The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-10
MINNESOTA BOAT CLUES COACH
AND TRAINER SIGNS A NEW
HAVEN CONTRACT.
NE WILL ASSIST BOB COOK
AND TRAIN THE SONS OF ELI IN
DER THE VETERAN COACH'S
DIRECTION.
ZEN YEARS IN SERVICE IN sT.PAUL
what the Local Oarsmen Have Ac-
cOmoIished in That Time Is Mr..
Kennedy's Recommendation.

Those loyal ST. Paul people who have
cooked on and cheered to victory the
doughty men who have time and again
rowed the cherry and white of the Min
nesota Boat club to the front will
learn with considerable regret that the
popular organization has lost its coach
and trainer, John Kennedy.
Some little time ago the directors of
the Yale navy made overtures for the
services of Coach Kennedy, and last
night he mailed to New Haven years
contract with his signature affixed. He
leaves for the East Nov. 1, and will
assist in the training of the Sons of
Eli, who are even at this time prepar-
ing both on the river and in the gym
nasium for coming aquatic contests.
His work will be directly beneath the
watchful supervision of Coach Bob
Cook and the members of the navy di-
rectore.
Coach Kennedy will be missed in st.
Paul. where he has been since 1886 the
trainer of the Minnesota Boat club, and
although he has had in his charge some
Of the present active rowing men long
enough to insure their going on, doing
good work, it will be found hard work
to fill the vacancy. During the eleven
years the club has won more races than
any rowing club in the country, and
In no one year has the organization
failed to win at least one senior event
In that time the club never fell below
winning second honors save at Sarato-
ga two years ago, when three crews
were tied for the place position after a
whipping finish. For the first six years
Of his connection with the club, Coach
Kennedy was retained for simply the
training and racing season, but for the
last four years he has held contracts
for continuous service for the entire
twelve months. His last contract eX-
pired Oct /, and shortly before that,
at a meeting of the club directors, 1T
was decided to engage his services as
formerly, for only the months when
the men were training for or rowing
in races" It was explained at the
time that this move was one taken
solely in the direction of curtailing the
clubs expense during the winter seas
on and was not to be taken as sign
that it's members were not fully ap-
preciative of the hard and faithful work
of the coach.
Some of the members of the club fore
saw that the step taken would result
In the loss of Kennedy, and so it has
proved, for hardly had the fact become
known when an effort was set on foot
to establish a navy at the state univer-
sity, based on the notion that Ken
nedys services could be secured, that
several of the men he trained to row
were in the "U," and that the citizens.
Of the two cities were ready to supply
the needed funds to put Minnesota in
water sport where she could compete as
creditably as she does on the gridiron
and in other departments of athletics
What effect upon this project the de-
parture of Mr.. Kennedy will have can
only be conjectured. Despite the inter-
mittent and somewhat drastic comment
made from season to season by some of
the past heroes Of the boat club, it may
be stated that under certain untoward
conditions, and with certain obstacles
to overcome, the Wearers of the cherry
and white have marched steadily on
from year to year, until it is true, in
the opinion of a member of the club
who has been a crack oar himself that
her senior four this year, with a proper
shell to practice or row in, could not
be beaten in the land. This crew,
which, owing to the lack of suitable
four to pull in, scarcely trained at all,
beat the Winnipeg senior four which
in turn pulled the mile and a half
thirty seconds faster than their junior
four, a cracking fast four itself The
Langfords, HoughtOn and "Merrie"
Bend made up the crew, and it is the
judgement of some of the conservative
men who watched their work, that they
were never given their full need of
credit for their valiant victory. 1t is
a noticeable fact that the victories
Which have come to the Reds, were
finish victories, where skill, stamina
and grit won out instead of mere
strength, which would lead a race from
the start. The ten or dozen men in
Coach Kennedy's care this past season,
it is safe to say, gave promise of de-
velopment into as good an average lot
Of oarsmen as ever stepped off the
boathouse float in a shell.
To show that this is true rhe first
race rowed after Mr.. Kennedy was
with the Minnesotas was when Mime
sofa, Winnipeg and ST. Paul were
pitted for the honors. The course was
mile and a half straightaway at Min
netonka. Winnipeg did the distance in
private trial in minutes fat. Mime
SOId WOu SSCOLu place III the race III
$40. Nine minutes had not then been
beaten. Do these people who criticise
now realize that crew which cannot
do the trick in S:21 has no business in
the event, and that the Winnipeggers
at Saratoga two years ago, when they
defeated Minnesota, made it down as
far as S:15?
Take the river time. When the crew
which ten years ago gave the crack
Hillsdale crew such a terrific job to
beat them at Washington made the
two miles with a turn on the river in
1926, it was conceded to be very fast
Now a senior crew to be in it at all
must do the distance in something like
IL 80 or stay out.
1t is significant that no year has
passed in the ten when as little was
Topped off the best time then on the
cards, and by Minnesota's oarsmen
Last year might be excepted for there
was little or no rowing done here For
six years the st. Paul senior four has
captured the Sir Donald Smith cup,