User:Rowskihike/sandbox

Walter Hoover
Walter Hoover (29 July 1895 – 8 December 1984) was a rower, sculler and rowing coach. He became world famous by winning the Diamond Sculls at the Royal Henley Regatta in 1922. The victory was emblematic of being the world championship for single scullers at the time. This was an era when rowing was a very popular sport and reported on by nearly every major newspaper. Hoover received large homecoming welcomes after winning the Diamond Sculls on his return from England, both in New York City and his hometown of Duluth Minnesota where schools and businesses closed for a huge parade in is honor which was attended by a crowd estimated at over 60,000 people.

Early Life
Walter Hoover was born in Duluth Minnesota to Harriet and George Hoover. Hoover’s father died when he was very young and he was raised by his mother who was an educator and became a principal in the Duluth School District.

Rowing Career
Walter Hoover began rowing for the Duluth Boat Club in 1913 at the age of 18. That same year, he was a member of the junior eight that finished first at the Northwestern International Rowing Association (NWIRA) regatta in St. Paul. Hoover and his team mates went on to win the Intermediate 8 at the U.S. National Championships in Boston and beat their own senior eight from Duluth in the Senior Eight finals.

In 1914, Hoover took up sculling and won the junior and senior single event at the NWIRA regatta in Kenora Ontario. In 1914, he also rowed in the winning senior 8 at the national championships in Philadelphia.

The next year, Hoover again won the senior single at the 1915 NWIRA in Winnipeg, along with the single quarter mile dash. At the 1915 Nationals in Springfield, Massachusetts, Hoover lost a turning race to Waldo Smith. Hoover claimed that Smith’s turning buoy had drifted downstream 125 feet giving him an advantage of several lengths. The race was protested, but the officials denied the request for a re-run. Hoover did win the quarter mile dash at the Nationals in a time of 1:08. Hoover entered the Labor Day Regatta in Philadelphia to race the great Jack Kelly. Hoover and Kelly had a very tight race with Hoover coming from behind to take the lead near the finish when he caught a crab, blacked out and stopped dead just in front of the finish line.

1916 promised to be a big year for Hoover, with the U.S. National Championships being held in Duluth. However, history had other plans. Hoover was a private in the 3rd Minnesota Infantry National Guard, which was called up to chase the bandit Poncho Villa down on the Mexican border. The military was also part of Hoover’s life in 1917 when he was drafted into the army and served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 33rd artillery.

When Hoover returned to Duluth, he found his sculling so unsatisfactory that he nearly quit. Instead, he planned out a program that was designed to make him a champion. Hoover did 3 miles of road work daily to strengthen his legs and develop his cardio-vascular system. He even ran in snow during the winter. Hoover followed a strict diet like other Duluth oarsmen, but most importantly, he put in long hours sculling. Hoover developed his technique, speed and rowing form in the Duluth harbor and he learned seamanship in the choppy waves and strong winds of open Lake Superior. In 1920, Hoover did not compete, but while he was working for the International Paper Company in International Falls designing insulate plants, he designed a racing shell that would he would use to later win the world championship. Hoover was a civil engineer by profession and he used his technical knowledge to design his own shell along the lines of a naval torpedo. 55 His shell was considered rather unorthodox, because Hoover had his seat lower in the boat than other scullers, which gave him a lower center of gravity. 56 Besides planning his own training program and designing his own shell, Hoover also developed a unique sculling style. Hoover did a short stroke with a rapid arm movement at an extremely high rating. Observers have noted that Hoover had extremely muscular arms and that he used them in his sculling more than other competent scullers used theirs. 57 Hoover’s style, shell, and training were designed for his own personal characteristics. Because Hoover disregarded common wisdom, nearly everything about him was considered unorthodox. 58 At the 1921 National Championships in Buffalo, Hoover gained national renown by winning the Intermediate Single, Senior Single and the quarter mile dash.

In 1922 the race for the Philadelphia Gold Challenge Cup was held early in May and due to typical spring weather conditions in Duluth, Hoover only had three weeks on the water to train for the even. Still, Hoover easily beat Paul Costello by over two lengths of open water and beat Jack Kelly’s course record by eleven seconds. He sailed the next day on the Mauritania to England to compete for the Diamond Sculls at the Henley on Thames Royal Regatta. Hoover easily won his two heats, including a victory over A. Baynes, the undefeated Australian sculling champion. In the finals, Hoover beat the famous English sculler, Jack Beresford, by a huge margin of 29 4/5 seconds. This was the first time in 25 years that an American had won the Diamond Sculls and Hoover immediately became world famous. When he returned to New York there was an enormous welcome at the docks and a ticker tape parade up Broadway. When Hoover finally got back to Duluth, the celebration in his honor was the largest party in the city’s history including up to the present day. Hoover made two more attempts to win the Diamonds Sculls. In 1923, Hoover returned to Henley as a strong favorite, but he was beaten as a result of peculiar circumstances. Hoover was racing in a heat against D.H.L. Gollan of Leander, a deaf mute and an excellent sculler. In 1923, the Henley course was narrowed from 90 to 75 feet. Right at the start, a freak cross wind pushed the bow of Hoover’s shell against the wooden booms that lined the sides of the course. Gollan passed Hoover, as the latter struck his port blade against these booms. In a hasty attempt to catch Gollan, Hoover once again struck his oar blade against the booms, this time breaking a chunk out of the blade. Although these initial problems gave Gollan a lead of nearly ten lengths, Hoover never gave up and sculled so smoothly and powerfully for the remainder of the race, that he finished less than a length behind Gollan. The spectators, astonished at the magnificent finish, gave an excited burst of applause when Hoover, grinning, paddled over to Gollan and shook his hand. 77 In 1925, Hoover made another attempt at winning the Diamond Sculls, but this time lost to Jack Beresford, who used a boat of Hoover’s design and who hired Hoover’s former boatman. During 1926 Hoover rowed and was head coach at the Undine Barge Club in Philadelphia where his rowers won 43 races in the course of the year. During this year, Hoover also designed the first single to have moving shoes and outriggers and designed another boat that was built with a hull made with an aluminum alloy. Among other races, Hoover won the Championship Single, Double and Single Dash at the Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catherines Ontario.

Hoover didn't row in 1927, but in 1928 he tried a come-back for the Olympics. He was beaten in the trials by Ken Meyers, but made the team as an alternate in the single. Hoover was 33 years old and in his own judgment “well past his prime”. After 1928, Hoover retired as a competitive rower.

Hoover later moved to Detroit, where he coached rowers from the Detroit Boat Club. In 1956, Hoover entered his eight oarsmen from the Detroit Boat Club in all events at the Olympic Trials. Their eight man crew included men who rowed in the four, the double, the single and one lightweight who was only in the eight. The eight was beaten by Yale by a length. Hoover’s Detroit oarsmen won the straight four and double events and both crews went on to win silver medals at the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Yale went on to win the Olympic gold in the eight.

Family Life
Hoover was married to Isabel MacLean in ??, Daughter Katherine born in ??. Divorced in 1928. Married Antoinette Santora. Walter Jr. born in ??, Joan born in ??.

Later Life
After Detroit, Hoover moved to Lone Pine, California where he spent years prospecting for gold as a mining engineer. He was away from rowing until 1978 when he coached the Minneapolis Rowing Club. In 1979, Hoover was women’s crew coach at Kansas State University. 1982 saw Hoover working on the design of new rowing shells, including a single with moving shoes and outriggers (prior to this design being barred from International competition). Walter Hoover died in 1984 at the age of 89.

National Championships

 * 1913 Intermediate Eight
 * 1913 Senior Eight
 * 1914 Senior Eight
 * 1915 Single Quarter Mile Dash
 * 1921 Single Quarter Mile Dash
 * 1921 Intermediate Single
 * 1921 Senior Single
 * 1926 Single Quarter Mile Dash
 * 1926 Senior Single
 * 1926 Head Coach Undine Barge Club – 43 club victories

World Championships

 * 1922 Philadelphia Gold Challenge Cup
 * 1922 Diamond Sculls – Royal Henley Regatta

Olympics

 * 1928 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team alternate in the Single
 * 1956 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team Small Boats Coach
 * Double – Silver Medal
 * Four – Silver Medal
 * Pair – Gold Medal
 * Pair with cox’n – Gold Medal
 * Single – Bronze Medal