What’s That? Penn’s first stroke oar

The oar used in the Childs Cup Race of 1879, the first intercollegiate race ever rowed by the Penn crew team.

In Penn’s Burk-Bergman Boathouse on Boathouse Row on the Schuylkill River. The oar is hanging over the trophy case in the Grand Hall, which is in the center portion of the Boathouse.

Originally built in the late 1800s, the Boathouse was completely renovated in 2022, with additional space for indoor workouts, upgraded locker room facilities, and state-of-the-art audio/visual capabilities. 

On June 24, 1879, Penn competed against Columbia and Princeton for the Childs Cup, named after George William Childs, co-owner of Philadelphia’s Public Ledger newspaper. 

The Penn team, coached by Ellis Ward, consisted of James Bond, W.M. Stewart Jr., Davidson Kennedy, and Reginald L. Hart. 

Columbia—fresh off an international victory and regarded as the fastest American college crew team—was heavily favored, but Penn won the race in 9 minutes and 23 seconds. Columba finished second (9 minutes and 24 seconds) and Princeton placed third (9 minutes and 35 seconds). 

The race is said to have “aroused great general interest, and did much for Penn aquatics.”

As Al Monte, the Nicholas B. Paumgarten Head Coach of the men’s heavyweight rowing team, says, “It harkens back to an earlier time.” 

“At that time, I believe the race was in a four-person shell versus eights that we do now,” he says. “Just looking at the technology at the time—or lack thereof—and how far rowing has come in the last 150 years or so, that oar is made of wood and our sport used wooden oars all the way up until the 1980s. It’s just been in the last 40 years or so that we’ve kind of transcended wood and now we’re using space-age materials like carbon fiber and epoxy.”

Colin Farrell, the Fred W. Leonard Head Coach of the men’s lightweight rowing team, says the oar is unique in that it is the stroke oar that was used by the stroke man. 

“He is essentially kind of leading the rhythm, and he’s the athlete that everybody else is following,” he says. “What they did at the time was the stroke man’s oar was actually slightly smaller than everybody else’s. The idea there was that it would allow them to get through the stroke a little bit easier and not have too much resistance or too much load, and that could allow them to keep a little bit of a livelier rhythm.”

Farrell says the oar is a “really cool living piece of history” that is much more than just a display piece.

“It’s really old and obviously it was something that got used,” he says. “Somebody actually rowed with that and raced and competed and took it in and out of the boat every day. It’s just amazing that it held up this long.” 

Penn still competes for the Childs Cup and has so continuously since 1879. The race rotates between Princeton in New Jersey, Columbia in New York, and Penn in Philadelphia.