The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-06-21
COLLEGE CREWS
MEET IN ANNUAL
CONTESTS TODAY
Each Year Sees Increasing In
terest in Harvard-Ya
Rowing Races.

New London, Conn, June 2o,-The
program of the Harvard Yale rowing
races. to be contested tomorrow over
the Thames course. is as follows:
Freshman Eight-Oa,ed Racc-Start
about 1880 y. NJ. Distance. two miles.
and finishing two miles upstream. oppo-
site tho Navy Yard. Present record
for upstream course: Harvard freshman
crew of 1907. 0 minutes and 3Sis sec
onds; record for downstream course:
Harvard freshman crew OF 1899. min
utes and SO seconds.
Varsity rours-Start 4; conclusion
OF freshman race. Distance. two miles.
beginning at the Navy Yard and finish
ing two miles up the river opposite the
Harvard quarters at Red Top. Present
record: Yale crew of 1905, 10 minutes
and SO Il seconds.
Varsity Eight Dared Race--Start be-
tween 3 and L. NJ. Distance, four
miles downstream. starting opposite
Harvard quarters at lied Top and i'm
ishing al railroad drawbrdge. Pres
ent Yale Harvard Thames record held
by Yale crew OF 1883, 20 minutes and
10 seconds over downstream course.
Yale crew of 1907 also holds the up
stream record. in tho same time, 20
minutes and 10 seconds.
The aquatic duels between Harvard
and Yale, which began on Lake Win
nipiseogee sixty years ago, and which
were continued at Worcester, New Ha-
ven, Springfield and finally on the
Thames at New London. antednte all
fr har In Ia I. b..
been many Interruptions since that tirst
struggle in the heavy working boats, so
that the regatta this year is the forty
sixth meeting of the two Oldest Amer
ican universities in what many OF the
graduates regard as the American
sporting classic,
The interruptions came during the
war, in the early seventies and IN 1896
and 1897. The racing began with two
mile contests, but the course was grad
ually heightened, and since 1876 IL has
been four miles. There have been sew
eral attempts to bring II hack to three
miles. especially after hard contests.
when some of the young oarsmtl have
collapsed under the strain. but so far
the effort has met with little encour-
agemcnt.
Yale is credited with having won
twenty three of the races and Harvard
with twenty-five SO that u Crimson vic
tory this year would tie the long series.
The fastest time ever made on tho
Thames was by the Yale crew OF 1888
which covered the four miles in 20
minutes and 10 seconds. The fastest
Harvard crew was that OF 1878. which
rowed the four miles in 20 minutes and
4iA seconds. The slowest time by d
winning crew was that OF Harvard In
1885. which padded over the course
against a head wind in Is minutes and
1915 seconds. The slowest time by a
losing crew was when the Yale stroke
collapsed four years ago. but recovered
In time to help the shell over the line
Ia q minutes and IS seconds AS Hsr-
ward Won this race by minutes and 81
seconds. IL was estimated that the diff
| ference between tho two was seventy
/ two boa: lengths. the longest lead ever
attained by Il winning CROW.
! Harvard had great success In the
early racing. and up TO 1885 the Grim
son had won fifteen races to seven
FOR the Blue. Then there came a Yale
rally ana IN the next nineteen con
tests iale won sixteen to three FOX
Harvard. Tho Blue streak became Sc
pronounced from 1900 to 1905, tn,
Crimson failed to score a single vic
tory Bu, since 1905 1t has been moth
ing but Harvard on the Thames thcr,
beng deciccd slump In rowing b!
the New Haven crews.
Ia connection with the varsity race
the freshman crew of the two uni.
versi'ics have been meeting frequent
ly I'm eigh; Dared contests. and sine.
1899 those varsity substitutes who
failed TO got places in the big boa
: have been given contests in four
cared shells
In these freshman races Harvar,
has won eight to four for Yale
while III tho substitute fours. IIar
ward has captured nine. to four 70
Yale There was no freshman rae
in 1899. while that Of 1902 was dca,
heat.
Each year sees increasing interes
: in these contests. The Observation
trains which accompany the crew OF
both sides Of the river are filled wit
, cheering and flag waving collegian,
while at the finish great fleets q
yachts and steamboats, add 10 tho iii
which welcomes the two needle-lik
shells and they fash down the Ion
ilane OF river craft