Wallace Ross (20 February 1857 – 26 November 1895) was a professional

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

who was considered to be the greatest sculler to come out of Saint John,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was a champion who nearly won the World Champion single sculls title.

Early life

Wallace Ross was born in

Memramcook Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac deri ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

on 20 February 1857. He went to Saint John as a young teenager looking for work and he gained employment with a boatman who quickly saw the potential of the young man. Soon he was racing other young men and beating them. His first big race was in August 1873 at the Coronation

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

where he raced, and lost, to Alex Brayley for the Championship of New Brunswick. By 1876 he had improved enough to beat Brayley twice; once at a

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

regatta, the second in June on the

Kennebecasis River The Kennebecasis River ( ) is a tributary of the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick, Canada. The name Kennebecasis is thought to be derived from the Mi'kmaq "''Kenepekachiachk''", meaning "little long bay place." It runs for approximately ...

. This race was over five miles with a turn n the middle and a stake of $500 a side. Ross won well and on the strength of this challenged

Ned Hanlan Edward Hanlan (12 July 1855 – 4 January 1908) was a Canadian professional sculler, hotelier, and alderman from Toronto, Ontario. Early life Hanlan was born to Irish parents; one of two sons and two daughters. His mother was Mary Gibbs, his fath ...

who was the champion of Canada and the United States. Hanlan ignored this challenge so Ross claimed to be the Canadian Champion by default; a claim not necessarily accepted by everyone. He was described as being a big strapping fellow who was over six feet tall and weighed 185 pounds. Another match was subsequently arranged against Brayley, this time for $1000 a side. Ross sculled the course in a time ninety seconds under the previous record which convinced his backers that they had a very fast man; possibly the fastest in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

1877–1879

The following year (1877) Ross defeated Fred Plaisted of Boston over a three-mile course. He then rowed and won against Warren Smith at $100 a side for the championship of the Marine Provinces. He again challenged Hanlan and after some protracted negotiations the match for the Championship of Canada, at $1000 a side, was finally set down for October 1877 and the location was

Toronto Bay Toronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. Today, the harbour is used primarily for recreational b ...

. It was over a five-mile course with a turn. Hanlan had perfected the use of the sliding seat and swivel row-lock and these gave him a huge advantage over his competitor who was still using the fixed seat. At the start Hanlan went ahead and stayed in front to the turn and then increased his lead all the way to the line to finish very comfortably. Needless to say, Ross was far from pleased. He still believed he could beat Hanlan and in 1878 again arranged another match. This match was also over five miles. Not long after the start, Ross 'caught a crab' and, unusually, was flung into the water. Hanlan then rowed the course at a very easy pace to win. During 1879 Ross went to England, the centre of professional sculling, to get some training where his strength and style were greatly admired. He only had one race against in England and he was the winner on this occasion. He returned to

with renewed hope and a match was arranged against Warren Smith of Halifax. The race was run in that city in September 1879 and a number of Ross's backers were confident of recouping some of their past losses and placed large bets on their man. Unfortunately their confidence was misplaced and Smith crossed the line first. Another loss shortly afterwards to an American was almost enough for his backers to believe he was not up to sculling at that level and abandon him.

1880–1884

In June 1880 the Hop Bitters company sponsored a regatta at

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. The sculling race had very attractive prizes which attracted most of the world's top scullers. It was estimated that 100,000 people were on and to watch the big event. It was a fleet race rather than the more usual match race between professional scullers. At the gun Hanlan went to an early lead with Ross in fourth place. The leaders rushed on and at the three miles point Ross was no further ahead in position but also no further behind. However, from this point on the men in front had nearly worn themselves out because of the fast pace and were tiring but Ross was able to put in strokes of terrific force and gradually overtake each of the other men in turn. At the finish he was more than half a minute ahead of the next man. For his efforts he took home $3000 and a large silver cup. The victory had been unexpected and there were great celebrations in St John. Despite the loss, Hanlan still claimed to be the best in the world and proved his claim by beating

Edward Trickett Edward "Ned" Trickett (12 September 1851 – 28 November 1916) was an Australian rower. He was the first Australian to be recognised as a world champion in any sport, after winning the World Sculling Championship in 1876, a title he held until ...

on the Thames in November 1880 to become the actual Single Sculls World Champion. Ross travelled to England and at the end of the year raced Trickett at $1000 a side. For the second time in succession the former World Champion Trickett lost to a Canadian. In the 1881 season, during September, the city of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

hosted a large international regatta which attracted most of the top scullers of the day, not only from Canada but also the States and England. Hanlan and Ross were the early favourites but Hanlan withdrew as he was out of condition. This left Ross as the most favoured man by the gamblers followed by Charles E. Courtney the American Champion. At the start of the race Ross got away fast and soon was in the lead. Although he was chased by very determined men he stayed in front for the whole race and crossed the line first. This was the pinnacle of the career for Ross and he was acclaimed by many as the world champion although this was unofficial. Hanlan as official Champion was unhappy with this state of affairs and promptly challenged Ross to a race for the title. The challenge was accepted but the two men, or their agents, could not agree terms and the race did not proceed. The following season another match was arranged to be run in July on a river in Winnipeg but at the last minute Hanlan pulled out. Ross was most upset especially as Hanlan immediately offered to row any man over two miles for between one and two thousand dollars a side. Ross was of the opinion that Hanlan did not want to row him and said as much. Finally in July 1883 the long-awaited match between these two men for the World Title took place at Ogdensberg, New York. This race was over four miles. Hanlan won in the record time of 27m.57.5s and he crossed the line a full minute ahead of Ross who did not row poorly but was simply beaten on the day. Hanlan had one more defence of his Title before losing it to Bill Beach in 1884. Beach had several defences as well before he accepted a challenge from Ross for the Title. Ross still believed he was good enough to be the World Champion. The race was run in September 1886 on the

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 ...

on the famous

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 ...

between Putney and Mortlake. The result was never in doubt with Beach crossing the line well in front. See also

World Sculling Championship The World Sculling Championship (1863–1957), evolved from the Championship of the Thames for professional scullers. Only the sport of boxing claims an older Championship of the World. It is notable that Jack Broughton, the "Father of Boxing", t ...

for details of other races.

Later life

Although this was not quite the end of Ross as sculler, he was nearing the end of his career. However, in February 1888 he won the

English Sculling Championship The English Sculling Championship developed out of informal competitions between working watermen on rivers such as the Thames and the Tyne. Various matches were made on a casual basis but in time these were more formalised. The first recognised Ch ...

but later he slipped out of the top tier of rowers and retired not long after. He later settled in England and found worldwide fame as a swordsman. His exhibitions of

swordsmanship Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

with a variety of weapons drew much admiration. Ross died in London on the 26 November 1895.

References

*''Saint John, A Sporting Tradition, 1785-1985'', by B. Flood & R. Papenhausen *''Observer'' newspaper (New Zealand) 28 July 1883 *''The New York Times'' 19 July 1878, 19 July 1883, 26 Sept 1886
New Brunswick Sports Hall of FameHistory of World Championships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Wallace 1857 births 1895 deaths Swordfighters Canadian male rowers Sportspeople from New Brunswick