Compiled, researched and written by Gary Lundeen ’75. Please send any additions and/or corrections and vintage photos to the NavyLights Staff Historian.
1V W-1 L-1
2V No 2V entered
1F No 1F entered
5-15-54 Eastern Sprints at Princeton
| 1V | 2V | 1F |
| 1- MIT 7:10.1 | 1- Cornell 7:33.3 | 1- Harvard 7:41.4 |
| 2- Princeton 7:11.0 | 2- Harvard 7:36.3 | 2- Princeton 7:49.1 |
| 3- Penn 7:22.8 | 3- Penn 7:37.1 | 3- Cornell 7:55.5 |
| 4- Cornell 7:26.0 | 4- MIT 7:46.0 | 4- Columbia 8:02.8 |
Navy did not qualify for finals.
1954 Race Report
The race was over a standard measured Henley 1 5/16 miles.
Race report submitted by Midn. William Alois Bair, 2/c, Assistant Manager:
- On Saturday, 15 May 1954, the U. S. Naval Academy Varsity 150# Lightweight Crew competed in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Regatta. All three races were held on Lake Carnegie on a Henley Course (1-5/16 miles). The course record is 6:40.3 set by Princeton in 1953. This was the first race of the year for the Navy team.
- The lane positions for the various races were determined by a series of qualifying heats that were held on the morning of 15 May 1954. For the Varsity teams, the winner of each of the three heats and the team with the second best time qualified for the Varsity race. The Navy team was entered in the second heat with MIT and Dartmouth. Navy began the race by rowing at 38 strokes per minute. At the quarter-mile they had settled down to 31 strokes and were leading MIT by a quarter-boat length with Dartmouth lagging by about a boat length. At the half-mile mark MIT passed the Navy shell rowing 34; Dartmouth was still behind by a boat length. Navy increased their stroke to a 34, but at the three-quarter mile mark, MIT was leading by about six seats and Dartmouth was still holding its same position relative to the Navy shell. With a quarter-mile to go, MIT was out in front by about one and one-half lengths, while Navy was leading Dartmouth by a length open water. All crews increased their stroke to 36 and crossed the finish line with about a length of open water separating each team. The times were: MIT – 7:22.7, Navy – 7:32.5, Dartmouth – 7:44.0.
- The Navy Crew did not qualify for the Varsity Race.
- Navy did not enter a crew for the Junior Varsity race.
- Navy did not enter a crew for the Freshman Race.
- The first and second qualifying heats for the Varsity teams were raced against a strong head-wind. The wind died-down considerably after the second heat and continued as only a slight breeze for the remainder of the day. The lake was calm and placid throughout the races. The temperature was in the low eighties.
- The referee was Mr. Gordon D. Sikes of Princeton, N. J.
Coach: John James (Buck) Herzog, LT, USN [USNA ’46]
Plebe Coach: No Plebe Crew
Officer Rep: none
Captain: John E. McNish ’55 (unofficially)
Manager: William A. Bair ’55 (Assistant Heavyweight Crew Manager)
Reflections from Jack McNish ’55 and J. Darrow Kirkpatrick ’57:
In the spring of 1954, LT Buck Herzog ’46, who was an assistant to Navy Heavyweight Head Coach, Rusty Callow, got an okay from Rusty to enter a lightweight boat in the EARC. The boat didn’t have long to practice. There were no 2V or Plebe crews. The 1V rowed one race. There was no Captain, but Jack McNish was the most experienced and the leader of the crew.
On 15 May 1954 the sport of men’s lightweight rowing was introduced to Navy at the 1954 Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships. Listed below are the names and positions of the lightweight rowers who were the first oarsmen of that crew.
| Cox | John Cary Allen ’55 |
| Stroke | John Edward “Jack” McNish ’55 |
| 7 | Walter Edwin “Wally” Olsen ’55 |
| 6 | William Sherman Hull ’56 |
| 5 | Edward John Covey ’56 |
| 4 | Stephen Douglas “Steve” Lowe ’55 |
| 3 | James Joseph Kamp, Jr. ’56 |
| 2 | James Rogers “Jim” Copeland ’56 |
| Bow | Robert Paul “Bob” Irons, Jr. ’55 |
Reflections from J. Darrow Kirkpatrick ’57:
Two sayings I remember that were the precept of Rusty Callow with the ’52-’54 crews:“We’ll row anybody, anywhere, anytime, under any conditions”
and the writing scrawled along the seawall during my day
“Line us up and start the clock.”I was a spare for the plebe heavy’s prepping for the IRA one day when Willie Fields, Olympic and 1954 #2 oar got held-up from practice due to a dental appointment (I think). Rusty looked at me and said get in. It was an incredible experience. Just as we were turning around to start back, Fields came out in a coach boat and my moments of glory were over, but quite a memory. I’ve always appreciated Will Rich, the youngster bow man, who had just started in the boat at the beginning of that year, sensing my uneasiness and settling me down.