THE BIRTH OF CLASSICAL TECHNIQUE In 1863, professional single sculling became the first sport to crown a world champion.471 Major championships were also held for coxless-fours and pairs. Newspapers covered big races with separate sections and extra editions, and correspondents were sent around the world to report. Progress down a race course was communicated to crowds gathered at the finish line by elaborate systems of semaphore flags or cannons. Races were followed by fans worldwide in real-time via telegraph. Huge sums were wagered, the equivalent of $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 in today’s American dollars for a championship race in 1880,472 and the very best professional scullers became the pop idols of their day. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, RF 2787 Alfred Sisley (French, 1839-1899), Les Regates à Molesey (près de Hampton Court), 1874 Oil on canvas, 24½ x 36¼” (66 x 91.5cm) the finish (ferryman’s finish?), with the intention of a hard Schubschlag pullthrough. Champion of 1877 was Philadelphian Fred Plaisted The American Professional Sculling (1849-1946) charming, plain-spoken man of limited education who eventually lived into his late 90s. He wrote a poem on rowing technique called “The first lesson in rowing:” Catch the watter hard at the begening. Let the legs with vigor work. Little chance has one of winning If he does the stretcher shirk. Let the armes be well extended. Just as stiff as pokers, too, And until the strok is endid Pull it hard all the way through.473 Interpreting Plaisted’s description, his technique seemed to include strong legs from the entry and straight arms until near 471 Melissa S. Bray, Racing for cash – the era of professional scullers, World Rowing Magazine, April, 2009, p. 4 472 Melissa S. Bray, op.cit., p. 4 473 Fred Plaisted, personal scrapbook, Mystic Seaport Library an absolutely Thomas Eakins, Rower and Painter Thanks to the paintings of 19th Century Philadelphia artist Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins474 (1844-1916), the fame of two professional rowers from 1872, North American singles champion John Biglin (1844-1886), 5’9¾” 177cm 161lb. 73kg, and his brother Barney Biglin, (1840-1924), 5’9½” 176cm 151lb. 68kg,475 has survived to the present day. Rowing historian Bill Lanouette: “John Biglin, said the weekly sports paper, Turf, Field and Farm, was ‘endowed with great strength, presenting in appearance the perfect picture of an athlete.’ “A student of anatomy, Eakins, too, appreciated the Biglins’ appearance and worked meticulously to capture these muscular figures in their slender racing shell 474 pronounced “A-kins” 475 Cooper, p. 39 131
