caption death_date death_place birth_place weight nationality height article_title birth_date spouse image employer name occupation death_cause
charles e. courtney in 1878 . 17 july 1920 near cayuga lake , new york union springs , new york 166 lb on - racing weight -lrb- 1877 -rrb- american 6 ' 0 '' charles e. courtney
 november 13 , 1849 della s. halsey charles e courtney.jpg cornell university charles edward courtney carpenter professional rower rowing coach apoplexy
charles e. courtney

charles edward courtney -lrb- november 13 , 1849 -- july 17 , 1920 -rrb- 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 .
some believe that the controversies surrounding the hanlan and courtney races caused a public backlash against professional rowing that eventually led to its unpopularity in the united states .
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 .
