The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-06-18
OLD MAN COURTNEY PUTS
ON HIS COAT AT LAST
Veteran Coach of Cornell Navy Retires From Active
Work After Series of Successes From 1880
Up to the Present.

Qua KEEPeiE. June ld,-OId Mar
Courtney has put on his coat. With the
rowing Of the twenty-second annual
regatta Of the intercollegiate Rowing
Association to-day the Wizard OF tho
Hudson quits his Job as head coach o.
the Cornell navy. No more will he b<
seen leaning over the rail- Of the coach
ing launch directing the big Red crews
from Lake Cayusa In this nne points o
rowing. the points which draw the line
OF demarcation between victory. No
more will an old straw hat keep the
hot u out OF a pair Of shrewd, yet
soft blue eyes ~ they watch the ma
hogany shells pierce the waters Of this
battle Scared stream. For after mort
than thirty years as the foremost coach
Of rowing In American colleges. Charles
+. Courtney has decided to Join the
rocking chair fleet.
When the ews Of the wizards con-
ternplated retirement first became known
IL sounded as n Cornell too had decided
to Civ up rowing : names Courtney
and Cornell havs been linked together 81
closely that rowing enthusiasts never
stopped to diferentiate between. Cor
nell. Courtney and Victory have become
almost the eternal rowing triangle. Will
the departure Of Courtney as active
coach break UP the figure? Cornell men
don't think SO. They believe his spirit
Will carry many Cornell crews TO victory
In future years. He has built up a trsdi-
ton that even his withdrawal cannot
shatter.
Obeys 2 Pound Nursr.
His stay at Cakes. the historic Cornell
quarters. has been a prison to hi this
year. He cannot do anything without
consulting a nurse or a ply slcian. Even
talking has been tabooed. Leaning on
a rail that skirts the road overlooking
the Cornell %boathouse at the edge Of the
Hudson, Mr.. Courtney talked to a cor
respondent for THE SCS. lie talked
freely for the FIRST time since coming
here. He had managed to elude some
how Miss Davis. his private nurse. IL
seemed pitiful to heal him confess it
Courtney. the moulder Of almost endless
champions. being forced to bow 10 the
will Of a STA foot 100 pound nurse. He
was the same Courtney. big In hand and
in heart. but the old fire seemed missing.
Truly he had put on his coat.
Inc pt. s4EidHS MdnbNu W VHu NV
home to ithaca" he said. "At night my
head pains and sometimes for hours |
don't know what has taken place. When
! was bumped out OF that railroad berth
last June here | never realized how
much l had been hurt. II was not until
hours afterward that somebody told me
there was blood running out Of my ear
When | inspected my clothes | found
that the blood had run clear down into
my shoes. | ought to have left the
crew then Inc had myself attended to.
but instead ! held up with my skull
fractured for two weeks. 10 the very mo-
ment. in fact. that Cornell flashed across
the line a winner, a half length ahead
VI Stanford"
Courtney d!dn't see that race. lie
seldom sees any race. Usually he spends
the nerve rack!ng half hour on the porch
of tho quarters talking OF his hobby.
photography. or else behind the boat
house whiting wood. HIS theory Is
that race is like an examination. It's
for the boys to show they have
learned. The minute the boys leave the
boathouse for the starting line they are
on their own mettle. This year he
agreed to watch the race from the OBJ
seryaton train, but the doctors wouldn't
let him.