page_title: Charles E. Courtney
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Charles E. Courtney / Coaching career / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: 1891 Cornell varsity rowing team:(l to r): E. P. Allen, G. P. Witherbee, A. W. Marston, F. W. Kelley, G. F. Wagner, T. W. Hill, Wolfe, H. A. Benedict, W. Young
context_page_description: Charles Edward Courtney was an American rower and rowing coach from Union Springs, New York. A carpenter by trade, Courtney was a nationally known amateur rower. Courtney never lost a race as an amateur and finished a total of 88 victories.
  In 1877, he moved from an amateur to a professional rower, a decision that Courtney would later regret. His professional career was marred by controversy and accusations including cowardice and race fixing. His professional career was best remembered for his controversial losses to Ned Hanlan.
  As his rowing career wound down, Courtney became involved in coaching at Cornell University. He coached Cornell's rowing team from 1883 to 1920. His crews won 14 of 24 varsity eight-oar titles at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta. He kept his position until he died in the summer of 1920.
context_section_description: In 1883, Courtney was hired for 10 days to help train the Cornell University four-oared varsity crew for their 1​¹⁄₂ mile race against Wesleyan College, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University at the Lake George Regatta. Princeton and Penn were favored since they both had beaten several of the top rowing clubs in America. He was hired again by Cornell in 1884, which drew criticism because of his past controversies during his professional career. The New York Times, which editorialized, "If college boys cannot learn to row without associating with persons like Courtney..., perhaps they would be quite as well off if they devoted a little more time to classics and mathematics and a little less to rowing." Because of the help he gave during the 1883 season that allowed Cornell to defeat rivals at Lake George, Cornell overlooked his ethics and hired him on for his extensive rowing knowledge. Courtney coached the four-oared crews at Cornell over the next few years and consistently won. Notable victories included winning the Childs Cup over Pennsylvania in 1885 and 1887, and winning the Downing Cup in The People's Regatta at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1888.
  To gain some respect, in the fall of 1888, it was decided that the 1889 Cornell crew would switch from a four-oared varsity crew to an eight-oared varsity crew. Courtney was hindered by a lack of equipment. He had to coach from the bank of the lake since Cornell did not have a launch. The practice shell was weak and in poor condition, and the team did not receive their eight-man shells until they arrived in New London for the first race. Courtney's Cornell crew easily beat Pennsylvania and Columbia University at New London, and then a few weeks later broke the world record for an eight-oared 1½-mile race versus Pennsylvania at the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. These victories created great enthusiasm for the rowing program at Cornell.
  The Courtney-coached crews over the next few years were very similar to the 1889 team. All the crews were comparatively light weight that rowed with a rapid stroke. This style usually led to victories. One notable win was over Columbia and Penn in 1891. In this race at New London, Courtney's crew broke the world record for an eight-oared 3-mile (4.8 km) race with a time of 14 minutes 27½ seconds.
caption: The 1891 Cornell team
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