The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-02-27


In the Potomac RSver regatta of 1886
these four men won the Junior and senior
tours and on the same day rowed in an
eight with the members OF the Potomac
lightweight four, a crew composed OF
Kearney. Fisher. Warden and Offey,
that had just won the senior lightweight
championship They were victorious in
the senior race. John Hadley Doyle was
coxswain of this eight.
The big four, as the heavy crew was
known. went to Staten Island, N. Y, in
1887 and defeated a field Of nine other
entries. thereby winning a trophy en-
blemaic of the cham pionship Of Amer
lea. and valued at 5000.
Charles w. Worden, who rowed in the
Potomac lightweight four was consid-
cred one of the most remarkable oars
men of his day, small in figure, but great
in power.
The Potomac River regatta of 1856
was a great event for the Potomac Boat
Club, for beside winning the junior and
senior heavyweight tours, the senior
lightweight four and the senior eight.
its scullers, Fisher and Kearney, gained
victories. Fisher winning the inter
m ediate singles and Kearney the Junior
and senior singles.
The Potomac's greatest rival for su-
premacy on the Potomac River was
the Columbia Athletic Club. The CO.
lumbias had only been organized a
short while before they began to
make themselves heard from.
From 1888 to 1885 they had what
was known as the Columbias' big
four, composed of Mute. Wade, Kon-
drup, who during that time rowed in
number OF victorious races, both in
Washington and in other parts Of the
country.
In 1884 they journeyed to the Ma
tional Regatta at Watkins. N. Y,
and won the senior event, the next
year they went to the National at
Boston and again won.
The first event In which the Columbias
were represented by an eight was at the
Sesqui Centennial in Philadelphia in 1882
| when their crew won the honors of the
| day by winning the senior event.
The club did not own an eight at thai
time and the crew were forced to use q
boat in the race that they had borrowed
from one of the Philadelphia clubs.
The first eight-oared boat the Colum.
their rivals, the Potomacs, and in this
they got their training for their Phila.
delphia race.
| When one takes into consideration thu
| difficulties under which the crew wa:
forced to row, that is. training In one
| boat and using strange one In the
race. the feat performed by them was q
worthy criterian of the many great vic
tories the Columbias had during the ter
years following.
Many an old washingtonian can re-
| member the days when the Potomac
| Boat Club and the Colum bias had
their hot fights on the Old Potomac.
| The Analostans, too, were in many a
| worthy battle and gave a good ac-
| count of themselves, but 1t was al
| ways the greatest wish of every Po-
tomac man to beat Columbia crew,
and the same feeling existed with a
| Columbia man in his desire to hand a
| licking to a Potomac boat
| There is one club I have not men
| toned that lived for a short while
| during the early eighties, the second
Washington boat club, or as II was
! called the Washington Rowing Club.
II was organized in 1888 and only LASTED
two years, but during that time gave
very good account of itself.
One of the most notable feats per
formed by its crews was when thei
senior four, composed of I. Dyer, e
Ryan. c. Baker and H. Sweeney, won
victory over the Columbias at a regatt,
held at Fortress Monroe. The same crew
later won the four-oared race at tn
Virginia Rowing Associations regatt,
the following year.
The club went to the wall about 1ss
and the members Joined the Columbi
Athletic Club
have not the space to tell of the man,
great happenings in the local rowin
world during the eighties. for from re
ports OF the time several volumes coul,
be written on the greatest period in tn
history of local rowing.
During the late nineties the game CAV
way to some extent in popular favor I
the bicycle craze which took hold Of tn
sport-loving public about this time, bu
there is record of regattas being held o.
the Potomac during this period.
The Columbia Athletic Club gave
up rowing about 1895. after most
wonderful record which made them
known all over the country, as a
dangerous opponent in any regtta,
and went In for general athletics.
The club became known nationally as
\ . great supporter Of all branches Of