The Boat Race 1954

100th Boat Race
Date3 April 1954
WinnerOxford
Margin of victory4+1⁄2 lengths
Winning time20 minutes 23 seconds
Overall record
(Cambridge–Oxford)		54–45
UmpireKenneth Payne
(Cambridge)
← 1953 1955 →

The 100th Boat Race took place on 3 April 1954. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. In a race umpired by former Cambridge rower Kenneth Payne, Oxford won by 4+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 20 minutes 23 seconds, taking the overall record in the competition to 54–45 in Cambridge's favour.

Background

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[1] First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.[2] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide.[3][4] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1953 race by eight lengths, and led overall with 54 victories to Oxford's 44 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).[5][6]

Cambridge were coached by N. B. M. Clack (who had rowed in the 1952 race), James Crowden (who had represented Cambridge in the 1951 and 1952 races) and R. H. H. Symonds (who had rowed in the 1931 race). Oxford's coaches were Hugh "Jumbo" Edwards (a Blue in 1926 and 1930), W. J. Llewellyn-Jones, J. H. Page and A. D. Rowe (who had represented Oxford in the 1948 and 1949 races).[7] The race was umpired for the fourth time by the former British Olympian Kenneth Payne, who had rowed for Cambridge in the 1932 and 1934 races.[8][9]

During the build-up to the race, the rowing correspondent for The Times had suggested that "until three weeks ago a Cambridge victory seemed almost certain" but practice rows had proved disappointing. The Oxford crew had been struck down by influenza in training, and had to reshuffle their order a month before the race. Although the new order "seemed weak", they made better progress in training than Cambridge, yet the Light Blues, who were described as "well drilled" but with "erratic timekeeping" nevertheless remained "precarious favourites".[10]

Crews

The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 12 st 9.5 lb (80.3 kg), 5 pounds (2.3 kg) per rower more than their opponents. The Oxford crew saw two members return to the boat, including the cox W. R. Marsh and their boat club president H. M. C. Quick, who was making his third consecutive appearance. Cambridge's crew contained a single participant with Boat Race experience in their stroke and boat club president J. A. N. Wallis.[11] According to the rowing correspondent for The Times, "perhaps the crews have never been more closely matched".[10] Oxford's crew contained four non-British participants, all of them Australian, in E. V. Vine, J. A. Gobbo, J. G. McLeod and Edward Pain.[12]

Seat Oxford
Cambridge
Name College Weight Name College Weight
Bow R. A. Wheadon Balliol 11 st 13 lb J. A. N. Wallis (P) Lady Margaret Boat Club 12 st 0 lb
2 E. V. Vine Brasenose 12 st 0 lb J. C. G. Stancliffe Pembroke 12 st 3 lb
3 J. A. Gobbo Magdalen 12 st 9 lb D. K. Hill Jesus 12 st 6 lb
4 R. D. T. Raikes Merton 12 st 6 lb K. A. Masser Trinity Hall 14 st 0 lb
5 H. M. C. Quick (P) Merton 13 st 12 lb M. G. Baynes Trinity Hall 13 st 1 lb
6 J. G. McLeod New College 12 st 1 lb C. M. Davies Clare 13 st 13 lb
7 E. O. G. Pain Lincoln 12 st 0 lb J. N. Bruce Clare 12 st 1 lb
Stroke J. J. H. Harrison Trinity 11 st 9 lb M. J. Marshall Jesus 11 st 10 lb
Cox W. R. Marsh University 8 st 12 lb J. W. Tanburn Jesus 8 st 9 lb
Source:[13]
(P) – boat club president[14]

Race

The Championship Course along which the Boat Race is contested

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge.[11] In a stiff south-westerly wind, umpire Payne started the race at 12:45 p.m.[11][15] Oxford made a quick start, and according to the rowing correspondent of The Times "literally leaped away, seemingly to row two strokes almost before Cambridge had begun".[15] By the end of the first minute, the Dark Blues were a few feet ahead but with the bend in the river favouring Cambridge, the crews were level by Craven Steps. Despite a push from Cambridge's stroke M. J. Marshall, the Light Blues could not gain any advantage and both crews passed the Mile Post level.[15]

Although rating slightly lower than their opposition, Oxford made the best of the bend in the river at Harrods Furniture Depository to lead by about a canvas-length by the time they passed below Hammersmith Bridge. A strong headwind faced both crews as they rowed into Chiswick Reach and Cambridge struggled in the rough water in the middle of the river. Oxford, whose cox W. R. Marsh had steered towards the shelter of the Surrey shore, gained a length in half a minute, extending out to almost four lengths by Barnes Bridge.[15] Oxford won by 4+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 20 minutes 23 seconds, for their second victory in eight years.[5]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight". The Observer. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  2. ^ Smith, Oliver (25 March 2014). "University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  4. ^ "TV and radio". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Boat Race – Results". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Classic moments – the 1877 dead heat". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  7. ^ Burnell, pp. 110–111
  8. ^ Burnell, pp. 49, 74
  9. ^ "Kenneth Payne Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Cambridge weight may be decisive". The Times. No. 52897. 3 April 1954. p. 7.
  11. ^ a b c Burnell, p. 78
  12. ^ Burnell, p. 39
  13. ^ Dodd, p. 335
  14. ^ Burnell, pp. 50, 52
  15. ^ a b c d "Oxford win the Boat Race". The Times. No. 52898. 5 April 1954. p. 5.

Bibliography