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The story of how a team of underdog American rowers became gold medalists in the 1936 Olympics.
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00:22On a chilly August day in 1936,
00:27just outside Berlin, Germany,
00:30a team of American boys prepared to row
00:33the biggest race of their lives
00:35at the Olympic Games.
00:50The competition that would become known
00:53as Adolf Hitler's Games
00:54was nearly complete.
00:59The Nazi leader had regarded the Olympics
01:01as a chance to introduce the world
01:03to the glory of a new Germany
01:05and prove Aryan supremacy
01:08through athletic triumph.
01:12The host nation had won more medals than any other.
01:18And on this afternoon, with Hitler at the race course,
01:23German rowers earned gold medals in the first five races of the day,
01:27to the delight of the Fuhrer.
01:33Now, in the final race,
01:35they were looking to continue their domination.
01:42The Americans walk into this thing
01:46thinking they're in a race,
01:47but what they actually are,
01:49are part of a global stage.
01:54As tens of thousands of spectators
01:56filled the grandstand
01:58and millions back in the United States
02:00tuned into their radios,
02:02the Americans entered the water.
02:10With a key member of their team
02:13suffering from a severe lung infection
02:16and the worst lane assignment on the course,
02:18putting them directly in the face
02:20of an unrelenting wind.
02:23Adversity was once again
02:25shadowing the nine boys
02:26who had brought their racing shell across the world
02:29from what was still America's frontier.
02:42These guys were nobodies.
02:45The odds of these blue-collar boys
02:48living in the worst time in American history
02:51becoming sports heroes
02:53are just astronomical.
03:21On October 9th, 1933, in Seattle,
03:26at the old airplane hangar
03:28that served as the University of Washington's shell house,
03:31several dozen boys showed up for crew practice.
03:42The bulk of them would ultimately succumb
03:45to rowing's cruel demands,
03:47leaving the team behind.
03:53A few of them, however, would not.
04:01These kids were very representative
04:03of the Pacific Northwest,
04:05which was raw, newly shaped.
04:09The city of Seattle was only about 80 years old.
04:15These boys were the sons of loggers,
04:17the sons of fishermen.
04:25They did odd jobs for a buck a day.
04:28They used their hands as claws
04:30and their backs as levers.
04:32You know, they were grunts.
04:36This was the middle of the Depression,
04:38and these guys were having a hard time
04:40putting a couple meals a day
04:43in front of themselves.
04:52One member of the Washington crew
04:55well acquainted with that hardship
04:57was a 19-year-old named Joe Rance.
05:00Rance had been born the second of two boys
05:03in Spokane,
05:04a lumber town across the state from Seattle.
05:09When he was four years old,
05:11he watched his mother die of lung cancer.
05:15He remembered the handkerchief with blood on it
05:18when she'd take it away from her mouth.
05:21He remembered being at her funeral,
05:25but he never really knew his mother.
05:31He was sent east
05:32to be with an aunt for a time
05:34and eventually returned to the care
05:36of his father, Harry,
05:38and stepmother, Thula.
05:40Their life together was fraught
05:42with financial troubles
05:43and emotional tension from the outset.
05:47They found themselves living
05:49at this golden ruby mine out in Idaho.
05:53Thula took a dislike to Joe
05:55almost immediately.
05:57One day, Joe got in a spat
05:59with Thula's child.
06:01Thula was just outraged
06:03and demanded that Joe leave the house.
06:08Joe's father took him up
06:09to the schoolhouse
06:11and the teacher agreed
06:12to let Joe stay there
06:14if he would chop wood
06:15to keep the stove fed day and night.
06:19To feed himself,
06:20he had to work at the camp kitchen.
06:23So he found himself basically living
06:24on his own for the first time
06:26when he was just 10 years old.
06:32Joe lived in the schoolhouse
06:33for a few months
06:34before moving with his family
06:36to another town in Washington.
06:39There, the Rantz's troubles
06:41only deepened
06:42and Joe became a casualty
06:45of the desperation.
06:46A day came when Joe came home
06:49from school
06:50and he found
06:51the family car
06:53with the whole family in it
06:55and all kinds of luggage in it.
06:57And he didn't know
06:58what was going on.
06:59And his father said,
07:01we can't make it here,
07:02we're going to leave Joe.
07:04But the thing is,
07:05you're going to have to stay behind.
07:08Lula doesn't want you
07:09to come with us.
07:11They started to drive
07:13out the driveway
07:13and Harry and Mike,
07:15the little brothers,
07:17were looking out
07:18the back window of the car
07:20and he could just hear Harry
07:22screaming,
07:23what about Joe?
07:24What about Joe?
07:30It was emblematic of other kids
07:32during the Great Depression.
07:34You had the economic thing,
07:35not knowing where your next meal
07:37is going to come from.
07:38And then you had
07:39the family dysfunction.
07:40The only place you can go,
07:42the place to call home.
07:43That was taken away
07:44from Joe Rantz.
07:45And it was somewhat typical
07:47because people felt like,
07:48I just don't have the means
07:51to give food to this child.
07:55So he comes out of those two
07:57completely broken systems.
07:59Two foundations of living, basically.
08:03But there was where
08:05he really had to make
08:06the decision of,
08:07am I a victim
08:08or am I a survivor?
08:09Because he had to pick up
08:10his life from there.
08:11Had to.
08:13Somehow.
08:17The teenager lived alone
08:19for two years.
08:21He hunted and fished for food
08:23and made money
08:24by selling stolen liquor
08:25and working as a logger.
08:27All the while,
08:29he remained in school.
08:31Then his older brother
08:33invited him to come live in Seattle.
08:36For the first time,
08:37he could live something close
08:39to a normal life.
08:40He began competing
08:42in school sports.
08:44One day,
08:46he caught the eye
08:46of the University of Washington
08:48crew coach,
08:49Al Ulbrikson,
08:50who was looking
08:51for potential rowers
08:52to recruit.
08:55Ulbrikson showed up
08:56at Roosevelt High School
08:57and he noticed
08:58this big, tall,
08:59blonde kid
09:00on the gymnastics equipment.
09:02Joe had great
09:04upper body strength.
09:05He'd been cutting hay
09:07and digging ditches
09:08from the time
09:09he was 14 on.
09:12I'm not even sure
09:13before that
09:14that he really
09:15had his eye
09:16on college.
09:18He had somebody
09:19that wanted him.
09:21I think
09:22he saw
09:23an open door
09:24and he decided
09:26he would go through it.
09:32There were no
09:33scholarships for rowing
09:34at the University of Washington
09:35in those days.
09:37As long as
09:38you were
09:39in good standing
09:40on the crew,
09:41they would find
09:42a part-time job
09:43for you
09:44somewhere on the campus.
09:46And for somebody
09:47like Joe Rance,
09:48that made all the difference.
09:50There were
09:51multiple men
09:52on that team
09:53that were finding
09:54it hard to survive
09:55and had found it hard
09:56to survive
09:56up until the time
09:57that they had gotten
09:58to Washington.
10:00Gordie Adam
10:01worked on a salmon boat
10:03to make money
10:03for college.
10:05Very hardworking kid,
10:06very tough.
10:08Roger Morris
10:09would find himself
10:10working for his father
10:12on the weekends,
10:13time and again
10:14moving families
10:15out of their homes,
10:16homes they had lost
10:17because of the depression.
10:20Stubb McMillan
10:21was working at nights
10:22as a janitor.
10:24Stubb was having
10:25a very hard time
10:26making ends meet.
10:28Some of them
10:29got into rowing
10:29for the food.
10:32I mean,
10:32they knew
10:32they were going
10:33to get fed
10:34regular meals
10:35by the University
10:36of Washington,
10:36which seems laughable
10:38to a modern audience.
10:40But it was a big deal
10:41back then.
10:43So,
10:45these guys
10:45were hanging on
10:46by the skin
10:46of their teeth.
10:53Oh, no!
10:57Keep your shoulders
10:57squared around.
10:59Now,
11:00make your lips.
11:01By June of 1934,
11:04at the end
11:05of his first year
11:06on campus,
11:07Joe Rance
11:08had emerged
11:09as one of the strongest
11:10rowers
11:10on the freshman crew.
11:12He joined
11:14his Washington Huskies
11:15teammates
11:15on a journey
11:16across the country
11:17to Poughkeepsie,
11:18New York,
11:19site of the National
11:20Collegiate Rowing
11:21Championship.
11:23There,
11:24Rance
11:24and his teammates
11:25would face crews
11:26from Cornell,
11:28Columbia,
11:29and Penn,
11:30opponents with backgrounds
11:32very different
11:33than their own.
11:37You have the worst
11:39lot in life
11:40against privilege.
11:42And all of that
11:43happens when they
11:44go against
11:44the Ivy Leaguers.
11:46But then add to that
11:48the regional thing
11:48of, oh,
11:49the Pacific Northwest,
11:50I suppose if I ever
11:51thought about it,
11:52I wouldn't care,
11:53but I don't ever
11:54think about it
11:55because you're
11:55off the map.
11:57All right!
11:58That's a real generator
12:01because it goes
12:02to that chip
12:03on their shoulder,
12:03that insecurity
12:05that you do not
12:06respect us
12:06or even understand us.
12:12Oakland,
12:12California,
12:13cross winds
12:14and...
12:14From coast
12:15to coast
12:15in the 1930s,
12:17rowing was one
12:18of the nation's
12:19most popular sports.
12:2160,000 spectators
12:22see the classic
12:23rowing field
12:23of the far west.
12:24Thousands of fans
12:26attended regattas,
12:28where they cheered
12:29their favorites
12:30from beaches,
12:31docks,
12:32rooftops,
12:33ferries...
12:34And even open
12:38observation trains
12:39that ran the length
12:41of race courses.
12:46The biggest race
12:47of the 34
12:48Poughkeepsie Championship
12:49was the varsity competition,
12:52won by the
12:53University of California,
12:54the longtime
12:55West Coast powerhouse.
12:57But the Washington
12:58freshmen were
12:59the revelation
13:00of the regatta,
13:01capturing their
13:02national collegiate title
13:03by five boat lengths
13:05over Syracuse.
13:07It was almost
13:08like it was effortless.
13:10They came out of that
13:12sitting up
13:15instead of gasping.
13:17There was a huge
13:19amount of press
13:21and speculation
13:22of whether this was
13:24an Olympic team.
13:27The New York Times
13:28called the performance
13:29of the Washington crew
13:31stunning
13:31and serene.
13:46I think trust
13:47is the single
13:48most important thing
13:49in rowing.
13:55You really do become
13:56part of something
13:57larger than yourself.
14:02every time you take a stroke,
14:04you are counting on
14:06everybody else in the boat
14:07to be putting his
14:08whole weight,
14:10full strength,
14:11into that stroke.
14:20That is only going to happen
14:22if every man
14:23in that boat
14:24trusts the others
14:27on a very fundamental level.
14:44The freshman champions
14:46returned to the Shell House
14:48as sophomores
14:48to train for the upcoming
14:501935 spring racing season.
14:53Most observers thought
14:55they would be named
14:56to the top varsity boat,
14:58the crew that would
14:59give Washington
15:00its best chance
15:01to get to its first-ever
15:03Olympics in Berlin
15:04the following year.
15:06But the idea
15:07that Joe Rance
15:08and the sophomores
15:09were the boat to beat
15:10was deeply resented
15:12by upperclassmen.
15:15One of the more vocal
15:17dissenters
15:17was Bobby Mock.
15:19Just 5 feet 7
15:21and 119 pounds,
15:23Mock was a coxswain,
15:25tucked in the rear
15:26of the racing shell
15:27where lightweight
15:28was an advantage.
15:31A coxswain
15:32commanded the pace
15:33and direction
15:34of the boat
15:34and ensured
15:36the rowers in front of him
15:37were fully in concert.
15:40A Phi Beta Kappa student,
15:42Mock had endured
15:43a childhood
15:43wracked by asthma
15:45in a logging town
15:46in southwestern Washington.
15:49He took his seat
15:51in the racing shell
15:52every day
15:52the same way
15:53he approached everything,
15:55set on defying
15:56anyone who doubted him.
15:58He was on the basketball team.
16:01He constantly played sports.
16:04He was very competitive.
16:06He was very smart,
16:08but he did not see
16:09himself as smart.
16:10He saw himself
16:11as disciplined.
16:14His strength in the boat
16:16was this sort of
16:17attitude
16:17that I'm in charge
16:19and that's exactly
16:20what Bob Mock
16:21was so good at.
16:22And Mock
16:23always had his chin
16:24up a little bit
16:25and just exactly
16:27what you want
16:27in a coxswain.
16:29With the Olympic Games
16:31in view,
16:31the University of Washington
16:33crew gets the jump
16:34on eastern oarsmen.
16:35Like every other
16:36upperclassman,
16:37for Bobby Mock,
16:38the central goal
16:39of the 1935 season
16:41was to find his way
16:43into the varsity boat
16:44ahead of Joe Rantz
16:46and the sophomores.
16:47While the icebound
16:47easterners
16:48work out in gymnasiums,
16:50the huskies
16:50pile into their shells
16:51and shovel...
16:52There was no relief
16:53from the winter's
16:54long daily practices,
16:56punishing workouts
16:57and countless time trials.
17:01It's painful.
17:02You're talking about
17:03hours of work
17:05at a relatively
17:06high heart rate.
17:08You're pushing
17:08the limits of your body
17:09every single day.
17:11Pulling hard
17:12for coveted seats
17:13in the varsity shell.
17:17It was all overseen
17:19by a coach
17:20who just a decade earlier
17:22had been a star
17:23Washington rower himself.
17:25Al Ulbrichtson
17:26had won two
17:27national championships
17:28as a Husky
17:29but never got
17:30to an Olympics.
17:31As the team's coach,
17:33he'd watched rival
17:34California win gold medals
17:36at the 1928
17:37and 32 games.
17:40That's huge motivation
17:42for a coach.
17:43If you're a great athlete
17:44and you don't make it
17:45to the Olympics
17:46and you don't get
17:47a gold medal,
17:48then that's a fire burning
17:51all the time.
17:53Al Ulbrichtson
17:54was a pretty hard man.
17:55He was not
17:56at all communicative.
17:58Sportswriters called him
17:59the dour Dane.
18:00He was very stern.
18:02So I don't think
18:04any of the boys
18:04that rode for him
18:06felt real warm
18:07and fuzzy about him.
18:12The taciturn coach
18:14appeared content
18:15to fuel months
18:16of battle
18:17between his rowers
18:18as the first race
18:19of the season approached.
18:22In the boathouse,
18:24confusion,
18:24tension,
18:25and hostilities
18:26between the sophomores
18:27and upperclassmen
18:28escalated.
18:32Ulbrichtson
18:33would sometimes
18:33just jerk boys
18:35out of boats
18:35without giving
18:36any explanation.
18:39Some of the kids
18:40had a hard time
18:41with that.
18:42Joe Rantz
18:42certainly did.
18:44It made him
18:44very uncertain
18:45about things.
18:49Nobody challenged
18:50Ulbrichtson.
18:52He put the lineups
18:54up on the chalkboard.
18:56He barely said anything
18:58in the launch.
19:00It was very toxic.
19:02Boats not talking
19:03to one another.
19:07My dad liked
19:08to play mind games
19:09on the other,
19:10primarily coxswains,
19:11but also the guys
19:13that were rowing,
19:14if he could think
19:14of a way to do it.
19:16He wasn't liked
19:17to start with
19:18at all.
19:19And these guys
19:20were in the way
19:21if they weren't
19:22going to pull their oar.
19:24And he was really pushy.
19:26You know,
19:27I mean,
19:28this was going to happen.
19:31There was this
19:32animosity
19:33that led to
19:34a bare-knuckle
19:35kind of environment.
19:37There would be
19:38almost vicious competition
19:40between the men.
19:43There were shoving matches.
19:45Feelings got very hurt.
19:49Psychologically.
19:50This was a hard game
19:51that these kids
19:52were involved in.
20:00Ulbrichtson waited
20:01until after dinner
20:03the night before
20:03the first race
20:04of the 1935 season
20:06to finally announce
20:07his decision.
20:08He named Rance
20:10and the sophomores
20:11the top varsity crew
20:12over Mock
20:14and the more experienced
20:15rowers on the team.
20:20The next day,
20:21April 13th,
20:23the coach's faith
20:24was rewarded
20:24when the sophomores
20:26edged out a victory
20:27at the annual
20:28Pacific Coast Regatta,
20:29a dual race
20:31against Cal.
20:39But when training
20:40resumed,
20:41Ulbrichtson still
20:42had questions
20:43about his top crew,
20:45testing them
20:47relentlessly in practice
20:49and watching them
20:51grow sloppy
20:51and unpredictable.
20:56Just before
20:57the national championship,
20:59Ulbrichtson reversed himself.
21:01He elevated
21:03Bobby Mock's crew
21:04to the top boat
21:05and demoted
21:06the stunned sophomores.
21:10They had gotten
21:12themselves to the place
21:13where it was kind of
21:14easy to be demoralized
21:16and they didn't have
21:18the kind of confidence
21:19in each other
21:19that they had to have
21:21to be consistently competitive.
21:34There they go
21:35with seven finely-trained crews
21:37churning the fog-shrouded waters
21:38of the upper Hudson
21:39in the supreme rowing test
21:41of power, speed, and coordination.
21:43On June 18th, 1935,
21:46a blustery day in Poughkeepsie,
21:48Bobby Mock took Washington
21:50out to an early lead.
21:51But Cal and the rest
21:53of the field
21:54soon caught up.
21:56California leads
21:57Washington by a length,
21:58approaching the river bridge
21:59at the three-mile mark.
22:00Cal won its third
22:01straight national championship.
22:03In a surging drive,
22:05the California Bears
22:06nose out the Cornell shell
22:07by three.
22:07Positioning themselves
22:08as favorites
22:09to return to the Olympics,
22:11now just a year away.
22:13The Huskies, meanwhile,
22:16return to Seattle
22:17a worn-out, fragmented team.
22:21Ulbriksson had gambled
22:23and lost.
22:25Now, after the upheaval
22:27between the sophomores
22:28and upperclassmen,
22:29they were all in danger
22:31of missing out
22:32on the Olympics.
22:36A good coach
22:37creates the framework
22:38for a team
22:39to trust each other.
22:41And so there was
22:42a breakdown of trust
22:43in the shell house.
23:14George Pocock
23:15was so much more
23:16than a boat builder.
23:18He really, in many ways,
23:20was a sage.
23:23And Pocock taught
23:25generations of rowers
23:26at Washington
23:28to approach rowing
23:29as if it were a craft.
23:32He said,
23:33when I build a shell,
23:34I leave a piece of my heart
23:36in that shell.
23:43When you walk away
23:44from a race,
23:45I want you to walk away
23:47having left a piece
23:48of your heart
23:48in that race.
23:52He really believed
23:53that by rowing
23:54as well as you could,
23:56you were lifting yourself up
23:57and making yourself better.
24:04And if you rowed well enough,
24:06he said,
24:07you were approaching perfection.
24:11And if you approached perfection,
24:13you were approaching
24:14the divine.
24:25Going into the 1936 rowing season,
24:28George Pocock
24:29had been a fixture
24:30at the University of Washington
24:32for more than two decades.
24:35He'd grown up in England,
24:37building boats
24:37with his father
24:38at Eaton,
24:39the prestigious secondary school
24:41on the Thames River,
24:42the birthplace
24:43of the sport
24:44of competitive rowing.
24:46Within a few years
24:47of his arrival in America,
24:49Pocock set up shop
24:50building racing shells
24:51in the loft
24:52above the Washington boathouse.
24:55An accomplished oarsman
24:56as well,
24:57Pocock became
24:58a valued advisor
24:59to Washington coaches
25:01along the way,
25:02including Al Albrechtson.
25:05There was a very,
25:07very strong connection
25:08there.
25:09George was a man
25:10of few words as well.
25:11I can imagine
25:13Al Albrechtson
25:14and George Pocock
25:14in the launch
25:15and nothing being said
25:17the entire time
25:18they're out there
25:18except for maybe
25:19two or three words.
25:20But those two or three words
25:21likely were very powerful
25:22and probably changed things
25:24along the way.
25:29With the Olympics
25:30just months away,
25:32Albrechtson was determined
25:34to put his mistakes
25:35of the previous year
25:36behind him.
25:38He made clear
25:39to his team
25:40that the upcoming season
25:41would be their most grueling yet
25:43and added a sixth day
25:45of training
25:45to every week.
25:47Every seat
25:48in the varsity boat
25:49was up for grabs.
25:51It was every man
25:52for himself.
26:00There was one rower
26:02whom Albrechtson
26:03approached differently
26:04whose raw potential
26:05he'd first spotted
26:06in a high school gymnasium
26:08but who'd grown
26:09too erratic
26:10to be dependent upon.
26:12Joe Rantz.
26:15Albrechtson takes him
26:16out of the boat.
26:17The boat slows down.
26:19Albrechtson puts him
26:20back in the boat.
26:20The boat goes faster
26:22but then it goes slower
26:23the next day
26:24and he can't figure out
26:25why Joe Rantz
26:27is so uneven.
26:29So he finally asks
26:31George Pocock.
26:34George Pocock
26:35was almost like
26:37a father figure.
26:38He was somebody
26:39who saw
26:40Dad's potential.
26:43Dad was sinking
26:44from boat to boat
26:45as somebody
26:47who
26:49had sort of been
26:50a throwaway
26:51kind of person.
26:52He found himself
26:54being thrown away again.
26:57He developed
26:58an attitude
26:59that he had to do
27:00everything his own way
27:02and that worked for him
27:04living out in the woods.
27:06But that was really
27:07a problem for him
27:08when it came to crew.
27:12Pocock really begins
27:13to teach him
27:15that if he wants
27:17to be great
27:19he needs to understand
27:20that he's part
27:21of something
27:22bigger than himself.
27:24He needs to begin
27:25to trust.
27:38going into 36
27:41this was it.
27:42This was when
27:43he had to do it.
27:45Ulbrikson
27:46was well aware
27:47that he had to
27:48take advantage
27:49of the enormous talent
27:50from the 34
27:51freshman boat.
27:52and he had to
27:54take advantage
27:54of the enormous
27:56talent of Don Hume.
28:00After just one season
28:01on the team
28:02Don Hume
28:03was being talked about
28:05as perhaps
28:06the best
28:06Washington stroke oar
28:08the rower charged
28:09with keeping
28:10the rhythm of the boat
28:11since Al Ulbrikson
28:12himself.
28:14The sophomore
28:15was not physically imposing
28:16but he'd led
28:18his freshman boat
28:19to resounding victories
28:21the prior season.
28:24He actually worked
28:25in a pulp mill
28:26as a kid
28:27and there was
28:28an unfortunate
28:29consequence of that.
28:30Fumes in the mill
28:32damaged its lungs
28:34so it made him
28:35very susceptible
28:36to respiratory
28:38illnesses.
28:39He had a very hard
28:40time shaking
28:41them off.
28:45Al Ulbrikson
28:46would have preferred
28:46to have a 200 pound
28:47guy in there
28:48who could pull
28:49twice as hard
28:50as Don Hume
28:50but Don Hume
28:52was special.
28:54He had a natural
28:56feel for the rhythm
28:57of the water
28:58and how fast
28:59the boat would move.
29:01They don't have to be
29:02the most powerful person
29:04and they don't have
29:04to be the biggest person
29:05but they've got to
29:07have a sense
29:07of what's moving
29:09the boat.
29:10Don Hume
29:11would just do his job
29:13and all the guys
29:14super respected him
29:16for that.
29:19By mid-March
29:20Hume was a regular
29:22in the lineup
29:22that Ulbrikson
29:23envisioned for his
29:24varsity boat.
29:25In his daily logbook
29:27he added another name
29:28he hadn't written
29:29for some time.
29:31Over the next
29:32several practices
29:33the boat got faster.
29:37Pocock's advice
29:38would work for Joe
29:40in this boat.
29:42That was a bunch
29:43of guys that Joe
29:44could trust
29:46and Ulbrikson
29:47knew at that point
29:48he had the boat
29:49that he wanted
29:50to try to take
29:50to Berlin.
29:55The varsity crew
29:57was named
29:58four months
29:59before the Olympics.
30:00Bobby Mock
30:01was the coxswain.
30:02Don Hume
30:03was the stroke oar.
30:04With Joe Rance
30:06and Shorty Hunt
30:07seated behind him.
30:08The powerful
30:09Stubb McMillan
30:10in the middle.
30:11then Johnny White
30:12and Gordy Adam
30:14Chuck Day
30:15and Roger Morris
30:17in the bow.
30:20After so many months
30:22of second guessing
30:23and bruised egos
30:24the former
30:25boathouse adversaries
30:26comprised a powerful
30:28Washington crew.
30:30In their first race
30:32together
30:32the Pacific Coast
30:33Regatta
30:34in April
30:34they accelerated
30:36away from Cal
30:37and annihilated
30:38the course record
30:39by 37 seconds.
30:43All were merged
30:45into one
30:46smoothly working machine
30:47the Seattle Post
30:49Intelligencer noted.
30:50They were in fact
30:52a poem of motion
30:53a symphony
30:55of swinging blades.
31:01Swing comes
31:03when you really
31:03have that harmony
31:05synchronicity
31:07eight hearts beating
31:08as one
31:08as George Pocock
31:09would say.
31:11It's elusive.
31:13It doesn't happen
31:14every day.
31:16Swing
31:17is the sweet spot.
31:18It's a perfect
31:19connection
31:20and the best teams
31:21dream about
31:23having it
31:24in the big races
31:25because then they know
31:26they can't be touched.
31:40In June
31:41the national championship
31:43in Poughkeepsie
31:43loomed.
31:44A few days
31:45before their race
31:46Ulbrickson gave
31:48them the day off
31:48and the boys
31:50from Seattle
31:51decided they would
31:52visit one
31:53of the local
31:54residents.
31:55They know
31:56that President
31:56Roosevelt lives
31:57at Hyde Park
31:58just up the river.
31:59They get it
32:00in their heads
32:00that they're
32:01going to go
32:01visit the
32:02president.
32:06They find a
32:07gardener who
32:07points it out
32:08to them.
32:09They walk up
32:10and knock on
32:10the door
32:11and one of
32:12the Roosevelt's
32:12sons comes
32:13to the door
32:15and he is
32:15himself a rower
32:16so he invites
32:17them in.
32:21And for the
32:21next hour or so
32:22they talk about
32:23rowing sitting
32:24in President
32:25Roosevelt's
32:26parlor.
32:28One of the
32:28guys sits
32:29actually in
32:30the chair
32:30that Roosevelt
32:31sometimes delivers
32:32his fireside
32:33chats from.
32:38Johnny White
32:39writes a little
32:39note in his
32:40diary that
32:40night.
32:42They sure
32:42have a swell
32:43place.
32:48The historic
32:50Poughkeepsie
32:50Regatta draws
32:51seven varsity
32:52shells to the
32:53starting line
32:53and a crowd
32:54of spectators
32:55to the
32:55sideline.
33:01The national
33:03championship was
33:04June 22nd.
33:06Washington's
33:07strategy was to
33:08exercise patience
33:09in the four-mile
33:10race.
33:13Don Hume
33:14and Joe
33:15Rance
33:16and all of
33:17those guys,
33:17Stubb McMillan,
33:18they all knew
33:19the plan.
33:20They would
33:21row the first
33:22two miles
33:23of that race
33:23in cruise
33:24control.
33:26And then
33:27they would
33:27start to
33:27pick it up.
33:35As the boats
33:35are in their
33:36third mile,
33:37Albregson can't
33:38quite believe
33:39what he's
33:39seeing because
33:40Bobby Mock
33:42has got the
33:42boat four
33:43lengths behind
33:44the leaders.
33:46He's riding the
33:47train with
33:47George Pocock
33:48and he's going,
33:50come on,
33:50come on,
33:51you guys got to
33:52go now.
33:56Mock continues
33:57to hold the
33:58boat back
34:02and then
34:02at the last
34:04possible moment
34:05he finally
34:06leans in
34:07and tells
34:08Don Hume
34:08to pick the
34:09pace up.
34:15Bobby Mock
34:16had faith
34:17in his team.
34:18He just
34:19stayed cool
34:20and calm
34:21and then
34:21just mowed
34:22them down.
34:23The Huskies
34:24of Washington
34:24proceed to
34:25sweep the river
34:25surging to
34:26victory to
34:27become the
34:27ace candidate
34:28for the
34:28Olympics.
34:33With
34:34reporters
34:34afterwards,
34:35Albregson
34:36praised his
34:37coxswain.
34:38I guess
34:38that little
34:39runt knew
34:40what he was
34:40doing.
34:51Two weeks
34:52later,
34:52Princeton,
34:53New Jersey
34:53was the
34:54site of
34:55the Olympic
34:55Trials.
34:56Despite
34:57everything
34:58they'd
34:58already
34:58achieved,
35:00the boys
35:00had to
35:01win one
35:01more time
35:02to become
35:03the first
35:03Washington
35:04crew to
35:05represent
35:05the United
35:06States
35:06in an
35:07Olympics.
35:08The
35:09strategy,
35:09once again,
35:11was to
35:11race from
35:12behind.
35:14The
35:15Olympic
35:15Trials
35:16for
35:16Washington
35:17was probably
35:18one of the
35:18best races
35:19they ever
35:20rode.
35:21And people
35:21were rightly
35:22intimidated by
35:23the way
35:23they rode.
35:24You're sitting
35:25there going,
35:25oh,
35:26oh no.
35:28Washington is
35:29three lengths
35:30back from
35:30us, but
35:30they're going
35:31to come
35:31eat us
35:31alive.
35:32You know,
35:32we've got to
35:33hold on,
35:33we've got to
35:33hold on,
35:34we've got to
35:34go, oh no,
35:34here they
35:35come.
35:38And they
35:39waited a
35:39long time.
35:40It was
35:41four or
35:41five hundred
35:42meters from
35:42the end,
35:43and Penn
35:44still had
35:44three quarters
35:45of a
35:45length,
35:45and then
35:47Mach
35:47said,
35:48let's
35:48go,
35:49and bam,
35:49they just
35:50exploded,
35:51and went
35:52right through
35:52them.
36:05Ulbrugsen spoke
36:06to the national
36:07press after
36:08the race.
36:09Why they won
36:10cannot be
36:11attributed to
36:11individuals,
36:12he said.
36:16he got to
36:17the heart
36:18of the
36:18matter
36:18when he
36:18noted,
36:19every man
36:20in the
36:21boat had
36:21absolute
36:22confidence
36:22in every
36:23one of
36:24his mates.
36:29The role
36:29of the
36:30Washington
36:30University,
36:30I want to
36:31congratulate
36:31you on
36:32winning the
36:32championship
36:33of America
36:33in the
36:34Lord Cruz.
36:35Three,
36:35five,
36:37four,
36:38two,
36:40eight,
36:40eight,
36:41eight,
36:57on the
36:57morning of
36:58July 15th,
36:59two and a
37:00half weeks
37:00before the
37:01start of
37:01the Olympics,
37:02the boys
37:03from Washington,
37:04who had
37:04previously only
37:05been on
37:06lakes and
37:07rivers,
37:08began a
37:08journey across
37:09the Atlantic
37:09Ocean.
37:11The
37:11SS
37:12Manhattan
37:12Luxury
37:13Liner
37:13was a
37:14668-foot
37:15ship that
37:16would transport
37:17334 members
37:19of the
37:19U.S.
37:20Olympic
37:20team to
37:20Germany.
37:23And also,
37:25a 62-foot
37:26Pocock
37:27racing shell.
37:31When they
37:32get on a
37:32boat to
37:32cross the
37:33Atlantic,
37:33they're all
37:33pinching
37:34themselves.
37:40their world
37:41had gone
37:41very quickly
37:42from the
37:43sawmill,
37:44the edge
37:45of the
37:45forest,
37:46to the
37:47biggest
37:47stage of
37:48all.
37:56Over the
37:5710-day
37:57crossing,
37:58Don Hume,
37:59always prone
38:00to respiratory
38:01infections,
38:02began struggling
38:03with a deep
38:04chest cold
38:04that persisted
38:06as the ship
38:06took them
38:07through the
38:07English channel
38:08to Germany.
38:14This was like
38:15going to
38:16another planet.
38:18These are guys
38:19that if they want
38:20to know where
38:21Germany is,
38:22they're looking
38:22at a cardboard
38:23globe.
38:28They actually
38:29saw a very
38:31clean,
38:32well-scrubbed
38:33city,
38:34very carefully
38:35laid out.
38:40There were
38:41swastikas hanging
38:42from every
38:43street corner.
38:44There were
38:44banners everywhere.
38:46But swastikas
38:47didn't yet mean
38:48anything to
38:48Americans.
39:04The opening
39:05ceremony was
39:06held on August
39:071st at the
39:08newly built
39:08sports stadium.
39:12The host's
39:13objective was
39:14not simply to
39:15welcome the
39:16world to
39:16Berlin,
39:17but to
39:18put on a
39:18show of
39:19national unity
39:20and pride
39:21unlike any
39:22the world
39:22had ever
39:23seen.
39:24To Adolf
39:25Hitler,
39:25the games
39:26were the
39:27ultimate
39:27propaganda
39:28tool.
39:30He was a
39:31very effective
39:31propagandist,
39:33and he was
39:34going to use
39:34the Olympics
39:35as his
39:35great show.
39:38He was
39:39going to
39:39bring out
39:39onto the
39:40world this
39:41new healed
39:41Germany,
39:42this reunified
39:43Germany,
39:43a stronger
39:44Germany,
39:45but also he
39:45insisted a
39:46peaceful
39:46Germany.
39:48Meanwhile,
39:49behind the
39:50scenes,
39:51he was
39:51planning for
39:51war.
40:08Hitler
40:09expected the
40:10German teams
40:11would dominate
40:12the games.
40:15war.
40:16rowing team
40:16that the
40:16host nation
40:17brought to
40:18the narrow
40:18lake,
40:19Langersee,
40:20was no
40:20exception.
40:26The
40:27German team
40:28was extremely
40:29dominant.
40:31Their
40:31government
40:32made it
40:33a national
40:34priority that
40:36their sports
40:37teams should
40:37succeed.
40:38need.
40:39They had
40:40clubs all
40:41over the
40:42country that
40:43were well
40:44coached,
40:45well funded.
40:48They're given
40:49uninterrupted
40:50training.
40:50If they have
40:51jobs,
40:51they quit the
40:52jobs,
40:52and they're
40:53sponsored by
40:54the government.
40:57The University
40:58of Washington,
40:59the Americans,
41:00come in as
41:02poor athletes
41:03from an unknown
41:04part of the
41:04world.
41:05their ethic
41:06is because
41:07these guys
41:07worked on
41:08farms and
41:09crappy jobs.
41:10There's sort
41:11of a purity
41:12versus this
41:13artifice.
41:19And the
41:20boys went out
41:21and just sort
41:22of explored
41:22the streets,
41:23and they
41:24quickly discovered
41:25that whenever
41:26Germans walk
41:26up to them,
41:27they would
41:28extend their
41:29hands,
41:29give the
41:29Nazi salute,
41:30and say,
41:31Heil Hitler.
41:32So the
41:33boys didn't
41:33quite know
41:34what to do
41:34about that,
41:35so they
41:35took to
41:36walking up
41:37to Germans,
41:38extending
41:38their hands
41:39and saying,
41:39Heil Roosevelt.
41:44Eight days
41:45before the
41:46gold medal
41:46race,
41:47Ulbrikson
41:48grounded his
41:49team.
41:50They were
41:51rowing poorly
41:51in workouts,
41:53and the
41:53chest cold
41:54Don Hume
41:55had contracted
41:55on the trip
41:56over had
41:57gotten worse,
41:58not better.
42:00Don Hume
42:01went from
42:02170 pounds
42:03to about
42:04158 pounds
42:05over that
42:06period of
42:06time.
42:08It was an
42:09extensive
42:09amount of
42:10weight loss.
42:13He was
42:14very sick.
42:15He had a
42:15high fever.
42:16He had been
42:17kept in bed
42:18for several
42:18days.
42:20And going
42:20into the
42:21day of the
42:21medal race,
42:22Ulbrikson
42:23didn't think
42:23that he could
42:24row.
42:27On the
42:27morning of the
42:28final race,
42:29with Hume's
42:30fever rising
42:31once again,
42:32Ulbrikson
42:33announced that
42:34he was going
42:34to remove
42:35his stroke
42:36from the
42:36boat and
42:37replace him
42:37with an
42:38alternate.
42:40When he
42:40told the
42:41team,
42:42they refused
42:43to leave
42:44Hume behind.
42:46The guys
42:48just absolutely
42:49could not
42:50see themselves
42:51racing without
42:52Don Hume
42:53in the
42:54stroke seat.
42:56He's the
42:56guy who's
42:57leading the
42:58dance step.
43:00And if it
43:01was a little
43:01bit shaky,
43:02we'll make
43:03up for that.
43:06They put it
43:07to him almost
43:08as an
43:08ultimatum.
43:09And that
43:10was a very
43:11unusual thing.
43:13Ulbrikson
43:14thought about
43:14it for a
43:15bit.
43:16And he
43:17decided this
43:18was a case
43:18where he
43:19had to trust
43:19the instincts
43:20of the
43:20boys.
43:21He was
43:21going to
43:22put Don Hume
43:22in the
43:23boat.
43:25They were
43:27going to
43:27win the
43:29race for
43:30each other.
43:32They had
43:33each other's
43:33backs.
43:49August
43:5014th,
43:51race day,
43:52was chilly
43:53and rainy.
43:57in the
43:57men's
43:58eights,
43:58the
43:59marquee
43:59event,
44:00the
44:00Americans
44:01faced a
44:02full slate
44:02of
44:03intimidating
44:03opponents.
44:05George
44:06Pocock,
44:07being a
44:07Brit
44:08himself,
44:09was rightly
44:10concerned
44:10about the
44:12British
44:12entry.
44:13They were
44:14full of
44:15Oxford and
44:16Cambridge,
44:17boat race,
44:18veterans.
44:19So it was an
44:20all-star
44:21crew.
44:21They'd
44:22won in
44:2308,
44:2412,
44:24they had
44:25been second
44:25in 20.
44:27They were
44:28always on
44:29the premises.
44:31The Italians
44:32were a group
44:33of longshoremen
44:35from Livorno.
44:37They had been
44:38together as a team
44:40for more than
44:4210 years.
44:43They were big,
44:45strong guys.
44:46They were
44:47literally the most
44:49experienced crew
44:51in the field.
44:56The German
44:58team won the
44:59first five races.
45:07They were
45:08the class of
45:09the Olympics.
45:11The Germans
45:12wanted desperately
45:13to win the
45:14heavyweight
45:15eights.
45:15Very important
45:17because that was
45:17the most prestigious
45:18of all the
45:19rowing contests.
45:20They knew the
45:21course like the
45:22backs of their
45:23hands.
45:23So they had a
45:24huge advantage
45:25in that regard.
45:30The Germans
45:31had another
45:32distinct advantage
45:33in the race,
45:34the best lane
45:35assignment,
45:36even if it
45:37appeared to have
45:38been dubiously
45:38determined.
45:40Although the
45:41Americans had
45:41the fastest
45:42qualifying time
45:43and the Brits
45:44had turned in
45:44the second
45:45fastest
45:45qualifying time,
45:46they were
45:47mysteriously
45:47assigned lanes
45:48five and six
45:49out in the
45:50windiest part
45:50of the race
45:51course.
45:53Italy and
45:53Germany that
45:54turned in
45:54relatively slow
45:55qualifying times,
45:57they were
45:57assigned lanes
45:58one and two
45:59protected from
46:00the wind.
46:03How they
46:04would end up
46:05with the best
46:05lanes and the
46:06teams that had
46:07won their heats
46:07would end up
46:08in the worst
46:09lanes.
46:09There's nothing
46:09to explain
46:10that.
46:13At a
46:14quarter past
46:14six in the
46:15evening in
46:15Germany,
46:16it was still
46:17morning back
46:18in Washington.
46:19As the
46:19state and
46:20much of the
46:20nation listened
46:21in on their
46:22radios,
46:23the Americans
46:24paddled to
46:25the start
46:25line.
46:27It's a very
46:28interesting sight
46:29to be here
46:30and describe
46:30this to you.
46:32The Washington
46:33crew is
46:34probably the
46:34slowest starting
46:35crew in the
46:36world.
46:36It gives
46:36everybody
46:37heart failure.
46:40The crowd
46:41is already
46:41chanting
46:42Deutschland,
46:43Deutschland,
46:43Deutschland.
46:50They don't
46:51actually hear
46:51the call
46:52of the
46:53start of
46:53the race.
46:55The Washington
46:56crew had a
46:57horrible start.
46:58Horrible.
46:59They were
46:59thrashing.
47:01I can see
47:02that Italy
47:02is leading,
47:03Germany is
47:04second,
47:05Switzerland
47:05third.
47:09They were
47:10a quarter
47:10way through
47:11the race
47:11and they
47:12were behind
47:12the field.
47:13They were
47:14facing the
47:15wind and
47:15the chop.
47:19Suddenly,
47:20Don Hume
47:20seemed to
47:21go into
47:22a trance.
47:24American crew
47:25appears to be
47:25fairly well
47:26in the rear.
47:26Don Hume
47:27hasn't been
47:28responding to
47:29Bobby Mock's
47:30calls to him
47:31to pick up
47:31the raid.
47:32Bobby Mock
47:33knew that if
47:34something didn't
47:35change,
47:35everything was
47:36lost.
47:37The United
47:38States dragging
47:39along, not
47:40in the first
47:41three.
47:42Suddenly, Don
47:43Hume pops
47:44his head up
47:44and starts
47:45rowing
47:45beautifully.
47:46And the
47:47boat explodes
47:48forward.
47:52The United
47:52States is
47:53beginning to
47:53pick up quite
47:54rapidly now
47:54that's
47:55Bill O' Washington
47:55arrest.
47:58Within a
47:59thousand meters,
47:59they started
48:00to move back
48:00on the field.
48:04Washington
48:04crew is
48:05driving hard
48:06on the
48:06outside of
48:07the course.
48:07There were
48:08people screaming
48:09down on him.
48:12It must have
48:13been absolutely
48:15deafening.
48:18Nobody could
48:19hear him.
48:20Even Don Hume
48:21couldn't hear him
48:2315 inches in front
48:24of him with a
48:24megaphone.
48:26He did the only
48:27thing he could,
48:28which was start
48:28whacking on the
48:29side of the shell.
48:31He could go
48:33there was not
48:34one length
48:35difference between
48:35the first five
48:36crews.
48:38They've had to
48:39fight and claw
48:40and drag that
48:41boat.
48:42The United
48:42States is in front
48:43with 50 meters
48:44to go.
48:44It was a total
48:45gut check.
48:4640 meters to go,
48:47they have half a
48:48boat length on
48:49Italy.
48:5020 meters to go,
48:5210 meters to go,
48:53and the United
48:54States wins
48:54with Italy second
48:56and Germany third,
48:57great trip to
48:58fourth,
48:59and Hungary fifth.
49:16And Don Hume,
49:18the very light
49:19stroke on the
49:20American crew who
49:21has lost something
49:22like 12 or 15
49:23pounds,
49:25stroke that great
49:26crew from the
49:27northwest to the
49:29outstanding victory
49:30of the United States.
49:41It would have been
49:42really, really easy
49:43to lose, but I'll
49:46tell you what, they
49:48were kids that were
49:50tough.
49:51They were used to
49:52working in tough
49:54conditions, and they
49:56were used to paying
49:57a lot physically
49:58to accomplish a
50:00goal.
50:03Al Ulbrikson was
50:05watching from a
50:06balcony nearby with
50:07George Pocock, and he
50:10fought his way through
50:11the crowd trying to get
50:12to the boys to
50:13congratulate them.
50:16A few moments later,
50:18Ulbrikson told a
50:18reporter that his boys
50:20were the finest I ever
50:22saw seated in a
50:23shell, and I've seen
50:25some corking boat
50:26loads.
50:30Mostly, they were
50:31very proud of not
50:32having let one
50:33another down.
50:35I think for Joe
50:37Rance winning that
50:38gold medal, I think
50:39after all he'd been
50:40through, he knew he
50:42was valuable, and he
50:44wasn't the disposable
50:46boy he had once
50:47been.
50:58Every one of them
50:59also had a measure
51:00of humility, and
51:02that humility was the
51:04gateway through which
51:05they were able to
51:06approach one another
51:08and start building the
51:10bonds of trust that
51:11really made them into
51:12the great crew that
51:14they became.
51:30There is this element
51:31of redemption, but
51:33there's also this
51:33element of achieving
51:35a goal through trust
51:39and brotherhood.
51:41Five, six,
51:43balance, three,
51:44hear a noise.
51:50They were considered
51:52rubes from the far
51:53west, taking on the
51:54elite, reaching in,
51:57finding something, the
51:58coming together from
51:59those disparate
52:00backgrounds, hunger for
52:02some dignity in a
52:03world that wasn't
52:04giving these boys
52:05dignity.
52:07I love the fact that
52:09they spoil the script.
52:25The end of the
52:40discussion was
52:48American Experience, The Boys of 36, is available on DVD.
52:53The book, The Boys in the Boat, is also available.
52:56To order, visit shoppbs.org or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
53:02American Experience is also available for download on iTunes.
53:24American Experience, The Boys in the Boat, is also available for download on iTunes.
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