The 80th Boat Race took place on 28 March 1928. Held annually, the Boat Race is a 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

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. In a race umpired by former Oxford rower

Charles Burnell Charles Desborough 'Don' Burnell, (13 January 1876 – 3 October 1969) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Biography Burnell was born at Beckenham, then in Kent. He was educated at Eton College and Magdalen Co ...

, Cambridge won by ten lengths, the largest margin of victory since 1900, in a time of 20 minutes 25 seconds. The victory took the overall record to 40–39 in Oxford's favour.

Background

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 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

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(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; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1927 race by three lengths, with Oxford leading overall with 40 victories to Cambridge's 38 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford were coached by H. R. Baker (who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1908 and 1909 races), A. E. Kitchin (who also rowed in 1908), P. C. Mallam (a Dark Blue from 1921 to 1924 inclusive), C. M. Pitman (who rowed four times between 1892 and 1895) and J. D. W. Thomson (who was a three-time Blue between 1925 and 1927). Cambridge's coaches were

William Dudley Ward William Dudley Ward PC (14 October 1877 – 11 November 1946) was an English sportsman and Liberal politician. Early life Dudley Ward was born in London, the son of William Humble Dudley Ward and the great-grandson of William Humble Wa ...

(who had rowed in 1897, 1899 and 1900 races), Francis Escombe, P. H. Thomas (a four-time Blue between 1902 and 1905) and David Alexander Wauchope (who had rowed in the 1895 race). For the second year the umpire was

who had rowed for Oxford in the 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898 races. Charles Kent, who rowed for Oxford in the 1891 race, was the finishing judge for the first time.

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 9.625 lb (80.4 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge's crew contained three participants with Boat Race experience: R. Beesly, J. C. Holcroft and

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

T. E. Letchworth. Oxford saw four participants return, including number two T. W. Shaw and

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J. H. Croft, both of whom were making their third consecutive appearance in the event. One participant was registered as non-British: Oxford's number four H. C. Morphett was from Australia. According to author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater, the Cambridge crew were "really good" with the trial eights being "much above the average".Drinkwater, p. 149 After relocating to Ely in the build-up to the race, Cambridge's crew was reorganised and improved, before final modifications were made at Putney. Drinkwater stated "it was obvious that they were going to be a fast crew". Conversely, Oxford suffered from "a dearth of experienced material" who "never developed and were quite incapable of rowing a racing stroke".

Race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge. Burnell started the race at 9:45 a.m. in reasonable conditions but on a poor tide. Cambridge took the lead from the start and were half a length ahead by the time they passed the boathouses ( along the course). Dropping the stroke rate to 29 strokes per minute, the Light Blues held off the faster rating Oxford to the Mile Post. Here Cambridge pushed away quickly and, according to Drinkwater, "long before

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the race had become a procession", so much so that the Light Blues reduced their efforts to a paddle.Drinkwater, p. 150 Cambridge won by ten lengths in a time of 20 minutes 25 seconds, the slowest winning time since the 1925 race. It was their fifth consecutive victory and their ninth win in ten races and took the overall record to 40–39 in Oxford's favour. It was the largest winning margin where both boats completed the course since the 1900 race.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1928 1928 in English sport The Boat Race March 1928 sports events 1928 in rowing 1928 sports events in London