Cornell on Lake Cayuga's turbulent waters in a two-mile race on May 27. Harvard's Junior Varsity lost only to Navy, while the Freshmen and the 150 pound crews, were undefeated.

Harvard won the Rowe, Compton, Goldthwaite, Joe Wright Memorial Trophy, Adams and New London Cup Races; Yale won the Princeton, Blackwell and Carnegie Cups; Princeton, the Childs Cup.

California's Varsity was manifestly a superior crew, undefeated in all her three starts. Her victories were very creditable, and in the two most important California made new records: a lead over Washington by six lengths in the annual regatta over a 3-mile course on Oakland Estuary, April 15; and first place in the Varsity Race (4 miles) in a field of seven at Poughkeepsie on June 17.

In England on April 1, Cambridge University defeated Oxford by four lengths in 19 min. 3 sec. in the 91st Annual Race on the Thames from Putney to Mortlake, a distance of 4¼ miles. Neither Cambridge nor Oxford crews, however, competed as such after this race as they frequently do in the Henley Royal Regatta.

In Single Sculling Jos. W. Burk of the Penn Athletic Club of Philadelphia again demonstrated his right to the title of World's Single Sculls Champion by winning the Diamond Sculls at the Henley Regatta for the second successive time and also retaining his National and Canadian Singles Championship for the third successive year. He completed a string of 37 consecutive victories in singles over a period of 3 years, a record never equalled.