THE SPORT OF ROWING would have to row a higher stroke to be competitive in the Olympics.”2612 The bitter 1956 Yale/Cornell rivalry was destined to be continued on the water in 1957 and beyond. See Chapter 70. The Admirals Time Magazine’s Trials coverage put into historical perspective the last hurrah of the 1952 Olympic Champions: “The Admirals jumped into an early lead, rowing a lung-bursting 41 strokes a minute. But the younger college boys in the other crews hung on. “The Admirals could not keep it up. Slowly, the big Yale crew inched by. “In the last 500 meters, the Admirals made a final bid. It failed, and they fell back. “The triumphant Yale crew slipped past the finish to win the Olympic berth by an easy three-quarters of a length over Cornell, whose closing drive brought them in second, a full length ahead of the fading Admirals.2613”2614 The New York Times: “In the defeat of the Navy Admirals, the repetitiveness of history again became apparent. Back in 1920, a Naval Academy crew won the Olympic Championship for the eights, and a dream kept growing for the next few years. No full crew had ever repeated in the Olympics, and this might be it. “So the 1920 crew was reassembled as the Navy Officers. But Yale beat them in the final tryouts in 1924. “An even greater Navy crew won at Helsinki in 1952, a crew that had made history by slamming through unbeaten for three seasons and twenty-nine regattas. “So that same dream was reborn. The young Naval Officers reassembled from all over the world at Annapolis last February and began the long pull back. As the Navy Admirals, they had competed where they could, trying to regain the spark of four years ago. “But they couldn’t find it.”2615 New Haven Evening Register: “Ed Stevens, stroke of the 1952 Navy crew which won the Olympic Championship for the United States, slowly pulled off his gold shirt with the Olympic insignia and handed it to Yale stroke, Bob Morey. “‘No,’ said the modest Yale sophomore, ‘you should keep it.’ But Stevens, whose former champs had given it all they could, replied, ‘No, I’m through with this business now. I’ll never have use for it again.’ “With this simple and unnoticed ceremony, a great era of American rowing came to an end as the Navy grads, winners of twenty-nine consecutive races as undergraduates, ended their careers as oarsmen. “Winners of the 1952 Olympics, the Naval officers had been called back from duty in far spots of the globe to attempt to regain the glory that once was Navy’s. Although they were thought to be at least as good as they were four years previous, they were not strong enough to withstand Yale.”2616 2612 Cooke, op. cit. 2613 Actually, photos reveal that the Navy crew was less than a length behind Yale and within a deck of Cornell. 2614 Time Magazine, op. cit. 2615 Arthur Daley, Shell Game, The New York Times, July 4, 1956 2616 Olympic Berth Won by Yale, New Haven Evening Register, July 2, 1956 720
