New Britain herald., 1915-11-13
COLUMBIA EIGHT
 OUTR0W YALE CREW
Blue and White Sets Pace and Defeats Blue by Eight Lengths

@ New Haven, Conn, Nov. 13.-With l the Yale oarsmen at No. ', R. G. Caombe, lying helpless and dead weight for half the distance of about TWO miles, it was an easy matter for the Columbia crew to beat the Eli
 eight in their first race in forty years 1 on New Haven Harbor yesterday aft
 ernoon. Columbia led at the finish
 oy ten lengths but it might have
 been as many more had the New York
 crew not slackened down when the
 zest of real competition disappeared
 With the collapse of Coombe. The
 time, 10.4S F, was. excellent, consid-
 erifg the head wind X
 For mile it was grueling test
 with Columbia managing to hold an
 advantage obtained by hitting up
 hot stroke at the fall of the flag.
 The Blue and White crew passed the
 mite with Columbia showing the way
 by three-quarters of length, but
 Yale suddenly organized a desperate
 squirt that moved the nose of its craft "a Dit nearer the Columbia she'll but
 sounded the death kneil of the Blues chances.
 It was that spurt that took the last ounce of reserve strength out of Coon1be and at the mile and a quar- teS he suddenly fell over, as he lost control of his oar. He caught a crab" and the butt of his sweep, striking him full in the stomach, knocked him unconscious. As CSombe keeled over the Yale boat practically came to a standstill. Collapse Comes Suddenly. It all happened so suddenly and without warning, for as matters de- yeloDed later nobody except CordI Meyer, rowing behind Coombs, even had an inkling that there was some thing wrong. As Coombe collapsed l Meyer reached out to pull his oar in- 1 to the boat, but in his nervousness | Meyer unloosened the lock and the | |sweep fell into the water.
 Coombe, with head sunk on his kchest, twitched convulsively. Pretty soon he began to move mechanically, 1 Irhythmically with the stroke of his Ierewmates, all the while unconscious Idf what he was doing. He knew by Instinct, though consciousness had Jeff Ihim, that he ought to be sliding back land forth, pulling the oar, and he Kept that motion up until very near Fhe finish. Then even instinct fled. Coombe was 8 member of last l Fear's freshman eight, and despite his .rollapse today is still counted upon to 1 , prove factor in the Yale races next Bpring. .
 Nobody in New Haven last night 5 keuld remember a short rowing race , tn which Yale man had collapsed as |Coonnbe did, and not within the ken , |of the oldest follower of the sport has an Eli eight been forced to row itself so completely out as it was to- . tday. It was only sheer grit that Kept A. D. Sturtevant from falling in
 heap as the boat crossed the line. [while Seth Low, IT,, captain and stroke, also appeared to be In none loo good condition.
 Ellis Pushed Hard.
 And little wonder, for rarely has a brew been carried along at the killing pace set by the Columbia sweep bwingers. Yale, last season credited l with victories over everybody in the East except Columbia, and with a erew composed largely of veterans, was a positive favorite over Jim l Rice's combination, which had not eeenssout on the water together more 1 |han ten times and was lighter than
 he Ellis by ten pounds to the man. pisqualifications and defections had
 orn the Columbia crew to pieces, and It was counted as easy prey for the Blue.
 But Yale counted without Rice and kn eight that could hit up a terrific
 troke and keep it up for two gruel- ing miles.
 At the start Columbia hit the wa- Ter first and rowing thirty-nfne strokes 10 the minute soon earned a precious quarter lengths advantage. Yale. with its long English stroke, was con- {ent to go along at 34 for spell Ind dropped to 32. while Columbia was .churning along at S6. Yale. physically more formidable, seemed o count too much on its ability to butrow the light Columbia eight in he dash down the final mile.
 The half mile found Columbia in ront by a quarter of a length, which h the next quarter of 8 mile was i'm creased to half a length. At the nile it was Columbia by almost a ength and Yale began to show some Eoncern over the untoward way hings were going. Coxswain Mo- Lane called for a 34 and with a lusty bull Yale responded. About ten ltrokes they rowed at that terrific clip Tor Yale, and then came Coom be's ollapse. Meyer later on said that ]
 about the mile he noticed Coombe's back turn all co1ors and he knew that | Iom ething was wrong.
 Last night Columbia men were l kelebrating their first rowing victory kyer Yale in more than forty years. Ft was back in 1875 that Yale and