Excerpts from the toast by John at the 2010 reunion of the 1980 Olympic crews
Once again, thank you all for coming and…. It's been a terrific weekend and it is great that so many of you were able to attend...
...
Tonight,I ask the question why is this Team (both the men and the women) different from all other Olympic rowing teams...
...
Finally, there is a Third reason... Harry Parker turns 75 this week and he is the link that brings us all together, year after year.
I admit to being a bit of a Harry junkie and I've read almost everything that's ever been written about him. He is most frequently described by some combination of the following terms: Curt, terse, distant, quiet, brooding, detached, complex, unapproachable, taciturn, moody, reserved, aloof, dispassionate, enigmatic, cryptic, puzzling, dismissive, abrupt, and withdrawn. But that is not the Harry that we now know.
With all due respect to Findley Meislan, Pete Gardner and Mike Vespoli and Kris K, Bob Ernst, Tom McKibbon and Larry Gluckman -
While recognizing the important contributions of Peter Sparhawk, Pete Holland and Randi Jablonic, Tony Johnson, Dick Erikson, and Bill Sanford, Rick Clothier, Vic Michaelson and Ernie Arlett, and all of the others and while confessing my unabashed love for Ted Nash, for Steve Gladstone and for Mike Teti...
Harry is simply in a league of his own. He is the Dean of US Rowing Coaches. We could list any number of truly impressive stats if we wished:
* The consecutive years, I believe since 1961, that he's been at Harvard
* His unmatched record in Cup races during the last forty-plus years
* The number of times his crews have won at the Eastern Sprints, the IRA, or a so-called college national championship race, or enjoyed an undefeated racing season
* Or, more importantly from a Harvard alumni perspective, his record at the Harvard-Yale race [42-7 by my calculations, (as of 2010)]
But... no, for me, the really impressive aspect of Harry as a coach is just how badly his men (and his women) want to win for him.
Harry is a reason we come back. For some, it's to silently thank him for placing his trust in them when he selected them for boats in 75 or 76 or in 79 or 80. For others, it's to demonstrate perhaps to themselves and perhaps to him, even after all these years, how wrong he was when he excluded us from a boat in one of those years. Like a father, we desperately crave his approval, and are haunted by his disappointment.
He is a most respected figure in the sport and we are lucky to have been led by him.
The first time that I met Tiff Wood was at the Nottingham Regatta in 1977. Tiff was rowing in a double that summer with Gregg Stone, and I was coxing a Penn fraternity eight that had entered an event at Henley and invited me to join them as they had no frat brothers who were coxswains. Tiff and I discussed the rivalry between Penn and Harvard in men's heavyweight rowing. Tiff looked at me and flatly stated that Penn will never beat Harvard consistently as long as Harry coaches Harvard because oarsmen are simply willing to pull harder and endure more pain if Harry is their coach. At the time, I thought that was one of the most ridiculous statements I had ever heard.
Thirty years later this is how I feel about Tiff's comment: It is illogical, absurd, and nonsensical.... and yet, somehow it may be true.
I raise my glass and toast all my special teammates and to Harry on his 75th….and wish him many, many more.
JAC
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