1954 Canadian eight oared rowing champions, represented Canada at the '54 British Empire Games winning gold. At Henley in '55, this crew of students upset the world champion Russian crew. This team is credited with jump-starting UBC's revered rowing tradition.
Ken Drummond, Doug McDonald, Tom Toynbee, Mike Harris, Laurie West, Glen Smith, Herman Kovits, Phil Kueber, Bob Wilson, Bill Hughes, Ray Sierpina, Carl Ogawa, Frank Read (coach), Don Laishley (manager).
The decade of the 1950s was the "golden age" of rowing at UBC, a period known also as the "Frank Read era." By 1954, after just five years, head coach Read and his assistant Johnny Warren had created substantial credibility in a rowing program involving the UBC students. In fact, UBC Hall of Famer Read with the help of Col. Vic Spencer, the community and the students of UBC, could take credit for the swift establishment of a rowing program which at the time rivaled or surpassed any in Canada. And as usual the schedule of competition and work for the 1954 and 1955 teams (the same team both years except for two rowers) was to be hectic and intense.
In July of 1954, the UBC eights defeated, by an impressive five lengths, the best teams the eastern Canadian rowing community could offer to install themselves as Canadian eight oared champions and Canada's team at the 1954 British Empire Games. Despite being the "upstarts" from the coast who were "... incredibly ignored" by those in the east, this UBC team was the crew responsible for swinging the balance of rowing prestige in Canada from the East to the West.
The next month at the British Empire Games, before 12,000 fans including Prince Philip, UBC's "Cinderella Crew" was poised ready to dual England's Thames Rowing Club in the final for Empire Gold. UBC finished the 2000-meter course 2-1/2 lengths ahead of the British shell. The crowd was literally stunned by the fantastic victory and was limp from excitement. A dynasty was in the making. A member of the student council at the time recalls, "It was a huge thing. UBC hadn't won anything on the international scene...it was very exciting because it was world class... we idolized the crew members."
The rowing victory garnered an enormous amount of press as lower mainland papers carried front page headlines, photos and multiple stories; "Canadian rowers sink mighty England", "Green Canadian crew scores upset of BEG" and "They did the impossible." Suddenly this crew of fit young students were celebrities. Even the vanquished British crew members showered the UBC crew with praise; "the Canadians were very, very, fit... in fact they are the guttiest chaps I know." And when someone asked, "How can a green crew of college men beat England’s best eight?", the answer was immediate: "Frank Read and the damndest spirit you ever saw."
Suddenly there was increased interest and participation in rowing, notably at the Vancouver Rowing Club. However despite the attention, the British Empire Games victory and the medal possibilities at the upcoming 1956 Olympics, the athletic grant for the 1954/55 UBC crew was only $600.00. This is where generous people such as Col. Spencer stepped in and helped out, complimenting Varsity's own fund raising activities. This quest for funds was the result of an invitation extended by Prince Philip himself, for UBC's crew to compete at the 1955 Royal Henley Regatta. He had witnessed the impressive victory at the British Empire Games and felt UBC should be part of a collection of the world's best at this famed rowing event. $25,000.00 was required by the crew for this venture and an aggressive fund raising campaign chaired by UBC's Dean 'Whit' Matthews was able to achieve this goal.
At the Henley world championships, UBC further "zinged" the rowing Community by defeating the defending champion Russian crew by a length and a quarter to win the semi-final. The secret of this extremely popular student victory over the "unbeatable" Russians was dedication, discipline and physical condition. Eric Whitehead wrote, "Coach Read draws his crew members from a pool of barely more than a couple hundred youths as opposed, for instance, to the giant talent-laden hunt that combs Russia for the cream of that nation's young athletes."
The Henley final however saw UBC lose by 1/3 of a shell length to the mighty Pennsylvania crew of the US. How close they came! According to the "Totem" it was proven however "...to the world and themselves that they were real champions and not the Cinderella Crew that had a lucky race at the British Empire Games."
During the time between the summer of 1954 and the summer of 1955, UBC's eight oared crew created a good deal of pride and publicity for its sport, the community and UBC. Throughout the west there was "recognition that rowing is returning as a major sport which will prompt many future oarsmen to turn out." This assessment by the Ubyssey understated what did in fact happen at UBC during the remainder of the 1950s and into the 1960s. The origin of this enthusiasm, this dynasty in fact, can be traced to Frank Read and his 1954/55 crew members.
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
