The History of Cal Crew
The University of California and its rowing program were both founded in
1868 and crew thereby became the first sport at Cal. The Cal men's crew
began its dominance of national and international rowing in earnest in
1924, with the hiring of Carrol ("Ky") Ebright to lead the Bears. Over
Ebright's leadership of 36 years, Cal Crew became synonymous with
Olympic Gold Medals and National Collegiate Championships; in fact, the
Olympic standards set by California will likely never be surpassed.
Over the years, Cal has gone on to represent the United States three
times (and to win each time) in the Olympic Games, more than any college
or university in the world. 1928 proved to be a landmark year in Cal
crew history as the team compiled arguably the greatest season in the
history of collegiate rowing. The crew was undefeated domestically, went
on to become the American entry in the 1928 Olympics, and brought home
gold from Amsterdam.
The Cal men repeated its Olympic conquest four years later with a
close victory over Italy in the 1932 Olympics at Long Beach, California.
That crew also laid claim to being the fastest ever, as it too was
unbeaten all year. Sixteen years later (and after Ebright had to rebuild
the program that was shut down during World War II), Cal brought home a
third gold medal, this time from the 1948 Olympics at Henley, England.
Ebright's crews also won a total of six National Intercollegiate Rowing
Association (IRA) Championships. In fact, some followers argue that
Ebright's 1939 IRA champion might have been the fastest of all of Cal's
fine crews: it had little trouble with any of its collegiate
competitors, defeating Washington by 12 lengths and going on to set an
unsurpassed course record at the IRA.
Jim Lemmon took over the head coaching spot in 1960 (after several
successful seasons coaching the freshmen) and in his seven years as head
coach strung together an impressive streak, winning three IRA
Championships and two Pacific Coast Championships. Lemmon's 1964 crew
also earned bragging rights as one of California's finest, going through
the regular season and the IRA without a loss. In fact, barring an
unfortunate mishap at the 1964 Olympic Trials, it could have been
California's fourth Olympic representative. Cal won its next IRA title
in 1976, during Steve Gladstone's turn at the helm (1973-80). During his
tenure, Cal also won the 1979 Pacific Coast Championship, as his finest
crew at Cal dominated west coast rowing and earned a spot in the
semi-finals of the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in
England (Cal's current frosh coach, Craig Amerkhanian was a stalwart in
that crew).
Mike Livingston became head coach in 1981 and directed the Bears for
three years. His 1982 crew was outstanding. It defeated every top crew
in the country in scoring victories in the prestigious San Diego Crew
Classic and Pacific Coast Championships while earning Cal another berth
in the semi-finals of the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley.
In 1984, Tim Hodges, Cal's stroke in 1974 and '75, stepped up from
doing an outstanding job coaching the freshmen to lead the varsity. He
guided the Bears to dual race victories over Washington in his final
three seasons, 1985-1987. Hodges' 1986 crew was one of the country's
best, as it defeated eventual national champion Wisconsin en route to
California's victory in the inaugural Redwood Shores Classic and then
easily won Cal's last varsity Pacific Coast Championship. In 1988, under
the leadership of first year coach Bruce Beall, California won its
fourth consecutive dual race over Washington.
Mark Zembsch, a 1982 graduate of Cal, moved up to lead the varsity in
1992 after two years of coaching California's freshmen squads, including
the 1991 crew that is Cal's most recent Henley representative. In 1992,
his first year, the Bears showed dramatic improvement, winning its
traditional cup race over Washington in both the varsity and junior
varsity events. After three years of rebuilding, in 1995, the Bears had
their best season in six years, ending in a sixth place finish in the
National Championships.
Today, the responsibility for bringing the Cal crew back to the top
of collegiate rowing is once again on the shoulders Steve Gladstone, who
returns to Cal for the 1996-97 season. As one of the most successful
collegiate coaches in the country, the program is in good hands.
