Sam Gordon And The 1912 Olympic Rowing

After two successful Olympic Games for the American oarsmen in 1900 and 1904 – especially those from the Vesper Boat Club who took gold medals in the eights – the U.S. did not send any participants to the Olympic rowing events held in Henley-on-Thames in 1908. It was probably because of a rift between the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen (N.A.A.O.) and the Henley Stewards, who ran the Henley Royal Regatta, that stopped the Americans’ entries to the Olympic rowing. The British took all the gold medals on their home waters. It was supposed to be different at the next Olympic rowing regatta in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, in 1912.

In 1909, the New York Athletic Club and the Arundel Boat Club in Baltimore had some good fours that did well racing against other American and Canadian clubs. Other likely Olympic rowers were Samuel F. Gordon of the Vesper BC and Everard Butler of Argonaut Rowing Club, Toronto, who were the best North American scullers at the time. Gordon won the N.A.A.O. champion title in the senior single scull in 1910 and in the elite double scull (together with George W. Engle) in 1911. Butler took the N.A.A.O. champion elite single scull title in both 1910 and 1911. In 1910, the Arundel BC took the championship title in the coxless four.

This is the beginning of a longer article that I today got posted on the Friends of Rowing History's wonderful site Rowinghistory.net You can read the entire article by clicking here.