When American crews made Regatta history

The U.S. Air Police crew of 1954-1955 became the first American crew to win the St. John’s Regatta championship, which they won for two straight years.

Although there had been some animosity between Rogers and the St. Pat’s crew after the 1955 incident, the Patrician rowers succeeded in persuading their experienced and successful cox to return for the 1956 Regatta. It proved to be a good decision for cox and crew because the Patricians went on to win the Club Race and then the 1956 championship.

The road to Regatta superiority for American soldiers stationed at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s was not easy because of the very strong competition they faced.

In 1954, they put together a highly-motivated crew that earned them a top place in the history of the St. John’s Regatta. The U.S. Air Police crew of 19541955 became the first American crew to win the St. John’s Regatta championship, which they won for two straight years.

It was an exciting day to be among the fans lining the banks at Quidi Vidi on Regatta Day, 1954. It was the era when crowds turned up to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the various crews during their evening practices.

These fans carried pens, notebooks and stop watches, all used as part of the second most interesting activity at the regatta,-gambling. However, the 1954 races held a few big surprises for them.

They were stumped by the outcome of several races, plus the unexpected finishing of the Championship Race.

Going into the 1954 Regatta, the crews favored to win the championship were the East Enders, Bavarian Brewery and the Waterford Hospital. The two crews pulling upsets that day were the USAF and St. Bon’s.

The East End crew turned out to be a disappointment. According to The Evening Telegram, “An untimely lop ruffled the water as the favored East Enders took to the Royalist in the first race of the afternoon. They were rowing beautifully, and the experts along the banks were raving over the performance of the best crew on the pond for the previous three years. They won that race in the time of 10:28 2/5 but four or five seconds short of earning a bye into the championship race.”

Meanwhile, the Bavarian Brewery crew made an impressive showing in the Factory Race with a five boatlength win in the time of 10:24.

This earned them a place in the championship race. The crew from St. Bon’s with cox Gordon Tilley disappointed the odds-makers by winning the Amateur Race over the favored Waterford Hospital Crew and a spot in the championship race.

Next to earn a place in the championship race was the Newfoundland Light and Power Co. in the Trade Race with the noted Tilley as their cox. Their time was 10:24. The U.S. Air Police easily won the U.S. Service Race with the second best time of the day 10:01.

The odds-takers on the banks continued to believe the Americans couldn’t win the championship race.

Once again the bettors were confounded when the USAF made Regatta history by becoming the first American crew, as well as the first foreign crew, to win a St. John’s Regatta Championship.

Their impressive time of 9:56 was the best time of the day. The second place spot went to the Bavarian Brewing Crew.

At the end of the day, the Air Police had won the Carling Trophy for the Championship Race and the Lt. Governor’s Cup for the fastest time of the day. The Air Police Crew were: cox Shotty Rogers; stroke Richard Rhodes, Samuel Mabe, Richard Osterude, Jospeh Connley, David Johnston, Joseph Restifo.

Members of the East End Crew which was the favored crew leading up to Regatta Day were cox Shotty Rogers, stroke Harold Crane, Jim King, Jack Pittman, Phil Moore, Mike Gladney, John Molloy.

The lakeside gamblers going into the 1955 races were predicting that St. Pat’s would dominate the regatta for sure. St. Pat’s was touted as being a sure bet for the championship. They were not impressed with the 1954 championship winners, the USAF crew, and pointed out, “They lost to the U.S. Stokers in the elimination races and the Stokers would certainly beat them on Regatta Day.”

Wrong again.

Going into the 1955 Regatta, they recorded 9:51, which was the best time. Bad weather prevented the Regatta from going ahead on schedule. The 14-race program was spread over two days.

It finally got underway on Friday and had to be continued on Monday because of weather. When the Regatta ended, Shotty Rogers had reason to both weep and cheer. He had bungled the club race for the favored Patricians, but had won his other four races, including the championship.

The bungled club race remained a source of controversy for years. It marked the second time the legendary cox cost his crew a race. The first happened at the 1952 Regatta during the Bakery Race. While coxing the Walsh’s Bakery crew in competition against East End (Our Own) Bakery and Mammy’s Bakery, he steered Walsh’s to victory.

The crew’s jubilation ended when the judges disqualified them and awarded first place to the East End crew that had come in second because Shotty had finished at the wrong stake.

On the East End Bakery Crew were: Gordon Tilley, cox; Cluney Hynes, stroke, Kevin Rumsey, Tom Furlong, Andy Joy, Harry Janes and George Furlong.

These two incidents caused Rogers to consider retiring. He explained that both days had been bright and the glare of the sun caused him to lose sight of the correct stake.

Although there had been some animosity between Rogers and the St. Pat’s crew after the 1955 incident, the Patrician rowers succeeded in persuading their experienced and successful cox to return for the 1956 Regatta. It proved to be a good decision for cox and crew because the Patricians went on to win the Club Race and then the 1956 championship.

Members of the 1956 Patricians crew were Shotty Rogers, cox; Tom Stone, stroke, Jim Ring, Jack Pittman, Phil Moore, Walt Critch, Harry Stone.