The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-06-30
THIS STANDS ALONE
No Such Race Has Ever Been ROwed
During All the Twenty-Seven Years
OF Aquatic Contests Between
These Old Time
Rivals.
(By the Associated Press.)
Time of the race:
Yale. 22:33 1-2.
Harvard, 22:36.


! Yale Varsity crew won from Harvard
in the annual four mile race on the
Thames by the length of an oar. Af-
| ter rowing for four miles with the
shells tapping and the graceful prows
| zigZagging between strokes the Yale
| boat crossed the finish line three-quar-
( ters of q length ahead of the crimson.
Yale wen by two and one-half sec
onds. The Blues time was 22:33 IL;
| Harvard'S was 2236.
Such a race has never before been
! rowed in the twenty-seven years of
| racing between these old rivals.
The Eli went to the starting conf
| dent of an easy victory but Coach
Wray sprung a surprise on Yale and
| tonight his name is on the lips Of
every lover of rowing as the coming
| rival of John Kennedy. the profession
al coach at New Haven. Wray came
| to the Thamas three weeks ago an. un-
| knwon coach. He will go back to Bos-
| ton as the first professional who has
inspired absolute confidence in Har-
ward.
The race was scheduled to be roWed
| at half past four o'clock and was
started less than fifteen minutes later.
| The wind which threatened to kick
| up the river early in the afternoon had
| Gained down and was blowing almost
] across the course and just quartering
| on the bows of the shells. AS the two
eightS rowed to their stake boats the
old spirit OF Harvard awoke with the
customary long rahs to which the Ellis
| flung back the rafting cheer of old
Yale. An almost cloudless sky, as per-
| feet a day as could be wished for, the
! two big eightS trained to the top
notch of excellence all combined to
form picture which thrilled the thou
sands of spectators and inspired the
/ crews.
| Yale got the best of the start, and
rowing at a "a notch and with half
dozen strokes shot ahead. Just before
the first half mile was finished Har-
| ward having started at 80 ran her
stroke up to 35 and began to cut down
Yale'Ss lead
The crews now began to strike the
ships channel just below the navy yard
and Yale got the benefit of the fastest
water Yale gained on this half-mile
| just three seconds, or almost a boats
length, and at the two-mile flag off the
navy yard had the greatest lead over
Harvard which she had at any time
during the race.
A Memorable Struggle.
The last mile of the race was a fight
never to be forgotten by those for
| tunate enough to witness it. Just be-
yond the three-mile flag, Meier, Har
wards No. T. who had been rowing a
| terrific race seemed to have pumped
himself out. He was suffering torture
and it looked as though he could not
possibly hold his form the rest of the
distance. The Harvard stroke dropped
| hack to 81 to the minute, but it only
| stayed there for a very brief space
OF time. Suddenly Meier seemed TO
get his second wind and the crimson
stroke went up two points. The Har-
ward shell began to gain on Yale. On
every stroke the Harvard shell crept
up nearer and nearer the Yale boat.
Suddenly the shells We're once more
! Tapped. The Yale coXSWain called for 4
squirt and his crew raised their stroke
to "a, the highest that they had been
| taught to row. Still Harvard was
game. Up went the Harvard stroke
to "a. and over the last quarter of
mile the prov of Cambridge's shell be-
gan to gain inch by inch on the stern
of the Blues boat. The crews We're
only hundred yards from the finish
and still it was either's race. The
crowd became wild with excitement.
The Harvard shell continued to
| creep up on the Yale boat and every
man of the two crews was pulling out
the last ounce of his power, when
suddenly the flag at the finish dipped.
1 and Yale was a winner by three
/ quarters of a boat length. Harvard's
men danced and hugged each other as
1 though they had won the race.
! AS Harvard passed the finish line
Meier at No. T. dropped his oar and
| slid down into the bottom of the shell.
| A few handfuS of water brought him
! to his senses and then the two eights
rowcd off to their boat houses, the
| Crimson receiving just as much ap-
! plause as the Blue.
One Unpleasant Incident.
The race was rowed with just one
| unpleasant incident. The steam yacht
Mermaid, owned by VIM. Ross Proc
| tor, of New York. insisted on follow
| ing the race from start to finish against
| the repeated orders of Chairman
SchWeppe. of the Regetta committee.
| Yale and Harvard for years have been
| trying to put an end to this interfer-
/ ence and Chairman Schweppe took
| drastic measures to make an example
of the Mermaid. AS soon as the race
was finished he went aboard the Mer-
| maid with a revenue officer. The cap
| tain was placed under arrest and the
| Mermaid turned over to the United
| States government
Harvard's splendid showing in the
| Versity race was not the only consola-
| ton which the Crimson got out of to-
days regetta, which followed her first