The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-21
YALE CREW DEFEATS HARVARD IN REGATTA.
The Blue Triumphs in One of Closest Races Ever
 Staged on Thames

Regatta Course. New London, Conn.,, June 2S.-Rowing beautifully timed race. Yale defeated Harvard for mile varsity event on the Thames here today by a scant half length of open water after one of the bitterest struggles ever staged on this historic waterway. For more than a mile and half the craft raced side by side. so closely aligned that the official timers could not detect fraction of a second difference at the various half-mile flags
 It was not until the two-mile posts were reached that the blueblades could drive the bow of their shell even a few feet ahead of that of the Grim son The Cambridge crew made desperate attempt to turn defeat into victory half mile from the finish and for moment picked up a trifle of the distance. but Yale answered with spurt which slowly drew them away as the Crimson oarsmen. exhausted by their efforts, rolled on their slides and slowly lest headway with the final posts almost within their reach.
 The regatta was the first to be rowed since 1916 and the victory breaks the tie which has existed sincei the last race. when Harvard won her twenty-fifth big race in the series of Intervarsitv contests, which date back into the early '5os
 This fifty first rega tta was marked by other features, for while Harvard crews won two preliminary contests rowed earlier in the day, it remained Tor Yale to capture the four-mile TOW with crew coached by an amateur from an equally powerful eight pre- parec by veteran professional waterman who has been a fixture at Cambridge for years.
 RACE ROWED NEAR s O'CLOCK
 Although rowed almost two hours after the official starting time, the race was contested under ideal con- ditions from the standpoint of .he oarsmen, although the failing light deprived the spectators on the ob- servation trains of fair view of the crews for more than half the distance from start to finish
 It was close to s o'clock when the crews were ordered to the line by the referee. At the flash of the start ing pistol Harvard caught the water first and leaped into a slight lead but before a quarter mile had bean rowed the shells were aligned not rn be separated until near the two-mile mark. Yale started with a 34 stroke and Harvard was two beats lower. Settling down for the long grind the rival crews stroke dropped their beats to the neighborhood of 30 and this was maintained until close to he finish, when both eights raised the stroke Yale finishing at S4 and liar yard 32.
 At the three-mile flags Yale had fully a half shell length lead. but when Harvard spurted this was cut down temporarily to a few feet, but the strain coming at the end of such a driving race was too great for the Crimson crew to sustain and in the final quarter, mile the signs of exhaus- tfon were plainly visible from the | observation trains.
 The coxswain was rolling on his slide and bow numbers 2, B. and 1 were plainly in distress.
 In the Yale shell No. was wabbly and went down as the. craft drifted under the railroad bridge at the fin ish, but he, as well as the wilted Har- yard oarsmen, were quickly revived.