It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The following picture—with MIT in the foreground, Cornell in the center and Navy in the far lane—says more than any words I can write about why we waited ten minutes or more for an announcement from the Chief Judge.

After an extended debate among the nine judges, the Chief Judge declared a three-way tie. As improbable as the decision was—this had never, ever happened before in a championship race—I need to put it into perspective. It was a judgment call. Had electronic timers been available, one of the three crews would have been declared the winner because, with such equipment, a margin of victory can be as little as 1/100 of a second. However, electronic timers would not be introduced for another two years when they made their debut at the 1964 Olympics.

Nine judges, nine human beings, watched the three crews cross the finish line. It was over in a fraction of a second. No instant replays. Nothing. Only the opinions of nine judges. The story goes that a fierce debate ensued. The Chief Judge could not garner a consensus as to which of the three had won.

Send the three victors back to the starting line to repeat the race? At Henley, any margin less than four feet is settled by a "row over." However, by this time it was late in the evening. The Varsity Heavyweight Final had already been delayed at the starting line, waiting for the Lightweights to clear the course. The judges decided to declare a 3-way tie.

I cannot remember how I felt about this at the moment. For sure, being declared the winner would have been beyond fabulous. However, what about the downside? We had beaten Harvard, our perennial foe. But what a hollow victory over Harvard that would have been if we had placed second, or even third, overall. I cannot speak for every member of our squad, but my guess is that we were relieved to be declared co-national champions.

I should leave this part of the story just as it stands. However, I cannot. Years later the Chief Judge confided in Gary Zwart that he felt very strongly that MIT had won that race. In fact, he was certain of it. However, he had been unable to negotiate a consensus, eventually agreeing to announce a tie.

What evidence do we have that the Chief Judge was correct? Frankly, very little. However, I am heavily biased by this rendition of the same photograph included at the top of this letter, a photograph that was taken just three feet short of the finish line. Make up your own mind who won that race. I've made up mine.

Footnote: I have Cornellian Bill Brown and my daughter Sara to thank for the first photograph in this letter. Bill is a very active Cornell rowing alum, a regular member of Cornell's Eight that rows every year in the Alumni race at the IRA.

Bill and Sara met when Bill moved to Doylestown, PA just a few years ago. Upon learning from Sara that I was involved in the famous 3-way tie and had only a newsprint quality photo in my collection, Bill recalled that a higher quality original was still hanging on the wall in the Cornell boathouse. Weeks later, as a surprise gift, he delivered a 12x16 glossy reproduction of that photo that Sara gave me for Christmas. Bill and Sara, many thanks.