University of British Columbia Athletics

The genesis and builder of UBC's rich rowing history, Read between 1950 and '60 molded the UBC student crews into world class champions. His crews won medals at the '56 and '60 Olympics, won Canadian and British Commonwealth championships, as well as medals at Henley. Read embodied the "golden age" of UBC rowing.

"The period 1950 to 1960 could be called the Frank Read era – the glory days of Canadian rowing" states Jack Carver in his book "The Vancouver Rowing Club". With intensity and burning desire, UBC rowing coach Frank Read molded the student crews into world class champions. According to a Read protégé, John Cartmel, "He made individuals believe that nothing was impossible and no task too great. What Frank accomplished should be looked at as a miracle".

In 1949 UBC hired Read as the full-time coach for the UBC oarsmen with a yearly budget of only $200. In 1953, the crews at UBC started to gain international credibility, as the "unknown" crew from an "unknown" university defeated Oregon State by five lengths and came within three seconds of beating the highly regarded University of California. In a very short time, Read had turned eight men into one of the best crews on the continent.

This momentum continued as UBC won the 1954 British Empire Games trials held in Ontario, enabling this eight-man crew to not only represent Canada against the Commonwealth's best, but also win the gold medal, defeating the highly rated British crew in the final. According to the Ubyssey, Read and his crew brought international glory to UBC "in a way yet done by no other team".

The victory at the British Empire Games gave the UBC eights a special invitation to compete at the 1955 Henley Regatta – the world championships. Despite working with a very restricted budget, the "inspired coaching of Frank Read" led UBC to second place at Henley, ahead of the world champion Russians but just three feet behind the US. By virtue of this race, the eights from UBC could now claim to be one of the three best crews in the world, a claim echoed by "Sport" magazine.

The goal for Read was to achieve supremacy for both his four and eight man crews at the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne. Canadian Olympic officials for some reason were still not sold on the idea that UBC should represent Canada in these two key rowing events. Read, however, used this apparent disrespect for his crews as a successful motivational tool as he watched his athletes score impressive victories over the University of Washington, Oregon State and, despite the eastern pessimism, the best from the rest of Canada at the Olympic trials in July 1956.

Over the summer of 1956, coach Read prepared his crews for the Olympics by juggling and re-juggling and having his "boys" labour eight hours a day, giving up all other interests for the glory of their school and country. This intense dedication to hard work and mental preparation paid off as UBC's four-oared crew won the Olympic gold with an impressive five length victory over the U.S. The eights were silver medal winners as they were edged by three-quarters of a length by the U.S. in a thrilling battle between Canada, USA and Australia.

Publicity and celebration enveloped coach Read and his athletes upon their arrival home. Accolades came from the Prime Minister, Mayor and University president as well as thousands of fans. Rowing and UBC were now synonymous.

Read retired to a role of coaching advisor after his successes at the Olympic, Henley and British Empire Games, success that brought lasting fame to UBC.

However, it was in April 1960, a little over three years after his retirement, that he was persuaded to return to coach the UBC crews preparing for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Leading the athletes in their strenuous twice-daily workouts, seven days a week, it was estimated the crews rowed more than 3,500 miles in preparation. Read was serious and dedicated to excellence and was candid in stating that except for the oarsmen, the Canadian athletes were generally ill-prepared for international competition. Read proved to be correct as his UBC eight-oared crew finished second to Germany in the Olympic final, winning the silver medal, the only medal won by Canada at the summer Olympics of 1960. The Lieutenant-Governor called this crew's achievement "a credit to BC and to Canada", as Read and his "world famous eights crew" were applauded by politicians, students and fans. UBC honoured Read by naming him the first Honorary Member of the UBC Alumni.

Read, who was very successful in business, duplicated this success within his nine-year coaching career through his unbending powers of motivation and persuasion. As Jason Beck writes in his book "Miracle Mile," Read didn't claim to be an inventor of undiscovered technical breakthroughs or refinements... but it was his proficiency with the raw human material that was exceptional., the tuning of individuals to just the right winning frequency.... He was demanding, hard, severe, unbending and at times even arrogant... at equal times he could also be generous, kind, sympathetic, reasonable, even modest... an overachiever, a champion, a maker of champions."

In addition however to being the volcanic core of his teams, Read served as a father figure to the young rowers. He almost saw it as his duty to teach, prepare, and guide. It is hardly surprising that today team members inevitably cite Read as the most significant reason for the ultimate successes of his crewmembers. Says Beck: "There was an unspoken understanding between Read and any of his rowers. Listen to me, follow me and I will make you champions."

Frank Read's goal had been achieved, that of "UBC proving to the world that Canadian students can, through determination and courage, develop the strength and skill to successfully compete in international sports."

Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian