By Bill Miller

If you were asked to pick The Century's Ten Most Notable People in American Rowing would it be the people who won the most US National Championships, perhaps those with the most Worlds/Olympic gold medals, or maybe some of the great coaches? If twenty people were asked to make this list, I'm sure no tow lists would be identical. We all have different experiences, different views, and/or different time periods to draw from.

The National Rowing Foundation (http://www.aviron.org/) manages the Rowing Hall of Fame. Their inductees include scores of great rowers, coxswains, scullers, coaches, patrons and crews. I came up with a list of about thirty-five deserving candidates. I sharp0ened my pencil and narrowed the group to fifteen candidates. I finally got close to the final ten, but then I switched someone around, and then again I'd make a change. I did this up until the final draft. As a coach, I had an easier time selecting my varsity eight than I did limiting this list to ten.

There are great scullers to consider such as J.B. Kelly Sr, J.B. Kelly Jr, Walter Hoover, Sy Crowell, Don Spero, Jim Barker, Jim Dietz, Larry Klecatsky, Joan Lind, John Van Blom, Tom McKibbon, Anne Marsden, Bill Belden, Scott Roop, Lindsey Burns, C.B. Sands and more. We must consider great rowers as well, although we never want to credit one individual in a crew. Many great coaches shaped our sport year-in and year-out such as Charles Courtney, James Ten Eyck, Hiram Connibear, Ed Leader, Rusty Callow, Ky Ebright, Al Ulbrickson, Tom Bolles, Stork Sanford, Charlie Butt, Jr. and still others. There are also the great patrons and those individuals who have dedicated much of their lives to improving opportunities for the rowing community such as Horace Davenport, Henry Penn Burke, Tom Mendenhall, Jack Franklin, Dick Dunham, Martha Ferguson, Hart Perry, Clayton Chapman and so many more.

I don't think anyone can choose ten people. I think it would take a very special committee to do this. I will approach this job by nominating my choices and then you may digest, accept or replace them as you see fit. Here goes.

1. George Y. Pocock

My first nomination is George Y. Pocock, boatbuilder, coach, and mentor to almost everyone in North American who rowed for the first two-thirds of the century. George grew up in a rowing family in Eton, England and was a successful sculler there. But in 1911, in early adulthood and nearing the peak of his sculling prowess, George and his brother Dick departed England for Canada and made their way to Vancouver, BC. It wasn't long before the Pococks were building shells and, subsequently, moving their operation to Seattle.

The Pocock shells were the mainstay of American rowing through three-quarters of the century. Nearly every crew raced in a Pocock boat. The only variable other than the crew itself was the age of the Pocock shell. Pocock shells were the vehicles that taught American oarsmen how to row and race and George Pocock was considered the grand master and true gentleman of his craft.

He was so knowledgeable about all aspects of rowing that coaches and competitors would seek his advice constantly. I have seen a number of letters written by sculler, Joe Burk, to George asking for advice on his equipment, rigging, and training. George wrote letters back with a few suggestions. George took young Joe under his wing and gave him advice whenever requested.

George was appointed boatman on the 1936, 1948, 1952, and 1956 US Olympic Teams. The Pocock boats were considered state-of-the-art and the Pocock company supplied all the boats for the 1952 Olympic team. In the book READY ALL! It describes George's experience after arriving in Helsinki. Upon his arrival he was "surprised and a bit flattered no doubt by the attention the Pocock-built American shells received from the Europeans: The foreign builders who were there set up their drawing boards and copied the lines of our boats."

Club and collegiate coaches knew that George would have a helpful tip on any problem. His unbiased helpfulness was cherished and respected by the North American rowing community. He received numerous honors; rooms dedicated to his name, testimonials, Hall of Fame recognition, and, at the 1956 Poughkeepsie IRA Regatta, he received the Rowing Citation Award. Part of it's inscription read "probably the best loved man in the sport of rowing".

I am happy to present George Y. Pocock as my first nomination for The Century's Ten Most Notable People in American Rowing.

2. John B. Kelly, Sr.

It's very hard to select one of the Kellys and not the other, but with only ten nominations to be made, I must be overly selective.

Jack Kelly worked his was to the top of American sculling in the second decade on our subject century. After WWI he was the National Singles Champion in 1919 and 1920 and earned a berth on the 1920 US Olympic team. In Brussels, Jack won the Olympic singles gold medal and then immediately climbed from his single into the waiting double-scull with partner and cousin, Paul Costello, and won the Olympic doubles gold medal. That's tow Olympic gold medals within an hour. Also, there were heats in both events and so the task was not easy. In the 1924 Paris Olympics, Jack and cousin, Paul, repeated as Olympic champions in the double-scull.

After retiring as champion sculler, Jack Kelly became one of the strongest supporters of American rowing. He became Commodore of the Schuylkill Navy from 1935 to 1941, President of the NAAO in 1953 and 1954, Vice President of FISA for North American from 1954 to 1955.

Jack Sr. was obviously influential in the development of his son John B. Kelly, Jr. or "Kell". Jack coached Kell from age 10 on. Jack's singles entry to the Henley Royal Regatta was denied but he coached Kell to win the elusive Diamond Sculls in '47, and '49. Jack also coached Kell at the '48, '52, and '56 Olympic Games.

In 1960, the first year of the Rowing Hall of Fame, John B. Kelly, Sr. was the first oarsman inducted. I present my nomination of John B. Kelly, Sr, as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People in American Rowing.

3. Mrs. Ernestine Bayer

There is no other person in Twentieth Century rowing who spans the time line as Mrs. Ernestine Bayer. Her marriage to Olympic competitor Ernest Bayer just before the 1928 Olympics had to be kept secret. In those days it was believed that an oarsman's strength would be compromised in a marital relationship. So, the ceremony was discrete and Erny went on to win the coxless-four Olympic silver medal without anyone questioning his capability.

It didn't take long for Ernestine to ask why women weren't rowing out of the Schuylkill boat clubs. No good answer could be given, so, she courageously founded the Philadelphia Girl's Rowing Club. Women now had a place to row.

Through Ernestine's efforts, the first US women's crew (eight and quad/w) was formed for the 1967 European Championships with Ernestine Bayer, Jr. in the boats. However, it wasn't recognized by the NAAO as a representative US boat and was denied team status. FISA President, Tommy Keller, stepped in and encouraged Ernestine and the upstart women's boat to come to the European Championships. They did and through the late 1960s the US women's team grew in strength. Today we see the fruit of her efforts; Women's national championships, and the inclusion of women's events at the FISA World Championships and Olympic Games.

Ernestine never left the water. She was one of the earliest supporters of the Alden Ocean Shell Association and sculled regularly. Now she is in her 90^th year and will be competing in the Indoor World Rowing Championships (CRASH-B Sprints) in March 2000. Here comes Mrs. Ernestine Bayer into the Twenty-First Century.

4. Joseph W. Burk

When we talk about motivation and innovation none can compare with Coach Joseph W. Burk. His sculling technique and racing strategy was unheard of in the 1930s. Joe's technique was to row a very high rating, much higher than anyone had ever heard of, and to train much harder than anyone else. In his races he would row the full course at 38 and 39 strokes per minute against his opponents' 31-34. He would wear them down. The 1939 NAAO Rowing Guide devotes a whole article on his style, "Joe Burk And His Unorthodox Style, By Which He Has Won Over Twenty-Six Consecutive Races In The Past Two Years; No Defeats." This was his record in the middle of his racing career.

The Penn AC sculler went on to capture the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1938. he repeated this accomplishment in 1939 and he returned to a "ticker-tape parade" through the downtown Philadelphia streets. He was named Amateur Athlete Of The Year by the AAU. This is the highest honor bestowed on a US amateur athlete covering all sports. After his days of competing, Joe Burk became on of the most noted and respected coaches of his day. The University of Pennsylvania became a collegiate power and Joe's innovations became widely known especially his objective selection process. During spring training he would randomly assign seats and conduct a series of races.

Each rower in each crew would receive points depending on the place they finished. Everyone was shuffled around the boats. Many races each day, dozens each week and scores during the training period produced a sampling of each oarsman's capability. The results were tabulated, the four port and four starboard oarsmen with the highest point total were selected for the first boat, then the next four per side for the second boat. The system reinforced the idea that the rowers had to train at peak performance and that the selection was to be totally subjective. The resulting crews were race ready and successful.

A second innovation that Joe tried was a system of evaluating oarsmen using stress-gauges. Each oarlock was affixed to a stress-gauge that measured the amount of force being applied to the pin. The gauges were wired to a control box at the coxswain's feet that had four lights for each position. If an oarsman pulled with the greatest of force all four lights would illuminate; a little less and three would light up. The cox could glance down and check the result of each oarsman's pull. It was a painfully honest system.

The Univ. of Penn. Varsity won the IRA Championship in 1967, 68, and 69 and in 1968 the varsity eight upset Harvard at the Adams Cup and broke the Crimson four year undefeated streak. I nominate the legendary sculler and coach, Joseph W. Burk, as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

5. Conn F. Findlay

Rowing a coxed-pair leaves no room for slackers. Either you move a boat or you don't. The champion of the coxed-pair is truly a boat-mover. At 6'6" and upwards of 220lb. Conn Findlay was a boat-mover. He stroked the 1956 US Olympic Coxed-pair from the starboard side with partner Arthur Ayrault, Jr. and cox, Kurt Steiffert, to an Olympic gold medal. In 1960, Conn switched sides to port and with new partner, Richard Draeger and new cox Kent Mitchell, rowed the coxed-pair to an Olympic bronze medal. Not finished with his Olympic quest, in 1964 Conn teamed with a third partner, Ed Ferry and captured the Olympic gold medal having switched again to the starboard side stroke seat. Now that's a boat-mover.

He is a legend in the rowing community for another reason. Conn could do anything in rowing. He was US Team boatman, assistant manager, head manager, and substitute when needed. If a boat needed fixing, he did it. If a part needed to be found, he found it. If a crew needed advice, he would lend it. It got done.

He ran a boat leasing program for the West Coast programs and would make coastal trips to all the sites to repair and maintain the shells. If an eight needed to be taken out of the rack, he did it himself. If it needed to be unloaded from a trailer, he took one end and two others took the other end. The stories are truly legendary.

But I've got another success story to tell. As well known in the rowing community as Conn was, he was even better known in the sport of sailing. Conn always found the right boat to be on. He won just about every sailing trophy there was to be won including the 1977 America's Cup with Ted Turner on Courageous. He added to his Olympic rowing medals a 1976 Olympic bronze medal sailing in the Star Class with partner Dennis Connor. Every sailing port in the world knows Conn Findlay.

I nominate the boat-mover and can-do, Conn F. Findlay, as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People in American Rowing.

6. Ted A. Nash

To make the US Rowing Team is quite an accomplishment. To make it well over twenty times is awesome. I'm not sure if anyone else has surpassed the number of Teams of which Ted Nash has been a member.

As an oarsman, Ted rowed for the Lake Washington Rowing Club. His first team was the 1959 Pan American Games and resulted in a gold medal in the US coxless-four. He added an Olympic gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Ted rowed in the US coxed-four at the 1961 European Championships and then added another Pan Am gold in the US coxless-four in 1963. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Ted added an Olympic bronze.

Starting in 1968, Ted focused (and I mean focused) on coaching the US Team boats. I think I counted nearly 20 times that he has coached a boat on the US Team and with surprising success in the coxless-four event, which is commonly known as a European event. His coxless-fours have won numerous medals in the late eighties and early nineties. Ted Nash is still coaching the US Team boats and his accomplishments will indeed carry into the twenty-first century.

I nominate a great oarsman and a great coach who keeps surprising the skeptics yea-in and year-out, Ted A. Nash, as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

7. Harry Parker

Anywhere in the world in the rowing community mention the name, Harry Parker, and people will turn to hear what you have to say. As an expert sculler, as a legendary coach, as a fierce competitor, Harry Parker is one of the remarkable figures in American rowing in the twentieth century.

Harry was a student of Coach Joe Burk at U. Penn. The story is he would walk miles to Joe's home to have dinner and talk rowing. After graduation Harry began sculling and won the gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games. At the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, he made the final placing fifth.

In 1963 Harry Parker became Assistant Coach at Harvard beside Coach Tom Bolles. But soon after, Coach Bolles died and the young Parker took control of the Varsity Heavyweight program. Immediately from atop the Herreshoff "Higginson" his watchful eye brought Harvard to reigning champs. Year after year Harvard dominated not only collegiately, but internationally as well: 1967 European Championships - sliver medal, 1967 Pan American Games - gold medal, 1968 Mexico Olympics - 6^th.

In 1972 the NAAO asked Harry if he would head the new National Camp program. This concept was tried the previous few years on a regional basis and now it was going to be implemente4d at the national level. Harry agreed and he culled the best oarsmen from the country. Off to Munich he went and the first National Eight nipped the East German machine for the Olympic silver medal. Then in 1975 harry led the women's National Eight to a silver medal and the 1976 first women's Olympic eight to a bronze medal. There were another seven or eight US Team boats that he coached successfully while leading Harvard to collegiate dominance.

I nominate a sculler and the most successful coach spanning nearly four decades, Harry Parker, as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

8. Horace Davenport

We must include a gentleman that had a huge impact on the development of US rowing at the international level. In the mid 1960s, it was realized that the US Olympic rowing squad could no longer show up at the Games every four years and expect to continue to win gold medals. The Europeans were getting too much experience for us to do that. So, the National Rowing Foundation was formed in 1966 with the purpose of funding a US team to the European and World Rowing Championships in the non-Olympic years. One person in particular came forward to fund this effort - Mr. Horace Davenport.

Horace was a great college stroke at Columbia and he led his varsity eight to the IRA champions in both 1927 and 1929. After becoming a successful businessman he decided to give back to what he always said was his most important experience in life - rowing. Every year Mr. Davenport would write a check to cover the expense of sending the US Team to the Europeans/World Championships. Through the remaining sixties, seventies, and early eighties, one man in particular gave scores of rowers the opportunity to compete - Horace Davenport. He did it with a smile and delight that he could help fellow rowers and never expected anything more than a smile in return.

I wish to nominate a great college stroke and very special patron, Mr. Horace Davenport as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

9. Anita DeFranz

In the early 1970s, women's rowing was carving out an existence in college boathouses in the US. At Connecticut College a young woman was learning about this new and exciting sport being embraced by women athletes. During the summers, Anita DeFranz relocated to Philadelphia to row at the well-known Vesper Boat Club. In 1975, she, along with 4 other Vesper competitors, won the US Coxed-Four trials and raced at the World Championships in Nottingham, England placing 6^th.

In 1976 Harry Parker selected Anita for the US Women's National Eight that captured the Montreal Olympic bronze medal. Then in 1977, she rowed the pair into the final at the Amsterdam World Championships. Anita's fourth US Team took her to the World Championships in New Zealand where she doubled in the coxed-four (silver medal) and the eight (4^th). In 1979, she made her fifth team rowing into the World Championship finals in the coxed-four.

Now we come to a pivotal year for Anita. She made the 1980 US Olympic Team, but due to political influences was not allowed to compete at the Moscow Olympics. This led her to openly question and criticize this presidential policy. Having completed her law degree, Anita stood up for the athletes' rights and filed a lawsuit challenging this injustice.

She worked with the LA Olympic Organizing Committee and became president of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. She served on the Board of Directors of the US Olympic Committee and was appointed a US representative to the International Olympic Committee. In 1997 Anita became the first female vice-president of the IOC and is a member of numerous IOC committees and commissions. She is the highest-ranking woman in sport worldwide with immense responsibility.

I nominate a person who has competed successfully at the highest level and took a riskier course to express her opinions, as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

10. Carie Graves

As I mentioned earlier, women's rowing ignited on college campuses and sprung into US national team status in the early to mid 1970s. One women in particular met success with a hunger for more success, Carie Graves. Everyone on both the women's and men's US teams from 1975 through 1984 were totally awed by her ability, focus, and fierce competitiveness.

After leading Wisconsin to collegiate prominence, Carie set her sights on the 1975 US National Eight. She propelled the eight from the stroke seat to a silver medal at the World Championships. The 1975 US Olympic women's Eight captured the Montreal Olympic silver medal with Carie in the six seat. In 1979 Carie got into the pair and placed fifth at the Beld World Championships. Like Anita DeFranz she was denied a chance to add to her medal count at the Moscow Olympics. She had earned the six seat in the National Eight again.

Following the 1980 frustrations many competitors put their oar in the rack, but not Carie. She decided to make a run for 1984. This resulted in a silver medal in the eight in 1981 and again in 1983. At the 1984 LA Olympics, Carie, in the US Women's Eight, put the field behind them and won the Olympic gold.

Upon finally putting her oar in the rack (or most likely n the wall) Carie became head coach at Radcliffe. Then she took over the women's program at Northeastern and built the program into an eastern power. After many years in Boston, she was lured away to build the new women's program at the University of Texas, where she is at the turn of the century.

There are many worthy millennium candidates who met great success on the international race-courses and who went on to become great coaches, both men and women, but Carie inspired something a lot more. I think she was the first to show that women could be, and were, really tough competitors. The men had their awesome role models. With Carie Graves, the women had their own awesome competitor. I nominate Carie Graves as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

11. Michael Teti

In the early 90s, Mike was known by his US teammates as the old man. He first made the US Team in 1977 and his last team as a competitor was in 1993. During this time he collected one gold medal in the eight, a silver in the four and another silver in the par, and two bronzes in the eight. This was a great and long racing career, but Mike has shown a far brighter star in US rowing.

After finishing up his competitive days, Mike tried his hand at coaching - Princeton Frosh. But he couldn't stay away from the US Team, so he coached on the 1994 and 1995 team. The Men's National Coach position was open in 1997 and Mike was asked to take over the US program. His 1997, 1998, and 1999 US National Men's Eight won the gold medal. Not since the East German regime has an eight won the gold three consecutive times.

Mike has done one more thing that won't be seen in the record books. He has reconnected the national team with the general rowing community. By this I mean he goes out and works closely with the colleges and clubs. It hasn't always been that way, but now there is a greater communication and respect throughout the rowing community. I make Michael Teti my last, but not least, nomination as one of The Century's Ten Most Notable People In American Rowing.

More?

Have you been counting my nominations? Yes, I've included eleven. I can't cut one. They are all so important. And yet I have many more people I think deserve to be included.

I would like to tell you about Hiram Connibear who established U Washington as a powerhouse and at the same time developed a group of rowers who would become most of the great coaches through the middle part of the century. I would like to tell you about Coach Tony Johnson and Larry Hough in the pair. I would like to tell you about a very young, current competitor who stroked four boats in four tries to gold medals named Chris Ahrens. He is out of the Steve Redgrave mold and is ahead of Steve's pace for gold medals. I would like to tell you about Joan Lind's ten-year reign in women's sculling and Anne Marden's fifteen-year reign on the US Team. I would like to tell you about Amy Fuller's twelve US boats; about Holly Metcalf's string of medals; and about the McCagg sisters too. I would like to tell you about Coach Liz O'Leary with two medals in sculling and one in sweep and her coaching career.

So there are my eleven choices. I'm turning it over to you to make the cut. I can't. I'd be happy to see your list.

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