THE ERA OF POLARIZATION But not the participants! Oxford British oarsman Tony Ward: “The film was too preposterous for words.”7459 Thanks to the popularity of True Blue, book and movie, the Topolski version of events has pretty much held sway for nearly a quarter century. From any viewpoint, however, the story was a tragedy from start to finish, with Oxford University Boat Club president Donald H. M. Macdonald, 6’2” 188cm 192lb. 87kg, and Daniel Topolski, the most successful Boat Race coach in history, on one side of a gaping chasm . . . and almost everyone else on the crew, British and American, on the other side. Caught in the middle . . . or causing the Peter Spurrier Donald Macdonald (right) with Coach Mike Spracklen rift, depending upon whose version one relies on, were five American international rowers trapped in a culture they did not understand or appreciate and could not abide. It all began with the formidable physical presence of Chris Clark, 6’6” 198cm 205lb. 93kg, nicknamed ‘Heater” for his sudden flashes of temper,7460 a 1983 Pan Am Silver Medalist from Orange Coast College, Stanford and the University of California. He had made a name for himself in the 1985 U.S. Coxless-Pair by winning the petit final at the Worlds as a last-minute substitute.7461 Clark had already rowed for Topolski in the losing 1986 Oxford Blue Boat. Dodd: “What became known as the Oxford Mutiny took root on 29 March 1986, when Cambridge won the 132nd Boat Race 7459 Ward, interview with Chris Dodd, 2007 7460 Kiesling, The Last Amateurs, p. 87 7461 See Chapter 132. by seven lengths. This ended Oxford’s run of ten wins, the longest in the club’s history, a feat achieved by crews nurtured, toughened and inspired by their coach, Daniel Topolski. By 1986, Topolski had erased losing from Oxford’s memory, and defeat sent a seismic wave through the Dark Blues. For the boat clubs at Oxford and Cambridge, everything is secondary to their raison d’être, the annual University Boat Race. And in 1986 there was no Oxford Blue under the age of 30 who had experienced defeat.”7462 Many singled out Chris Clark in particular for giving up after they fell behind Cambridge in 1986. Steve Kiesling: “Clark soon realized, he said later, that ‘there was nothing to do but pray that lightning struck Cambridge.”7463 Mike Spracklen,7464 a part-time member of the Oxford coaching staff in 7462 Dodd, Revisited: The 1987 Oxford Mutiny, The Independent, April 1, 2007 7463 Kiesling, op. cit, p. 88 2085
