THE SPORT OF ROWING Sculling In sculling, the American tradition that had produced John B. Kelly, Sr. and Jr., Joe Burk, Don Spero, Sy Cromwell and Jim Storm continued for another decade with athletes already in the pipeline in 1964. At the 1968 Olympics, there was a brilliant Bronze by Cornell / Long Beach Rowing Association’s John Nunn and Detroit Boat Club’s Bill Maher who put their double together at LBRA,4481 then a Gold Medal in the doubles at the 1969 European Championships and a Bronze in the 1970 Worlds by Long Beach’s John Van Blom and Tom McKibbon,4482 and a Silver in the singles by NYAC’s Jim Dietz4483at the 1974 Worlds. But after that and to this day, America has not been a consistent power in world sculling. American Coaches in Tokyo A look at the 1964 American Olympic Team roster reveals the names of two particular coaches who would become icons in the following decades. Allen Rosenberg was in Tokyo as coach of the American Men’s Eight from Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia, an all-star boat composed of individuals gathered from several college and club programs, the first time since the beginning of the century that the U.S. was not represented by a crew from a single university.4484 Later, for three years during the 1970s, Allen would become the U.S. National Technical Director and head coach of the U.S. National Team.4485 4481 See Chapter 88. 4482 Ibid. 4483 See Chapter 139 ff. 4484 See Chapter 107. 4485 See Chapter 111 ff. When the head of GDR Rowing prepared a paper for FISA in 1978, he divided all of world rowing into three techniques. One was “the Rosenberg Style.”4486 Harry Parker, 2-seat on the 1955 Grand Challenge Cup Champion Penn Varsity4487 and the 1959 Pan American Games Singles Champion,4488 was in Tokyo to coach his U.S. Trials-winning Harvard University Coxed-Four. During the second half of the 20th Century, Harry would become the most respected coach in America, bar none. Nobody within three lengths of him. Forty-seven years later, he is still head coach of Harvard, and during the time I was researching this book, his Varsity were the undefeated national champions for three years running. Harry Parker and Allen Rosenberg are a true study in opposites. Dick Cashin, Harvard ‘75, rowed for both these coaches during 1974 and 1975: “Harry’s crews don’t generally look that good because he talks about the blade more than the body. Harry never talked to us about leg or body angles. It was all bladework. “By way of contrast, Al Rosenberg was all about body angles.”4489 In other words, as a coach Parker is goal-oriented and Rosenberg process- oriented. Although Harry feels no personal connection to Steve Fairbairn,4490 this was the same difference of approach which separated Steve from his English Orthodox opponents.4491 4486Körner, Analysis, p. 2 4487 See Chapter 65. 4488 See Chapter 66. 4489 Cashin, personal correspondence, 2005 4490 Parker, personal conversation, 2004 4491 See Chapter 19. 1242
