The First Year 1970
by Norman A. Thetford and Baxter Walsh
In 1969–70 the presence of two Olympic champions with roots in New Haven and a hankering to row again helped to spur the creation of the New Haven Rowing Club. One was John Cooke, and the other was David H. Wight. At that time Juan Tripp, the President of Pan-American Airways, wanted to finance a FISA rowing course in New Haven by the lagoon on the Boulevard where Yale already had a modest boathouse. Tony Johnson, Yale’s Rowing Coach, had an overloaded bench of undergraduate rowers. He needed a way to include them in the University rowing schedule which stipulated that a university or club could only enter one of each category of boat in any one regatta. David Wight, Tony Johnson, and John Cooke decided to develop a “club” that would accomplish multiple objectives: support Tripp’s excellent plan, provide colors under which a second cadre of Yale undergraduate rowers could race in regattas and allow the older ex-elite rowers to row for fun and fitness. The New Haven Rowing Club was founded in 1970.
A primary objective of the organization was to foster and encourage the growth of rowing on several different levels in the community. During the summer months, the Club sponsored two open houses at the Intercollege boathouse on the lagoon, boated highly successful crews in major summer regattas including the U.S. Nationals, and started a daily rowing program for about 20 interested teenagers at the Derby boathouse.
Quite obviously, a rowing club without a facility or equipment of its own has to be dependent on some organization that can provide those essentials. In this case, Yale University bridged the gap. The Yale coaches fully supported the program for several reasons. It afforded a vehicle for Yale students and recent graduates to further their own abilities and desires as oarsmen, and provided other individuals and groups in the area the same benefits and thrills from rowing that previously could only be enjoyed by Yale undergraduates.
The senior competitive group was small, as might be expected in the initial year of a rowing club. There were a few individuals who would have liked to have been more active but for one reason or another (in most cases it came down to a job) could not do so. The final group include two Yale undergraduates, Phil Case and Shelby Hines from the 1970 varsity and junior varsity, respectively, two Brown University freshmen, Peter Falk and George Taylor, two Jacksonville University graduates, Bill Jurgens and August Burriechter, David Riggs, an Australian, and John Jenkens, a Potomac Boat Club friend of coach Tony Johnson. The coxswains were Gary Caldwell from the 1970 Yale junior varsity, Peter Akwai ’68, a former Yale lightweight coxswain and Jay Printzlau from Liverpool High School near Syracuse, NY. There were three coxswains because each had other commitments which prevented any one of them from being available on all occasions. Gary lived and worked in Hartford. Peter took time off when he could from his job in Milford, and Jay quite capably coxed in two regattas when Peter and Gary could not go.
Bringing together such a varied group and then finding jobs and housing for them was a story in itself. The job situation was critical and nearly killed the club before it got started[1]. An additional eight men wanted to spend the summer in New Haven and row with the Club but were unable to do so because there was no work. The group that remained probably worked an average of three different jobs each over the course of the summer. They were extremely resourceful at finding work, but the problems involved were not the best for competitive rowing.
Primarily, the training and racing was in fours and pairs. It wasn’t until the last three weeks of the summer that there were eight men and a coxswain together in New Haven. As the summer progressed, the men gained confidence in themselves and each other, and the results demonstrated that growth. The Club raced in the Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia and then the Canadian Henley in St. Catharines in late July. In the latter regatta, the team learned that they could be competitive with the best in the United States since they had made the finals in the four with, the four without, and the pair with coxswain.
With a new sense of enthusiasm, the men returned to New Haven and went back to work harder than ever. As a result, they won four races and the point trophy at the New England Championships in mid-August and were close in two events in the Nationals a week later. As the date of the Nationals approached, the men found themselves caught in a new dilemma. The winners of the seven Olympic events in the Nationals were to represent the United States in the World Championships in September. The primary racing boats were a four and a pair, but since the racing was spread over a five-day period to allow the oarsmen to double up, it was decided to enter an eight as well. As the date of the Nationals approached, the eight started to go fairly well and what was going to be a fun race for experience became more important. If the eight won, they could not represent the United States in the World Championships because Higgs was an Australian and not a United States citizen. Earlier in the summer, it would have been a moot point because there were only eight oarsmen available. As the time of the Nationals approached and the boat got faster, the men began to wonder if they should try to race with a crew that could go to the World’s if they raced well and won. Mark Borchett, a Potomac Boat Club friend of Jenkins, was available and, in the end, did row with the crew.
In the morning heats with everyone relaxed and with nothing to lose and everything to gain, the crew rowed well and won a hard heat with the best time of the morning. Then the pressure and anticipation took its toll. The crew was very much in the race for 800 meters, but as Vesper Boat Club and Union started to go ahead, New Haven could not match the pace. At the finish they were fifth, losing also to the University of Washington and to U.C.L.A.
The four with provided the other exciting race as they finished second to a University of Washington four. New Haven led for the first 1000 meters but fell behind over the next 400 meters. They finished well but lost by just over a length.
All in all, the summer of 1970 was a great success and a solid foundation for the future. There were plans to have a group of lightweights row in 1970 as well, but the Yale lightweight trip to Henley and the job situation forced cancellation of those plans. Two of the returning Henley group, Jon Van Amringe and Tom Weil, stayed in New Haven and competed in a double. They won in the New England Championships and placed second in the Nationals for a good racing summer.
In 1971, the club hoped to have a returning, experienced group ready to race, and a track record that would attract other competitive rowers from Yale and other colleges. They planned to race at the U.S. Nationals and the European Championships in Copenhagen; however, for various reasons, that did not occur. By 1975, there was only a single four (Dave Wight, John Cooke, Joe Introcaso and Bob McCartney) rowing once a week on Sunday mornings.
[1] The country was in the grip of a recession in 1969 and 1970, and jobs were hard to find.