THE SPORT OF ROWING possible to tell which had got home first. It was not until the announcement came from the judges that it was learned that Navy, whose hopes had been so high for repeating its triumph of last year, had lost out by the margin of a foot.”2145 It is interesting to note in retrospect that Cal was again a major factor early on in the three-mile race varsity race. Cal historian Jim Lemmon: “Despite the fact that Washington won the 1948 IRA, the Varsity claimed they knew they could win the next time, having rowed much too low a pace at Poughkeepsie. They vowed to go all out the next meeting.”2146 Their next meeting would be nothing less than the Olympic Trials, with nothing less than the chance to represent their coun- try for the third time, a challenge never be- fore faced by an American collegiate eight. 1948 Olympic Trials Eight days after Poughkeepsie, the Tri- als opened on Princeton’s Lake Carnegie with the four scheduled heats won by Princeton, Cornell, Washington and Califor- nia. Six of the eleven crews entered broke the course record of 6:04.8, set by Washing- ton in the 1936 Trials, with Cornell, includ- ing future historian Charles von Wrangell in the 7-seat, becoming the new record- holder at 5:56.4.2147,2148 Stan Pocock has written of his father’s presence at the Trials in Princeton that year: “Dad had watched workouts with most of 2145 Allison Danzig, Huskies Dominate Races on Hudson, The New York Times, June 23, 1948 2146 Lemmon, p. 39 2147 Allison Danzig, Cornell’s Oarsmen Make Fastest Time as U.S. Olympic Trials Open, The New York Times, July 1, 1948 2148 The record was only broken by Yale in 1958. See Chapter 70. the coaches. Knowing him to be fair and honest, all sought his advice without reser- vation. “After having seen the many crews at work, he picked Cal as the outfit to beat. He warned Al that the Bears were looking good, and Al, in turn, tried to alert his crew, but the Huskies knew they were the odds-on favorites and would not listen. “As they were leaving that meeting, I heard their captain mutter, ‘Don’t listen to that crap. He’s just trying to worry us.’”2149 After a day of rest, the third of the three semi-finals turned out to be the deciding race. Washington lined up against Cal. The New York Times: “The race was rowed in almost dead calm. The lake was pancake flat, and there was hardly the slightest trace of breeze stirring. “California jumped out by a deck length at the start of their race. With both crews at 39 at the end of a quarter-mile, the Bears were ahead by a third of a length. Rowing at 34, Al Ulbrickson’s crew cut this ad- vantage down to a deck, then to a few feet in the next quarter-mile. “Then California, rowing 33, forged back ahead by a deck to the half-way mark, and without raising the stroke, Ian Turner and his mates sent their shell half a length in front with half a mile to go. “Again Washington picked it up to 34, but then fell back again, half a length be- hind. “With a quarter-mile remaining, both strokes took the beat up, and a tremendous duel followed that had the crowd in high excitement. “The power in the Seattle boat asserted itself, and with each stroke, Washington gained on its rival. Closer and closer it came, until it seemed a dead heat would re- sult. But the Bears, reaching 39, had the 2149 S. Pocock, p. 43 592
