The 48th Boat Race took place on 21 March 1891.

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

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 race leading 24–22 in the event overall. In total, eight rowers who were participating had previous Boat Race experience. Umpired by former Oxford 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 ...

, pre-race favourites Oxford won by half-a-length in a time of 21 minutes 48 seconds. It was Oxford's narrowest winning margin since the 1867 race.

Background

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 one length in the previous year's race, and held the overall lead, with 24 victories to Cambridge's 22 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Cambridge were coached by Arthur Middleton Hutchinson (who had rowed for the Light Blues in the 1881 and 1882 races) while Oxford's coach was

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 The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

and captain of the 1st Trinity Boat Club. Although Lehmann had rowed in the trials eights for Cambridge, he was never selected for the Blue boat. The umpire for the race for the third 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,

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.

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 3.75 lb (77.7 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge saw four 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 ...

return to the boat, in Gilbert Francklyn, Edmund Towers Fison, John Friend Rowlatt and

Cambridge University Boat Club The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...

president Gerard Elin. Oxford's crew contained four rowers with Boat Race experience, including

Guy Nickalls Guy Nickalls (13 November 1866 – 8 July 1935) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the British eight that won gold, won 22 events at Henley Royal Regatta and won the Wingfield Sculls three times. Ear ...

who was rowing in his fourth consecutive race, this year alongside his brother Vivian. The Dark Blues also featured

cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

John Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale for the third time in a row.Burnell, p. 65 Four of the Oxford crew 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 ...

while five of the Cambridge crew had matriculated to Trinity Hall. Two rowers were registered as non-British, F. Wilkinson for Oxford and Edward Wason Lord for Cambridge both hailed from Australia.Burnell, p. 38 Wilkinson was forced to leave the Oxford crew during practice as he suffered from influenza; he was considered sufficiently fit to return to the crew but, according to Drinkwater, "never found his real form again".

Race

Oxford were pre-race favourites, and won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge. The race commenced at 11:09 a.m.,Drinkwater, p. 96 in a northerly wind, and despite being outrated by Cambridge, the Dark Blues took an early lead and were a quarter of a length ahead as the crews passed Craven Steps.Drinkwater, p. 95 Just before the Mile Post, Oxford's lead was around half a length, but Cambridge pushed on to take the lead by

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

. Oxford responded and held a marginal lead as the crews passed The Doves pub, and the boats exchanged the lead several times along Chiswick Reach. The Dark Blues took the lead and were three-quarters of a length up at

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 ...

. Elin increased Cambridge's stroke rate; Charles Kent, the Oxford stroke responded and although the bend in the river favoured the Dark Blues, Cambridge closed the gap. However, it was too late to stop Oxford taking the victory. The Dark Blues passed the finishing post with a half-length lead in a time of 21 minutes 48 seconds. It was their second consecutive victory and the narrowest winning margin since the 1867 race, taking the overall record to 25–22 in Oxford's favour.

References

Notes Bibliography * * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1891 1891 in English sport The Boat Race 1891 in sports March 1891 events