THE POCOCK GENERATION When five members of the 1948 Univer- sity of Washington Jayvee became the Husky entry in the coxed-fours event at the 1948 Olympic Trials, they earned the unique opportunity to be coached by two legends, George Pocock as well as Al Ulbrickson. Jayvee coxswain Allen Morgan: “Al and George were of the same school. The two of them were in synch. “During the year, Al would have George come out during practices, and with fresh eyes, George could pick up things that Al couldn’t see, having stared at his crews for so long.”2164 Bob Martin, Jayvee 7-seat: “Washing- ton crews always did their best when Al lis- tened to George. He was able to pick out individuals who needed special attention. “For instance, one day I came down to the boathouse to find that he had raised my seat three-quarters of an inch. This was af- ter rowing for one and a half years.”2165 As he already had for nearly forty years, George Pocock set the tone and raised the level of oarsmanship for the 1948 UW crews and coaches. It seemed that he had always been the soul of Washington rowing, but his influence had multiplied after his row with Tom Bolles at the 1930 IRA.2166 Jayvee 5-seat Gus Giovanelli: “It was tough for Al coaching back then because most of us were returning World War II vet- erans, and he had to be really careful what he said, or we would tell him to go to hell. “Charlie McCarthy stroked the ‘48 and ‘49 Varsities after two years in the third boat. I remember during practices, he and Al would have a running ‘conversation,’ he complaining and Al telling him to shut up, both screaming, and both using a wide- ranging and colorful vocabulary. 2164 Morgan, personal conversation, 2005 2165 Martin, personal conversation, 2005 2166 See Chapter 59. “But when you couldn’t talk to Al, you could always talk to George. He played a huge team role.”2167 Practicing on Lake Carnegie After sweeping all three races at Pough- keepsie in 1948, a supremely confident Washington squad, the defending Olympic Champions from before the war in 1936, had headed straight to Princeton to prepare for the Olympic Trials. From his vantage point in the 1948 Cor- nell Eight, also entered in the Princeton Tri- als, Chuck von Wrangell remembers watching the Washington Coxed-Four prac- tice on Lake Carnegie: “Washington had brought along to Poughkeepsie a special four-oared shell named Clipper Too, built in 1936 as the sister to the Husky Clipper, which had won the 1936 Eights Gold Medal for them. “As soon as all the teams arrived at Princeton for the Trials, the stern-four from their IRA-Champion Jayvee got into the boat and began rowing it for the first time. “It was a sleek boat built by George Po- cock, and on the day that I was watching, he appeared to coach them almost exclusively. Al Ulbrickson was wise enough to step back a bit and let George coach the four in the boat that he had built. “I remember that at the moment they rowed by me, George was chewing them out for breaking their arms too early.2168 “Ulbrickson had coached his Varsity and Jayvee coxswains to call out, ‘Stand and draw!’ on practically every stroke. ‘Stand,’ of course, meant push those legs, and ‘draw’ meant pull with the arms, and like our Cor- nell crew, the Huskies were known for using their arms right from the entry. “George wanted leg drive strong enough to hold those arms straight a bit longer.”2169 2167 Giovanelli, personal conversation, 2005 2168 See Chapter 60. 599
