The College Boat Club of the University of Pennsylvania is the rowing program for University of Pennsylvania Rowing, which is located in the Burk-Bergman Boathouse at #11 Boathouse Row on the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its membership consists entirely of past and present rowers of the University of Pennsylvania.[3]
It hosts both heavyweight and lightweight varsity men's teams and an openweight varsity women's team. The Wharton Crew Team, however, rows out of Fairmount Rowing Association (FRA). College Boat Club was founded in 1872 by the school's students, shortly after the school's campus was relocated from Center City to West Philadelphia.[4] College Boat Club was admitted to the Schuylkill Navy in 1875.[5]
In 1872, University of Pennsylvania ("Penn") students founded the College Barge Club to provide an alternative to the school's first boat club, the University Barge Club, and to focus on preparing students for intercollegiate competitions.[6][7] The Club later changed its name from College Barge Club to College Boat Club.[7]
In the club's first year, it had only 20 members, mostly sophomores from the university's graduating Class of 1875.[7] At first, the Club rowed out of the Quaker City Barge Club.[7] However, College Boat Club grew quickly and was able to build its own boathouse in 1874.[7]
In 1877, sophomores from College Boat Club were victorious against seniors rowing out of University Barge Club.[7] By 1879, the club was the base for most Penn crews, and members were rowing in intercollegiate competitions.[7] In 1893, College Boat Club opened membership to alumni as well as enrolled students.[7] In 1904, the Club admitted alumni crews as far back as 1899.[7] Currently, membership for alumni is limited to former varsity rowers.[7]
In 2005, Penn finished third in the Men's Varsity Lightweight Eight[14] and fourth in the Men's Freshman Eight.[15] In 2006, the Men's Freshman Eight finished third.[16] In 2017 and 2019, the Men’s Varsity Lightweight 8 finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
In 2008, the Men's Open Four qualified for the grand final, but finished sixth.[17] The last time that the Penn won the Ivy League Championship at IRAs was 1992, when Penn tied Dartmouth.[9] Penn has won the Ivy League Championship eight additional times in 1898, 1899, 1900, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, and 1989.[9][18]
The 1955 Men's Heavyweight 8, coached by Joe Burk, won at the Henley Regatta, and the crew's speed drew attention and acclaim internationally. One source highlights the accolades as follows:[21]
Everywhere they competed, particularly in Germany, they were referred to as the world's fastest crew, and hence became models for local oarsmen.
To European observers, Penn seemed to defy the laws of physics that applied to all other crews. In their Henley semifinal, they had beaten Britain's best, Thames Rowing Club by a half-length of open water at a ratingThe Times termed "a majestic thirty."
The strength and speed of the Penn pullthrough, the endless run on the impossibly long recovery, seemed as unattainable in its own way as Joe Burk's sculling technique had seemed to them seventeen years earlier.
At their regatta in Hamburg, when Penn made its first impression on the German rowing community, one of the most interested spectators was Dr. Karl Adam of Ratzeburger Ruderklub. He was already working out a new international technique, initially under the influence of Steve Fairbairn.
Eight years later, Adam confessed to Joe Burk that he had returned home from Hamburg very depressed and wondering whether they could ever beat the invincible Americans.
Penn has enjoyed the tutelage of many of the best rowing coaches of all time including Rusty Callow, Joe Burk, Ted Nash, Stan Bergman, Brendan Cunningham, and Hudson Peters.
Ted Nashedit
In 2004, former Penn coach Ted Nash became the first person to participate in 10 Olympic games as either an athlete or coach when he was appointed as a coach on the 2004 team in Athens. This is a record for any member of any US Olympic team, regardless of event or sport. During his first games at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Nash raced in the gold medal-winning coxless four boat. In 2008 he showed no signs of slowing down as he returned again to the Olympic stage in Beijing as coach of the heavyweight men's coxless pair.
Stan Bergmanedit
Stan Bergman coached the Men's Heavyweight Rowing Program to numerous championships at all levels. He is held in extraordinary regard in the rowing community, and beyond, for his success with his crews on and off the water.
^"Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta 2009 Program" (PDF). p. 19.[dead link]
^"Penn Crew in the 1800s". Archives.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^Janssen's A History of American Amateur Athletics and Aquatics (1888) p. 211. May 5, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Seth S. Tannenbaum, Clifton R. Hood, and Mary D. McConaghy, University Barge Club, Penn Crew, archives.upenn.edu (April 2006)". Archives.upenn.edu. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^ abcdefghij"Seth S. Tannenbaum, Clifton R. Hood, & Mary D. McConaghy, College Boat Club, Penn Crew, archives.upenn.edu (April 2006)". Archives.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Ivy League Women's Rowing" (PDF). p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 31, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
^ abc"Ivy League Men's Heavyweight Rowing" (PDF). p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 31, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
^"Ivy League Men's Lightweight Rowing" (PDF). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 31, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
^For examples, search for "Penn" in IRA results for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
^"2004 IRA Regatta, row2k.com p. 1, Race 95". Row2k.com. June 5, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"2004 IRA Regatta, row2k.com p. 4, Race 99". Row2k.com. June 5, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"2005 IRA Regatta, row2k.com p. 6, Race 120". Row2k.com. June 4, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"2005 IRA Regatta, row2k.com p. 2, Race 110". Row2k.com. June 4, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"2006 IRA Regatta". Row2k.com. June 3, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Event # 81 Men's Open Four Grand Final Results - IRA National Championship 2008". Secure.powerhousetiming.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"IRA Regatta". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
^ ab"Recent Winners". Hrr.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^ abc"Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races - 1946-2003". Rowinghistory.net. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^Mallory, Peter (March 7, 2007). "Chapter 59. Joe Burk, Coach". Evolution of the Rowing Stroke. row2k.com.
(internal quotation marks and citations omitted)
^"Men's Lightweight Rowing - Coaches - PennAthletics.com—The Official Website of University of Pennsylvania Athletics". Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^"Ted Nash". Sports-reference.com. October 29, 1932. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Louis Lombardi Jr". World Rowing. September 15, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
^"Summertime". YouTube.com. August 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
^"John Pescatore". Sports-reference.com. February 2, 1964. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Hugh Matheson". Sports-reference.com. April 16, 1949. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"James Moroney". Sports-reference.com. March 19, 1953. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Luther Jones". Sports-reference.com. October 29, 1948. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"John Hartigan". Sports-reference.com. February 28, 1940. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"John Hartigan," Archived 2015-09-15 at the Wayback MachinePenn Athletics University of Pennsylvania, 03/01/2007. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
^"Harry Parker". Sports-reference.com. October 28, 1935. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Jack Kelly, Jr". Sports-reference.com. March 2, 1985. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Penn Rowing in the Olympics". Pennathletics.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"University Archives and Records Center University of Pennsylvania, Penn in the Olympics: Penn Athletes Competing in the Olympic Games". Archives.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Charley McIlvaine". Sports-reference.com. January 30, 1975. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"George Loveless". Sports-reference.com. October 15, 1909. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"James Begg". Sports-reference.com. January 6, 1924. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"James Wynne". Sports-reference.com. July 24, 1937. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"James McMullen". Sports-reference.com. June 12, 1939. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Lyman Perry". Sports-reference.com. August 22, 1938. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Richard Crooker". Sports-reference.com. April 9, 1948. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Gardner Cadwalader". Sports-reference.com. July 29, 1948. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Anthony Martin". Sports-reference.com. May 13, 2005. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"William Purdy". Sports-reference.com. June 26, 1946. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Gene Clapp". Sports-reference.com. November 19, 1949. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Aaron Herman". Sports-reference.com. February 17, 1953. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Hugh Stevenson". Sports-reference.com. October 13, 1948. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"George Tintor". Sports-reference.com. May 6, 1957. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Steve Christiansen". Sports-reference.com. November 10, 1956. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Kenneth Dreyfuss". Sports-reference.com. October 8, 1947. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Phillip Stekl". Sports-reference.com. January 20, 1956. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Jonathan Fish". Sports-reference.com. June 22, 1962. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Janusz Hooker". Sports-reference.com. September 28, 1969. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Mike Peterson". Sports-reference.com. January 4, 1967. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Jeff Pfaendtner". Sports-reference.com. February 28, 1967. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Garrett Miller". Sports-reference.com. June 7, 1977. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
^"Tom Paradiso". Sports-reference.com. December 7, 1979. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
Further readingedit
"Boathouse Row". Living Places. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
"National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form". NPS Focus, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. November 27, 1983. p. 664. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
Heiland, Louis (1938). The Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia, 1858 - 1937. Philadelphia: The Drake Press, Inc. p. 65.
Kelley, Robert F. (1932). American rowing; Its Background and Traditions. G. P. Putnam's sons. pp. 59 & 86.
Scharf, John Thomas; Westcott, Thompson (1884). "Public Squares, Parks, and Monuments". History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884. Vol. 3. L. H. Everts & Company. p. 1871.
Stillner, Anna (2005). The Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club: An Incremental Historic Structure Report (Thesis). p. 104. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
Sweeney, Joe. "The History of the Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association: Part 2 - Beginning of the Clubs". Schuylkill Navy. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to College Boat Club.
Philadelphia portal
"College Boat Club on Boathouse Row". About.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2010.