Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-09

''Did you see the Labor day boat races"
asked one big man of another on Penn
| sylvania avenue the other evening. mo?
Well you missed big thing. There never
has been such a regatta on the Potomac
or anywhere else in this country for a
good many years."
The speaker was w. c. Mckinney, who
for five years held the championship OF the
Potomac for single SOULS and pulled bow
oar in many a victorious four-oared shell.
1T was a wonderful success from both
the standpoint of a spectator and an oars
men. The fellows who came here from
other cities were simply carried away with
the city and with the course. They had
never seen such river for boat race.
Praise From a Visiting oarsman.
s'One of that Ottawa crew which had
just come from the Canadian Henley, said
to me: This city beats anything we've
ever seen. It's a corker, don't you know,
! and that river makes the Canadian Henley
| regatta look like what you people call
thirty cents. We thought Referee Piikng-
ton was crazy when he told us that he
would row all the races in one day. We
didn't think it could be done Pilkington
! said, Now you people are here to race.
and you want to get back home again as
soon as possible. Now I'll get you all off
tonight, and pull off every event without
any heats and he did it. Just think of
it, seventeen single scullers abreast and
five eight-oared crews lined up together,
and never foul
Nothing Like the Potomac.
''And Pilkington said to me after the re-
gatta, Mac there's nothing like the old Po-
tomac for a boat race. 1 would like to pull
off the middle states regatta here every
year, but of course the other courses have
to have their turn. Where else can crew
find such conveniences? They leave their
hotel and in fifteen minutes they are at the
boathouse, and in another fifteen they are
in their shell and off on spin, if they are
in hurry.
The speaker stopped for breath. He
didn't have much as when he rowed
Page to a standstill in 1SS2-Page, who had
just won the championship of the Harlem,
and who thought he had a walkover with
such lightweight as the Potomac cham
pion, who tipped the scales at 1872 pounds,
and so did everybody else.
Mckinney, however thought that being
twelve pounds lighter than his opponent he
was good deal quicker and could squirt to
the front at the start and then manage to
stay there.
McKinney's Great Victory.
In telling about the race afterward Nc
Kinney said:
when the pistol cracked 1 saw the
other shell out of the tail of my eye jump
in the lead by a length, and at the quarter
it was leading by two lengths, and then 1
thought it was all over with me. I glued
my eyes to the bottom of my shell and
tried to forget the other man. I made up
my mind that I would pull fifty strokes
with all the power that was in me, and
counted them backward-50 49, 4S, Al.
When 1 got to one said to myself, I'll see
reached one 1 was all in. Big Jumps came
up in my throat, and 1 had to throw my
head back for breath. Then 1 looked for
my man, and L nearly fell out of my shell
when saw him ten lengths behind at a
dead standstill, with his head bowed over
his oars. Then rested and got my breath,
but as soon as he took stroke hit her
up and came in about eight lengths ahead.
l certainly was surprised.
The Famous Potomac Four.
Mckinney rowed bow in the famous four
Dared crew of the Potomac Club that beat
the Eureakas of Newark, who were the
champions of the country. That was in the
eighties. 1t was a great race The Poto-
macs were well in the lead at the finish.
1t was the straightaway course from Long
Bridge to the Potomac boat house. When
off the Analostan boat house they fouled
tug in midstream and groans went up from
thousands Of interested spectators. The tug
looked as big the Washington Monu-
ment to the tired men when they looked up
to see what stopped their boat. But Nc
Kinney yelled to the men on the starboard
side pull in your oars" and so quickly
| did they obey that the shell glanced off,
and the order. Now, all together the
shell shot forward on her course and the
Potomacs crossed the line two lengths In
the lead. After the race Ellis Ward, who
was the coach for the Columbia Club, ran
from the Columbia boat house to the Poto-
mac house. and rushing upstairs, cried:
Boys, I've rowed races and seen races ever
since 1 was boy, but that was the great
est race / ever saw