The 70th Boat Race took place on 13 March 1913. 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. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race. The two crews contained a total of five medallists from the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. Umpired by former Cambridge rower

Frederick I. Pitman Frederick (Freddie) Islay Pitman (18 April 1863 – 22 January 1942) was a British rower who rowed in the Boat Race three times and won the Diamond Challenge Sculls and the Wingfield Sculls in 1886. Biography Pitman was born at Edinb ...

, Oxford won this year's race by three-quarters of a length in a time of 20 minutes 53 seconds. The victory took the overall record in the event to 39–30 in their favour.

Background

Harcourt Gilbey Gold, Vanity Fair, 1899-03-23

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (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 River Thames in southwest London. 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. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1912 race by six lengths, and led overall with 38 victories to Cambridge's 30 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford's coaches were H. R. Barker (who rowed for the Dark Blues in the

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

and 1909 races), G. C. Bourne who had rowed for the university in the

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and 1883 races,

Harcourt Gilbey Gold Sir Harcourt Gilbey Gold (3 May 1876 – 27 July 1952) was a successful British rower, the first to be knighted for services to the sport. He was born at Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire, the ninth and youngest child of Henry Gold of Hedsor, Bu ...

(Dark Blue president for the 1900 race and four-time Blue), and Alister Kirby (who rowed for Cambridge four times between 1906 and 1909). Cambridge were coached by John Houghton Gibbon who rowed for the Light Blues in the

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

and 1900 races. For the tenth year the umpire was old Etonian

who rowed for Cambridge in the

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

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and 1886 races. To avoid Holy Week, the race was scheduled earlier than normal, on 13 March 1913. Two old Etonians, G. E. Tower and C. E. V. Buxton joined the Cambridge crew, along with W. M. Askwith. The Light Blues' practice was disrupted, first losing Askwith suffering from a

boil A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by an ...

, and then, late in the build-up the race, losing both E. L. Showell Rogers and L. A. Pattinson to injury and "indigestion" respectively nine days before the race. Askwith was fit enough to return and according to author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater, "the crew were well together when they came to the post". Of the Oxford crew, Drinkwater noted that "the crew went easily and comfortably from the first day" yet "lacked essential balance".

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 6.375 lb (78.9 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge's crew included two rowers with Boat Race experience in

Sidney Swann Sidney Ernest Swann (24 June 1890 – 19 September 1976) was a Manx-English clergyman and a rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1912 Summer Olympics and in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Biography Swann was born at Sulby, Lezayre, I ...

and

Ralph Shove Ralph Samuel Shove (31 May 1889 – 2 February 1966) was a British County Court judge and a rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowin ...

, the former making his third appearance in the event. The Oxford crew saw five participants return, including Leslie Wormald and cox Henry Wells who were both taking part in their third race.

Edgar Burgess Edgar Richard Burgess Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, FZS (23 September 1891 – 23 April 1952) was an English rowing (sport), rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Burgess was born in London and educ ...

, Swann, Wormald and Ewart Horsfall had all won gold medals in the men's eight at the

, rowing for Leander Club. They defeated New College in the final for whom Dark Blue

Arthur Wiggins Arthur Frederick Reginald Wiggins (4 December 1891 – 23 July 1961) was a British rower who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Wiggins was born in Bournemouth. He was educated at New College, Oxford. In 1912 he was a member of the Oxfor ...

rowed.

Race

Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Oxford.Ross, p. 230 Umpire Pitman started the race at 4:38 p.m. in conditions described by former author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater as "almost perfect" but with a "modest" tide.Drinkwater, p. 130 Despite Oxford out-rating their opponents from the start, Cambridge took an early lead and were half a length ahead after the first minute. Although the bend in the river was against them, the Light Blues continued to slowly gain and were just clear by the Mile Post. A spurt from Oxford closed the gap and by

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be taken into ...

the lead was down to half a length. Taking advantage of the bend in the river, the Light Blues pulled away again and were nearly clear by the time the crews passed below Hammersmith Bridge. They extended the lead to be a quarter-length clear by The Doves pub, and then a half-length clear by Craven Steps.Drinkwater, p. 131 Rowing into increasing wind, Cambridge began to tire and Oxford closed the gap. The Cambridge stroke G. E. Tower spurted again just before

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 ...

and led by a length and a quarter at the bridge. The crews began to steer closer to one another, eventually causing each cox to give way to avoid the foul. By the time the boats passed Mortlake Brewery they were level, and despite a final push from Cambridge, Oxford drove on, passing the finishing post rating 37 strokes per minute. They won by three-quarters of a length in a time of 20 minutes 53 seconds. It was the narrowest winning margin since the 1896 race, and Oxford's fifth consecutive victory, taking the overall record in the event to 39–30 in their favour.

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1913 1913 in English sport The Boat Race March 1913 sports events 1913 sports events in London