Eugene Howard Clapp III or Gene Clapp (born November 19, 1949) is an American

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

and Olympian. He competed in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, winning the silver medal in the men's eight event. He was inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Early life

Clapp was born in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

and grew up in

Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of Massachusetts Bay Commu ...

. He is the son of Maud Millicent Greenwell and Eugene Howard Clapp Jr, a financial advisor. His younger brother is Charles Clapp who was also an Olympic rower. When he was twelve-years-old, Clapp discovered rowing at summer camp. He attended the Brooks School in

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

where he participated in crew. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, graduating with a B.A. in 1972. There, he was a member of

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

and the crew team, rowing in the 1967 Intercollegiate Championship. In 1972, he was captain of the Pennsylvania crew team and helped their men's eight team win the 1972 IRA championship. He then attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and received an MBA in 1974.

Rowing

Clapp represented the United States at the 1971 World Championship, winning the title in men's eight. That same year, he rowed men's fours at the 1971

American Henley Regatta The American Henley Regatta was a popular and inclusive regatta for the sport of rowing in the United States. Unlike the national championship regattas of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, which focussed primarily on boat clubs as partici ...

and won national title. During his training, he was affiliated with 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 ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

. Clapp represented the United States in the

in the men's eight. The team was assembled at the Olympic Camp and only participated in one race prior to the Olympic games.Powers, John (October 19, 2012).
A Silver Lining for '72 Olympic Crew
. ''The Boston Globe''. pp. C14. Retrieved May 19, 2022 – via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

. Their nickname was The Brothers and The Others because five of the eight-person team were from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. The team and Clapp won a silver medal with a photo finish;

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

won the gold medal. Clapp said, "No one could have beaten heNew Zealand finish. They are a phenomenal crew, and we are happy with our silver medals." Annually since their victory at the Olympics, the team has met and raced at the head of the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

under the name of Alte Achter Boat Club—German for Old Eight. The race is followed by a meal that is usually provided by Clapp. In 1997, their reunion included a rematch of the Gold medal team from New Zealand. After that race, the two teams went on a "grand tour." On March 12, 2012, Clapp was also inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame for Men's Eight as part of the 1972 Olympic team.

Career

After college, Clapp went into finance. In 1974, he worked for Loeb, Rhoades and Co. in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Later, he worked for

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

. He co-founded and became the principal of

Penobscot Investment Management Company The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

, an investment management firm in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also president of the Pine Tree Land Company in Boston which is a branch of the firm by the same name in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. In addition, he is a corporate member of the

Partners in Healthcare System Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

Personal life

While at the

, he met his future wife, Meredith Ann Purdy, who was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Purdy of

Hinsdale, Illinois Hinsdale is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,395 at the 2020 census, most of whom lived in DuPage County. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town ...

. They were married on July 20, 1974 at the Union Church in Hinsdale. They made their home in first

. They later lived in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts and had four children. His has served on the board of

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent christianity, Christian unitarianism, unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, anglicanism, Anglican in worship, and congrega ...

, the

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital is a 132-bed rehabilitation teaching hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the official teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the ma ...

, the

Beacon Hill Civic Association A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a Geodetic datum, specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into ...

, the

National Rowing Foundation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, and Partners Continuing Care. He also served as the chair of he Advent School Board and as board member and treasurer of the Conservation Law Foundation of New England. In 2005, he and his wife were awarded the Beacon Award by the Beacon Hill Civic Association. In 2015, the couple received the Charles E. Rogerson Award for Community Service at the Rogerson Communities Welcome Home! Celebration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clapp, Gene 1949 births Living people People from Brookline, Massachusetts People from Wellesley, Massachusetts Brooks School alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni St. Anthony Hall University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni American male rowers Sportspeople from Brookline, Massachusetts Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in rowing Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Financial advisors