45th Boat Race
Date24 March 1888 (1888-03-24)
WinnerCambridge
Margin of victory7 lengths
Winning time20 minutes 48 seconds
Overall record
(Cambridge–Oxford)		21–23
UmpireRobert Lewis-Lloyd
(Cambridge)
← 1887 1889 →

The 45th Boat Race took place on 24 March 1888. The Boat Race is an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. In the race umpired by Robert Lewis-Lloyd for the final time, Cambridge won by seven lengths in a time of 20 minutes 48 seconds.

Background

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[1] First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2 miles (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.[2] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and as of 2014, broadcast worldwide.[3][4] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by 2+1⁄2 lengths, while Oxford held the overall lead, with 23 victories to Cambridge's 20 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).[5][6]

Oxford's boat club president Hector McLean died of typhoid fever in January 1888 and while the Dark Blues recruited "good men", according to Drinkwater, they also "did not develop into a good crew and were never looked on as possible winners", while Cambridge "had a surplus of excellent material".[7] Oxford's coaches were G. C. Bourne (who had rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1882 and 1883 races, and coached them for the 1885 race), F. P. Bully (who had coached Oxford in 1886 race), and Tom Edwards-Moss (who rowed for the Dark Blues four times between the 1875 and the 1878 races).[8] There is no record of who coached Cambridge. According to Drinkwater, during practice, the weather conditions were "very bad ... rough and stormy, and bitterly cold".[7] He also noted that the Light Blue crew was "undoubtedly one of the fastest that have ever appeared at Putney."[7]

The umpire for the race was Robert Lewis-Lloyd (who had rowed for Cambridge four times between 1856 and 1859) and had umpired every year since the 1881 race.[9]

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 11 st 13.75 lb (75.9 kg), 1.75 pounds (0.8 kg) more than their opponents.[10] Cambridge saw two former Blues return in Percy Landale and Stanley Muttlebury, the latter of whom was making his third Boat Race appearance. Oxford's crew contained three rowers with experience in the event, including bow W. F. C. Holland, H. R Parker and Guy Nickalls.[10] All competitors in the race were British.[11]

Stanley Muttlebury (caricature left) rowed for Cambridge for the third time, while Guy Nickalls (right) occupied the number seven seat for Oxford.
Seat Oxford
Cambridge
Name College Weight Name College Weight
BowW. F. C. HollandBrasenose11 st 0 lbR. H. Symonds-TaylerTrinity Hall10 st 7 lb
2A. P. ParkerMagdalen11 st 11 lbL. HannenTrinity Hall11 st 1 lb
3M. E. BradfordChrist Church11 st 9 lbR. H. P. Orde1st Trinity11 st 7 lb
4S. R. FothergillNew College12 st 10 lbC. B. P. BellTrinity Hall12 st 13.5 lb
5H. CrossHertford13 st 0.5 lbS. D. Muttlebury (P)3rd Trinity13 st 7 lb
6H. R. Parker (P)Brasenose13 st 5 lbP. LandaleTrinity Hall12 st 4 lb
7G. NickallsMagdalen12 st 4 lbF. H. MaughamTrinity Hall11 st 8 lb
StrokeL. FreereBrasenose10 st 0.5 lbJ. C. GardnerEmmanuel11 st 7 lb
CoxA. H. StewartNew College7 st 13.5 lbJ. R. RoxburghTrinity Hall8 st 2 lb
Source:[12]
(P) – boat club president[13]

Race

The Championship Course, along which the race is conducted

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge.[10] Commencing at 10.56 a.m.,[10] Cambridge took an early lead, and led from the start, holding a six-length lead by Hammersmith Bridge.[7] They extended their lead by a further length to win by seven lengths in a time of 20 minutes 48 seconds.[12] It was their third consecutive victory, and their fourth in five years, and took the overall record to 23–21 in Oxford's favour. The winning time was four seconds quicker than the previous year's race.[6] It was the last time the race was umpired by Lewis-Lloyd, who was replaced the following year by Frank Willan who had rowed for Cambridge four times between the 1866 and 1869 races.[14][15]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight". The Observer. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Smith, Oliver (25 March 2014). "University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "TV and radio". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Classic moments – the 1877 dead heat". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Boat Race – Results". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Drinkwater, p. 91
  8. ↑ Burnell, pp. 110–111
  9. ↑ Burnell, p. 106
  10. 1 2 3 4 Burnell, p. 64
  11. ↑ Burnell, p. 38
  12. 1 2 Dodd, p. 308
  13. ↑ Burnell, pp. 50–51
  14. ↑ Drinkwater, p. 92
  15. ↑ Burnell, p.102

Bibliography

  • Burnell, Richard (1979). One Hundred and Fifty Years of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Precision Press. ISBN 0950063878.
  • Dodd, Christopher (1983). The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race. Stanley Paul. ISBN 0091513405.
  • Drinkwater, G. C.; Sanders, T. R. B. (1929). The University Boat Race – Official Centenary History. Cassell & Company, Ltd.
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