The 30th Boat Race took place on the 29 March 1873.

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 College town, 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. Cam ...

along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. In a race umpired by former Oxford rower

Joseph William Chitty Sir Joseph William Chitty (28 May 1828 – 15 February 1899) was an English cricketer, rower, judge and Liberal politician. Early life Chitty was born in London, the second son of Thomas Chitty (himself son and brother of well-known lawye ...

, Cambridge won by three lengths in a time of 19 minutes and 35 seconds, the fastest time in the history of the event. It was the first time that rowers raced on sliding seats.

Background

is a side-by-side rowing competition between the

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 The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

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

in southwest London. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having defeated Oxford by two lengths in the previous year's race, while Oxford led overall with sixteen wins to Cambridge's thirteen. Although the use of sliding seats had been considered the previous year, the then-Cambridge boat club president John Goldie disallowed the Light Blue boat manufacturer

Harry Clasper Harry Clasper (5 July 1812 – 12 July 1870) was a professional rower and boat builder from Tyneside in England. He was an innovative boat designer who pioneered the development of the racing shell and the use of outriggers. He is said to hav ...

from fitting them. However, for the 1873 race, both boats were, for the first time, fitted with the innovation.Burnell, p. 60 Cambridge were coached by John Graham Chambers (who rowed for Cambridge in the 1862 and 1863 races, and was non-rowing boat club president for the 1865 race). Oxford's coach was Robert Lesley, the non-rowing president of

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century. The Boat Race The club races agai ...

(who had rowed in the 1871 and 1872 races).

(who had rowed for Oxford twice in 1849 (in the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

and December races) and the 1852 race) returned as umpire for the race (with

Robert Lewis-Lloyd Robert Lewis-Lloyd (9 January 1836 – 7 September 1915) was a Welsh rower and barrister who was High Sheriff of Radnorshire and who umpired the Boat Race between 1881 and 1888. Lewis-Lloyd was born at Cardigan, Ceredigion, the son of Thomas Lew ...

having officiated the previous year)Drinkwater, p. 66 while the starter was Edward Searle.

Crews

The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 11 st 11 lb (74.7 kg), more than their opponents.Drinkwater, p. 67 Oxford saw four former Blues return from the 1872 crew, while Cambridge's crew included three rowers who had participated the previous year, in James Brooks Close, Charles Stokes Read and Constantine William Benson.

Race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge. The race commenced at 2.32 p.m. Oxford's higher stroke rate enabled them to make "a good race of it", and remained in contention for the first mile-and-a-half to

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 ...

, but in doing so exhausted themselves. Cambridge eased off and won the race by three lengths.Drinkwater, pp. 66–67 The winning time was 19 minutes and 35 seconds, the fastest time in the history of The Boat Race and 29 seconds faster than the previous record set in the 1869 race.

References

Notes Bibliography * * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1873 1873 in English sport The Boat Race March 1873 sports events