The 50th Boat Race took place on 22 March 1893. The Boat Race is an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. Oxford went into the event as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race. In a race umpired by former rower

Frank Willan Group Captain Frank Andrew Willan, (21 December 1915 – 12 November 1981) was an English aviator, Royal Air Force officer and Conservative politician. He was Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1973 to 1979. Early life The son of Briga ...

, Oxford won by a length and a quarter in a time of 18 minutes 45 seconds which was, at the time, the fastest in the history of the event. It was their fourth consecutive victory and took the overall record to 27–22 in their favour.

Background

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the boat clubs of

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the

Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of th ...

on the

in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; as of 2014 it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having beaten Cambridge by lengths in the previous year's race, and held the overall lead, with 26 victories to Cambridge's 22 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford's coaches were G. C. Bourne (who rowed for Oxford in the

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

and 1883 races),

Tom Edwards-Moss Tom Cottingham Edwards-Moss, (7 April 1855 – 16 December 1893), was a British amateur oarsman who rowed in the Boat Race four times and twice won the Diamond Challenge Sculls, and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1 ...

(who rowed for the Dark Blues from 1875 to 1878) and Douglas McLean (an Oxford Blue five times between 1883 and 1887). Cambridge were coached by

R. C. Lehmann Rudolph Chambers "R.C." Lehmann (3 January 1856 – 22 January 1929) was an English writer and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1906 to 1910. As a writer he was best known for three decades in which he was a major c ...

(former president of the Cambridge Union Society and captain of the 1st Trinity Boat Club; although he had rowed in the trials eights for Cambridge, he was never selected for the Blue boat). The umpire for the race for the fifth year in a row was

who won the event four consecutive times, rowing for Oxford in the

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman tr ...

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

and 1869 races. According to author Wadham Peacock,

Barnes Bridge Barnes Bridge railway station, in Travelcard Zone 3, is on The Terrace, Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. It is on the Houn ...

was undergoing repair which had jeopardised the running of the race. It was also one of only a few occasions where the race was not held on a Saturday, this year taking place on a Wednesday.Peacock, p. 114

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 3.125 lb (77.4 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge saw two rowers with Boat Race experience return, including Graham Campbell Kerr and Charles Thurstan Fogg-Elliot. Six of the Light Blues had matriculated at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. The Oxford boat contained five former

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

including William Fletcher who was participating in his fourth Boat Race. Four of the Dark Blues were studying at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

. All of the competitors in the race were registered as British. Although Oxford had four members of the previous year's race available, Fletcher was injured in practice and

Vivian Nickalls Vivian Nickalls (1871–1947) was a British rower who won the Wingfield Sculls three times and the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta in 1891. Biography Nickalls was born at Farningham, Kent, the son of Tom Nickalls and his wife E ...

was unwell. Cambridge's crew was considered to be powerful but technically deficient.Drinkwater, p. 98 Fletcher WAL Vanity Fair 1893-03-18

Race

Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Oxford.Burnell, p. 65 With a good spring tide and a light breeze from the east, umpire Willan started the race at 4:35 p.m., with the Light Blues outrating their opponents at 40 strokes per minute, and taking an early lead. Oxford drew level and moved ahead, holding a length's lead by the Mile Post. With the advantage of the river's course to Cambridge, by Hammersmith Bridge the lead had been cut to half a length and at The Doves pub (almost along the course), the crews were once again level. Along Chiswick, despite a higher stroke rate, Cambridge failed to move ahead and showed signs of tiredness, and Oxford began to move away again. By

they were a length-and-a-half clear, but encountered difficult water there as a temporary dam that had been constructed created an eddy.Drinkwater, pp. 98–99 Cambridge took advantage to reduce the deficit and pushed all the way to the finishing post, but Oxford won by lengths. It was their fourth consecutive victory and in a time of 18 minutes 45 seconds, the fastest in the history of the event at the time.

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1893 1893 in English sport The Boat Race 1893 in sports March 1893 events