Vou. ‘VIEI.--No. -38. |
NEW HAVEN, CONN., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1899.
Price Tren Cents.
YALE CREW IMPROVES,
Harvard Boat is Speedy and a Fast.
Race is Expected.
' (Correspondence of YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY J]
Gates Ferry, Conn., June 20.—
With favorable weather conditions, the
race over the four-mile course on the
Thames on Thursday of next week will
be a fast one. This is a point on which
both Yale and Harvard sympathizers
have come to an agreement within the
past week. The Harvard Eight reached
Redtop on Tuesday, June 13, and
their stretches against time, and work
in. general justify the opinion that Yale
will have to be fast to defeat them.
Harvard’s° crew does not appear to
equal the Yale boat-in regularity and
finish, but their work is characterized
by great life and snap, and considerable
speed has been shown in the recent
trials. eee
The Yale Eight were rowing well to-
gether when they began their practice
on the Thames. The early . time
stretches however, were disappointing
and it was apparent that the lack of.
speed was due to a deficiency in power
and snap, rather than to the minor
faults in form. Accordingly the coaches
devoted all their attention to securing
a hard, fierce catch and sustained power
throughout the stroke.. The men re-
sponded well and the middle of the
week a most gratifying improvement
was noted. The driving power in the
boat is enormous, but the Eight had
fallen into something of a rut. It sim-
ply required the exhortations of Messrs.
Gallaudet, Cowles, Armstrong and Bol-
ton. to bring them to realize their
strength and to apply it.
The Yale Crew is well up to the stand-
ard expected from-a Yale crew ten days
before the race. The outboard work is
good, the men are steady on their slides
and the improvement in action and
driving power continues. The length
of reach, which was the source of con-
siderable comment earlier in the season,
has been sacrificed somewhat for the
sake of getting into better position for
the catch. |
PATR-OAR WORK.
Pair-oar practice was added to the
daily routine last week, Dr. Gallaudet
himself occasionally rowing at stroke.
On Thursday the Eight was sent over
the four-mile course, but aside from
a half-mile, mile and two-mile pulls
against time, the other work has been
confined to short stretches up and down
the river. On Saturday morning the
second mile of the course was covered
within five minutes, but coaches and
captain are unwilling to make public
the exact times recorded which have
been made.
The new shell arrived from Davy of
Cambridge on ‘Tuesday and has proved
thoroughly satisfactory. It follows the
general lines of last year’s boat, al-
though a foot loneer and somewhat
broader at the bottom to render it more
buoyant under the heavy crew. On
Thursday morning Captain Allen or-
dered out the oars with six-inch blades
used previous to the arrival in New
London, when a new set of sweeps with
blades half an inch broader were tried.
The following day the new oars were
cut down, so it seems definitely settled
that the narrow blades will be used in
the race.
YALE CREW AND SUBSTITUTES.
Greenway, sub. Brow
Greenleaf, bow.
Flint, 4. Wickes, 2.
Mitchell, sub.
rhe; Cross, sub
Allen (Capt.), 5.
Niedecken, r¢
Williams, stroke. _
Brock, sub.
Walton, cox.
Griswold, 3.
Photo. by Pach.
- THE FOUR.
The substitute four have continued
their regular practice and considerable
improvement has resulted from the
coaching of Messrs. Bolton and Arm-
strong. The boat seems to be a bit too
light for the four regular substitutes
and on Saturday two of the Freshman
squad were tried at stroke and bow.
The shift, however, was. not a success
and the day’s practice closed with the
regular four. There are liable to be
further changes almost any time, and
it is doubtful if a final choice will be
made until very near race day. The
addition of this substitute race has
worked a most beneficial change in the
training system of the Crew, affording
an incentive to regular practice for
those directly concerned and adding
much to the general life at Broadview.
The Harvard four has a great advantage
in being many pounds lighter than their
Yale rivals, and have displayed great
speed in their recent practice.
THE FRESHMEN.
Messrs: J. --O.. “Rodgers, -'98, and
Payne Whitney, ’98, came down from
the Harvard Law School during the
early part of the week and took charge
of the Freshmen Eight. The make-up
of the Crew has been unsettled, Benner
and Warmouth alternating at stroke and
Swan and Lincoln at three. The
Freshmen, while rather ragged as re-
gards form, have a strong catch and
pull their stroke through well and may
be expected to develop good speed by
the twenty-ninth. The Harvard Fresh-
men arrived at Redtop Tuesday night.
Although little is known here of their
ability, the boat is said to be fast.
very pleasing feature of the sea- .
son’s training at New London has been
the ‘pleasant relations apparent between
the oarsmen of the two Universities,
and their coaches. The tendency has
been entirely towards the abandonment
of secret tactics of past years, and the
rival boats have had an opportunity to
see each other work at short range.
The University fours have met several
times in impromptu but sharp brushes,
which besides showing the greatest
good feeling seemed to show Harvard
a trifle the faster.
Race Arrangements.
A change of hour for the University
and University Four races was made
last week, after.a conference between
the. Yale. .and= flarvard
which will in all probability be final.
Unless weather too bad to row in, pre-
vails, the races will be run off on June
29, at these hours:
Freshman race, two miles—Started
at 10 A. M. at drawbridge, and rowed
upstream to finish at Navy Yard.
Universitvy-Four race, two miles—
Started immediately after the Freshman
race ends and rowed up stream from the
Navy Yard to the starting point of the
four-mile course. Each four carries a
coxswain.
University race, four miles—Started
at 5.30 BP. M. and rowed downstream.
to the finish at the drawbridge. The
old straightaway course used by Har-
vard and Yale prior to the triangular
race last year, will be used, as it was -
considered better to have a four mile
course without turnings.
Observation trains will be run for the
Freshman and University races as in
former years. Tickets for the Fresh-
man train and the University Four
train will be on sale at the railroad
depot. ,
Observations trains will be run on
each side of the river. The West side,
or old route, is well known to race
goers. The East side, or new route,
follows the river's edge very closely
from start to finish and the view is ob-
authorities, —
scured only for a few moments as the
train passes behind a few houses at
the Navy Yard. ,
There will be no press boat to follow
the crews. A referee’s tender will fol-
low the referee’s boat and will keep the
observation trains posted as to changes
or postponements.,
Yale Crew Statistics.
Stroke — William. Biddle Williams,
1900, of Haverford, Pennsylvania. Mr.
Williams prepa-ed for College at the
Delancey School and stroked the 1900
Freshmen and the 1808 University
Crew. He is 20 years old, weighs 160
pounds and his height is 5 feet 10
inches. -
No. 7—James Henry Niedecken, 1900,
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. Nie-
decken prepared for College at St.
Paul’s School, Concord. where he
rowed on one of the crews. He was
a member of the 1900 Freshman and the
1898 University Eights. He is 21
years old, weighs 171 pounds and is 6
feet and 34 inches tall.
No. 6—Frederick Winthrop Allen,
1900, of Walpole, Mass., Captain. Mr.
Allen prepared at Andover and rowed
at six on the University Crews of 1897
and 1808. He is 22 years old, weighs
180 pounds and is 6 feet tall.
No. 5—Francis. Gordon Brown, Jr.,
1901, of Flushing L. I. Mr. Brown
prepared at Groton, where he rowed on
the School Crew. He captained last
year’s Freshman boat and has played
guard on the University Eleven for two
years. He is 19 years old, weighs 190
pounds and is 6 feet 3 inches tall.
No. 4—Robert Philip Flint, ’99 S.. Gr
Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. Flint prepared
at Lawrenceville and rowed on his
Freshman and last year’s University
Crews. He is 23 years old, weighs 168
pounds and his height is 6 feet.
No. 3—William * Edward Schenck
Griswold, ’o9,. of - Erie, Penn. Mr.