The 109th Boat Race took place on 23 March 1963. Held annually, the event 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

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 ...

. The race, umpired by

Gerald Ellison Gerald Alexander Ellison (19 August 1910 – 18 October 1992) was an Anglican bishop and rower. He was the Bishop of Chester from 1955 to 1973 and the Bishop of London from 1973 to 1981. Early life and education Ellison was the son of a chaplai ...

, the

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...

, was won by Oxford with a winning margin of five lengths.

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

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, followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by five lengths, and led overall in the event with 60 victories to Oxford's 47 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Cambridge's coaches were Harry Almond (who rowed for Cambridge in the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

and 1951 races), Tony Butcher (who rowed in the 1947 race for Cambridge),

David Jennens David Michael Jennens (8 April 1929 – 27 September 2000) was an English rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was a medical doctor. Jennens was born in Solihull, United Kingdom. He attended Oundle Schoo ...

(who rowed three times between 1949 and 1951) and

Brian Lloyd Brian William Lloyd (born 18 March 1948) is a Welsh former Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played 545 times in the English Football League, Football League for five clubs and w ...

(who also rowed three times from 1949 to 1951). Oxford were coached by R. M. A. Bourne (who represented Oxford in the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

and 1947 races), Ronnie Howard (who rowed twice, in the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and 1959 races), Mike Nicholson (the non-rowing boat club president of Cambridge in 1947),

Antony Rowe Antony Duncan Rowe (4 August 1924 – 5 December 2003), or Tony Rowe, was an English rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics and won the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta in 1950. He was later a p ...

(who had rowed in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and 1949 races) and E. R. Spencer. During practice rows at Putney, Cambridge experienced a number of "

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

" and while the crew demonstrated a "nervous disability to cope with rough water", they had the quicker start. The race was umpired by

, who had rowed for Oxford in the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and 1933 races.

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 13 st 0.125 lb (82.4 kg), over per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge's crew contained just a single rower with Boat Race experience in the boat club president 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 ...

Lord Chewton, while Oxford saw Richard Morton, David Skailes and

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 ** ...

Christopher Strong return.Dodd, p. 340 Four rowers, two from each university, were registered as overseas participants in the race: Oxford's Philip Roff was Australian while D. Spencer was American, and Cambridge's B. Jackson was South African while John Haasland hailed from New Zealand. Oxford's

boat club A boat club is a sports club serving boat owners, particularly those interested in rowing and yachting, but also kayaking, canoeing, motor boats and other small boats. See also *Rowing club *Yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifi ...

president Toby Tennant had removed himself from the crew two weeks prior to the race as a result of a lack of form. A correspondent for ''The Times'' noted that although there "has never been the slightest possibility" that the Cambridge crew would be of "really first rate", the hard work had produced a "presentable University crew". Meanwhile, although Oxford had "no stars" and had arrived at Putney as an "unusually backward crew", progress during practice made for definite improvement.

Race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge.Burnell, p. 80 The race commenced at 11.30 a.m. in a "fresh north-north-westerly wind". As had been anticipated, Cambridge took an early lead and were three-quarters of a length ahead after the first minute of the race. Continuing at a higher stroke rate than Oxford in the second minute, the Light Blues were almost clear by the end of the Fulham Wall. Still nearly a length behind by the Mile Post, Oxford cox Strong began to steer towards Cambridge, forcing them towards the centre of the river, narrowly avoiding a warning from the umpire. Level 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 ...

, Oxford were half a length up 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 ...

, increasing to over a length by The Doves

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, despite an "almost despairing spurt" from Cambridge. The lead was three and a half lengths by Chiswick Steps and four and a half by

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 ...

. Oxford won by five lengths in a time of 20 minutes 47 seconds, the slowest time since the 1951 race. It was the Dark Blues' first victory in three years and took the overall record to 60–48 in Cambridge's favour.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Official website

Photograph of the Cambridge boat in training
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1963 1963 in English sport 1963 in rowing 1963 sports events in London March 1963 sports events in the United Kingdom The Boat Race