Rowing titles: 1959 IRA Champions
July 15, 2008 | Men's Rowing
In honor of the Wisconsin men's varsity eight winning the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship, we are taking a look back at all of the Wisconsin men's rowing titles. Today we take a look back at the the 1959 IRA champions.
Historically speaking, men's rowing is an interesting beast. There have been different attempts over the years to determine a 'true' varsity eight national champion. There appear to be two successful stretches in determining an official national champion to date. The first came in the form of the National Collegiate Rowing Championships, which took place from 1983-96 in Cincinnati. The second success is the current format in place since 2002 at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. Other than these two stretches, IRA Regatta conflicts with the Harvard-Yale race and various other circumstances prevented any kind of official championship. With all that in mind, Wisconsin can comfortably claim three official national championships and an additional six unofficial titles. The Badgers can argue for one more title, depending on how you spin things. Therefore, Wisconsin stakes its claim to three official national championships, and a total of either nine or 10 national championships.
Tenth at Eastern Sprints, Badgers Recover for 1959 IRA Championship
A prohibitive underdog expected to finish near the back of the pack at the 1959 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, Wisconsin surprised the field to gain its second IRA varsity eight title.
The Badgers, coming off a 10th-place finish at Eastern Sprints over a month earlier, posted a time of 18:01.7 over three miles on Lake Onondage in Syracuse for the title. Syracuse finished second nearly nine seconds behind Wisconsin. Navy, California and Washington rounded out the top five boats.
The only significant crews missing the 1959 IRAs were Harvard and Yale. Harvard had won Eastern Sprints on May 23 over 2000 meters by nipping Syracuse by 0.6 seconds and so showed it was a fast crew and would have presumably been in the running for the IRA title.
Making up Wisconsin's IRA title-winning varsity eight were junior coxswain Palmer Taylor (Stevens Point, Wis.), senior stroke Herbert Degner (Wonewoc, Wis.), junior Courtney Freeman (Hinsdale, Ill.), senior Richard Ahner (Madison, Wis.), sophomore Graham Hoffman (Plymouth, Wis.), senior James Bowen (Greendale, Wis.), junior Randy Jablonic (Owen, Wis.), junior William Brauer (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and senior bow Charles Pope (Oshkosh, Wis.).
Read more about the 1959 race by clicking on the Web clippings listed below. A pdf with the 1959 team roster and the Badger Yearbook page is also below.
Time Magazine
New York Times preview Articles ($$)
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Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd - Herbert Degner
Also check out the small photo gallery from 1959.
Finally, click here for the Wisconsin Rowing History Web site's comprehensive take on the 1959 season .
