1. November 1962: A New Shell for the Lightweight Varsity
The 1962 team returned safely from Henley and European travel. Those of us who had not graduated had been away from rowing for what seemed like an eternity, and we were eager to see if we could improve on the 1962 results. Our rowing shell’s trip back from England was not so fortunate. As I recall the story, when our riggers went down to the Port of Boston to pick up our shell, what they found looked more like a pile of splinters than a crew shell. Evidently the people responsible for receiving the shipment were totally oblivious to the fragile nature of a shell and had, essentially, just dropped it on to the boatyard. The insurance carrier was called in and, after an inspection, declared the shell a total loss.
That turned out to be a bit of luck that worked to the benefit of the MIT rowing budget and especially to the benefit of the lightweight squad. Crew shells were (and are) very expensive. MIT’s budget limited shell purchases to one per year, with the new shell alternating each year between the heavyweight and lightweight squads.
1962 had been a “lightweight” year, so the shell we used at Henley (described above as a pile of splinters) had been brand new for the 1962 season. Compliments of the insurance company, the lightweights were to receive a brand new replacement shell for the 1963 season. Fortunately, the insurance company vastly underestimated the skill of the MIT riggers, the professional staff charged with the care, repair and maintenance of our shells. Remarkably, they restored the damaged shell to a like-new condition so that our lightweight varsity and junior varsity had both new and nearly new shells for the 1963 season.
This brings me to the first two pictures from my senior year season. It was important-dare I say, politically important-for everyone involved in MIT rowing to stay on the positive side of MIT’s executives who controlled the purse strings for the athletic department. But truthfully, MIT’s President, Dr. Julius Stratton, required no special stroking. He was a genuine and proud supporter of MIT rowing, and I am sure that his influence, along with many others, was significant when it came to financing our trip to Henley. The Strattons were always visible to the student body, so it was quite fitting that our new shell was to be named in honor of Dr. Stratton’s wife, Mrs. Catherine Stratton.
Our new shell, “The Kay,” arrived in the fall of 1962. At the close of the 1962 season I had been elected by the lightweight squad to be Captain for the 1963 season. As such, I had the honor of sharing the presentation ceremonies for the new shell with Head Coach, Jack Frailey.
The first picture shows Dr. and Mrs. Stratton at the left of The Kay with a very young looking Jack Frailey at the microphone. It’s possible, though I am not certain, that the trophy on the table is from our three-way-tie victory at the 1962 Sprints. We had to share the honors for the 1962 season with Cornell and Navy, but we were proud to present the trophy to the Strattons that day for our third of the year.
The second picture-blurry as it is-is of yours truly presenting Mrs. Stratton with a bouquet. Moments later she broke a bottle of champagne, not on the bow, but on a crowbar held over the bow. The objective, of course, was not just to dedicate the shell; it was to row it to an unblemished victory at the 1963 Sprints. We wanted that trophy back again and not just for a third of a year.
The 1963 season presented its special challenges. We had lost our entire starboard side (Rowe, Zimmerman, Manning and Bruggemann) to graduation. Tom Alexander, one of the two Henley spares, also graduated so boating a crew that would be equal to or better than the 1962 squad would not be an easy task. However, my guess is that Coach Gary Zwart was already planning the 1963 season on the plane ride back from England.