New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-27
Ill LUCK DOGS LEHMAN
A CAMBRIDGE MANS TALE OF TIE
COACH'S STRUGGLES AGAINST FATE.

sortherner" remarked an Engshinan yesterday
o,v.d tales u.d have gone the rounds before
,.o,v bout the adverse fate that seems 10 haunt
nm. anl &c would have established hFS'c.as'
,.,.,on ,s q hodoo His best friend can't say
that he's been lucky Up 90 date
when Lehman was born the Good People gave
him brains wealth. handsome face. me HaI"e'
a GOOD consu ut'cn and disposition that mas
,csle him favoIite wherever he has gone. b"'
.-sans the G MUS of Good Luck wasn't invited TO
,o chrse,ening At any rate, she seems to nave
u.i,n d. t-r gift for whenever Lehman mas set
nj, neart on anything in the course OF his career
tote has always worked against him. 1t is NOT
generally known here, but IT has been the
,n,ect of some comment in England. and believe
:, & true that in all his rowing career ne mas
never coached winning crew in great race
No, that that has been his fault. never met any
rov,ng man yet who believed that Lehman was
ANYTHING but coach Of experience and ability or
hat the stroke he teaches was not hrst-ra'e
trote Indeed the fact that four or five years ago
oxford University invited Lehman, Cambridge
40, 70 coach her crew for short time shows
,rbat English oarsmcn think Of him Some of the
c~evs he has coached have been poor. ana more or
them have been unlucky; that's all
a. Cambridge University. in England. Lehman
becan his career as oarsman as a member oil
The First Trinity Boat Club. lie rowed In Trinity q
read boat the Cam, and was tried for the
,,-o-si,, crew But there his Ill luck came in
somehow he was not among the chosen eight. and
q, failed 10 win his blue the right TO wear the
l,h, h,ue ribbon of the University that every
Ca,cbrisee man covots most in his college career.
Everv one recognized him thorough oarsman,
,ouever and after ne went down. gradu-
oted as YOU Americans say. his services were in
great demand for coaching college crews and he
soon became the best-krown rowing coach at Cam
bridge But. OH the bad luck his crews had TO
fight.
A RACE LOST BY a COXSWAINS TRICK
zone instance l remember particularly in con-
~ oh ofrrhf mi q -
into prominence the bad luck that pursued HIM
There IS always keen contest between the Cam
bridge colleges al the races each May as to which
shall get first place on the river Each college
enters an eight in these races-the big ones two or
three The boats start behind the other SIX
lengths apart and each tries to catch and bump
the one in front Now for the last ten years Trinity
Hall and First Trinity have been keen rivals for
the distinction of being head Of the river. Trinity
Hall has almost always won. but First Trinity tries
each year as hard ever TO catch her.
I'm 1898 First Trinity had unusually good boat.
and Trinity Halls champion crew, which then
held the coveted place ahead Of it. were showing
poor form. 1t was realized that First Trinity had
better chance Of beating her rival than she had
had for years. and her crew began TO train Tor all
they were worth win the distinction Lehman.
as an ardent First Trinity man. was the first to
encourage the hope Of victory. He was selected 10
coach, and he got the crew into fine condition.
Each Of the rival boats contained several blues
is,
Trinity Hall men were stale TWO weeks before
the race the Hall men, they called in Cam
bridge. disguised with the efforts or their
crew that they held quiet trial between their
champions and their second boat, which had a
place away down behind First Trinity. The trial
resulted in the college veterans being made tho
second boat in the list and the Hall men rsk!rg
their fortunes the thews and snews of the
green men in their former second boat When this
became known First Trinitys victory seemed as
sured, and when in addition. the first day Of
the the rurnor spread that the stroke Of
Trinity Halls boat had come out badly from
his training and was in poor health. First Trinity
men already the flag Of victory hoistei over
their boathouse.
THE race was started Now. the course has a
sharp curve halfway ending in front Of a meadow,
where the sisters and cousins OF the men are as
sembed to see the Fights 90 past. 1t Is at this
races are usually lost and won. and Trinity
had planned to bump the leading boat there. The
two crews got away In good form. and the Trinity
men steadily closed up their distance from the
leading boat until at the corner they were within
were already bowling for JOY when, at the crit al
moment the Trinity Hall coxswain looked back
from him. and with d dex.erous turn Of his rud.er
he sent back a wave which washed the bow Of the
cded the race The ghastliest face saw in
Hall boat as ne was lifted out Of his seat al the
finish. but his boat had kept away from its rivals
Lehman had been so sure that his men would
win that rae, and he had hoped 50 much for their
Cambridge that night. his was not the only ais;
hands on the unexpected result needn't say any
thing about the luck Cambridge has had in the
years while Lehman has been coaching her crew
70 prove his ill-luek or remind you Of Harvards
larize the English stroke here. and. as any one
he has failed badly Personally. don't wonder
be surprised If see him doing any coaching at all
for q While ClSheGrtencd is he ukely TO be over
this last defeat
DIDN'T LAND IN PARLIAMENT
IN other things besides rowing. however, Leh-
has gone up against fate. and has been wor-
sted whenever his heart was set upon any particu-
lar undertaking. With two or three other clever
fellows he founded an undergraduates paper in his
day al Cambridge. He did not care much about IT,
50 It has turned out probably the most brilliant
wrote some Sketches OF Canbr,dsc lie ana pun
saed 6sm at his ogn Courts 'ff Ras @
through sine. but it's a great many. The reason
IS perhaps. that the author didn't think much OF
tie book Then, in idle moment. Lehman wro,9
some sun for punch" Whatever ii was, 1t made
it, md in Fleet-st he is now known as one Of
the best Of Mr. Punch's young men. .,.--.
Lehman doesn't care much about these thin e.
ran ;oI HUI the Liberal side in 1855 and made &C.
Of his 1artv In 1872 however when T. was gener-
ally believed that the country had tred Of the Con-
ne I',o~al managers decided that the representa-
'ioA ~ Cambridge Town could be vresied from inc
Conservatives and they chose Lehman as the maA
q, Cambridge; he had maintained his connection
win ne toxin sies his graduation; the tide was
setting strongly he Liberal way. and his victory
Until wi,his few days Of the polling. when the
Lbersi ma4agers sent down 10 SainP by ne G
specches lie made only one speech. hut that Gre
s ,spSsq 9bt IN the Be1ne Of cam6rdee
have chosen for their sitting member the iePi'-
~ p T. Penrose Fitzgerald the sitting member.
&. an Irish landlOrd-which was me rcas II
IL