Allen Perry Rosenberg (November 29, 1931 – December 7, 2013) was an American
rowing coxswain and coach.
As a coxswain he won a gold and a silver medal at the 1955 Pan American Games
and a silver at the 1958 European Championships.
[ As a coach he was responsible for more than 24 gold and silver medals at the Olympics and world championships.]
Early life
Rosenberg was Jewish. He was born in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia until his family moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...
. He graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, where he ran the quarter mile and wrestled.
Rosenberg first attended Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
, where he wrestled, and then Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
and Temple University School of Law
The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students.
Student body
Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly comp ...
, from which he graduated with degrees in pharmacy and law. He was a patent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...
.
Rowing career
Rosenberg competed in from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s, and won four U.S. and three Canadian national rowing titles:[ in 1954, he won the U.S. ]coxed four
A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain.
The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oa ...
s and Canada eights; in 1955, he won the U.S. eights; and in 1957 and 1958, he won both the U.S. and Canadian eights.
Internationally he won a silver medal in the eights at the 1958 European Rowing Championships
The European Rowing Championships is an international Rowing regatta organised by FISA (the International Rowing Federation) for European rowing nations, plus Israel which, though not a member of the European federation is treated as a European ...
,[ a gold medal and a silver medal at the ]1955 Pan American Games
The 1955 Pan American Games opened on March 12, 1955, in the University Stadium (now Olympic Stadium) in Mexico City, Mexico, in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 spectators.
A total number of 2,583 athletes from 22 nations marched in review ...
, and a gold medal at the 1961 Maccabiah Games
The 6th Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961, with 1,100 athletes from 27 countries competing in 18 sports. The Games were officially opened in an Opening Ceremony on August 29, 1961, in Ramat Gan Stadium by Israeli President Yit ...
.
Coaching career
Rosenberg began coaching while he was still competing. He coached the Vesper Boat Club
The Vesper Boat Club is an amateur rowing (sport), rowing club located at #10 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1865 as the Washington Barge Club, the Club changed its name to Vesper Boat Club ...
in Philadelphia, and became the rowing coach at St. Francis College
, mottoeng = My God, My All
, established =
, type = Private college
, chancellor =
, president = Miguel Martinez-Saenz
, provost = Jennifer Lancas ...
.
He was head coach of a number of United States National Rowing teams from 1961 to 1976. He coached the 1964 U.S. Olympic 8 pared shell to a gold medal victory, and also won two gold medals (in Eights and Pairs with Coxswain), a silver medal (in Double Sculls
A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand.
Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...
), and a bronze medal (in Four Without Cox). He coached the 1974 World Championships team that won a gold medal in Eights.
He also coached teams that won a silver medal at the 1965 World Championships and a gold medal at the 1974 World Championships, as well as a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics. His teams won two golds, a silver, and a bronze at the 1975 Pan American Games
The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...
. He coached U.S. teams at the 1961 Maccabiah Games
The 6th Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961, with 1,100 athletes from 27 countries competing in 18 sports. The Games were officially opened in an Opening Ceremony on August 29, 1961, in Ramat Gan Stadium by Israeli President Yit ...
and 1965 Maccabiah Games
The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel, ...
, that each won three gold medals.
Rosenberg coached into the early 2000s with crews that consistently placed in the top tier Nationally and Internationally.
His rowing techniques became internationally known as the "Rosenberg Style", and employed by the majority of world-class rowing crews. He was named the first U.S. National Technical Director of American Rowing. He also was president of the Rowing Coaches of America.
Halls of Fame
Rosenberg was inducted into the Rowing Hall of Fame in 1984.[ He was inducted into the ]International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...
in 1994, the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Greater Washington, D.C. Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Death
Rosenberg died at Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...
, on December 7, 2013. He had suffered from Lewy body dementias
Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia—dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and
Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The two conditions have sim ...
in his later years.Allen Rosenberg, Olympic Rowing Coach Who Transformed the Sport, Dies at 82 – The New York Times
Nytimes.com (December 13, 2013). Retrieved on 2017-06-14.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenberg, Allen
Coxswains (rowing)
1931 births
2013 deaths
Sportspeople from Philadelphia
Temple University alumni
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Sportspeople from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni
American patent attorneys
Rowing coaches
American pharmacists
Jewish American sportspeople
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States
World Rowing Championships medalists for the United States
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in rowing
Rowers at the 1955 Pan American Games
American male rowers
European Rowing Championships medalists
Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni
Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games
21st-century American Jews
Rowers from Philadelphia