The Boys in the Boat

Question 1

Who is the coxswain?

Answer 1

Bobby Moch

Question 2

Who was not at the 10-year reunion?

Answer 2

Don Hume

Question 3

Who is Joe’s stepmother?

Answer 3

Thula

Question 4

Which seat does Johnny sit in?

Answer 4

Seat 4

Question 5

Which seat does Stub sit in?

Answer 5

Seat 5

Question 6

What is Jim’s nickname?

Answer 6

Shorty

Question 7

What is George’s nickname?

Answer 7

G

Question 8

What is Shorty’s seat number?

Answer 8

Seat 6

Question 9

What is Don Hume’s position?

Answer 9

Stroke

Question 10

Who was nearly too sick to row at the olympics?

Answer 10

Don Hume

Question 11

Where did they find Joe’s lost gold medal?

Answer 11

In the attic, a squirrel had taken it and hidden it up there (pg. 2-3)

Question 12

In what year did Roger and Joe try out for the rowing team?

Answer 12

October 1933 (pg. 5)

Question 13

What school did the rowing team attend?

Answer 13

University of Washington (pg. 5)

Question 14

What class did Roger and Joe meet in?

Answer 14

Engineering (pg. 5)

Question 15

How many men showed up to try out for the freshman rowing team?

Answer 15

175 (pg.6)

Question 16

What are the boats used for rowing called?

Answer 16

Racing shells (pg. 6)

Question 17

What was happening in America that caused so many to lose their jobs and homes?

Answer 17

The Great Depression (pg. 7)

Question 18

Why was it so important for Joe to get a spot on the freshman rowing team?

Answer 18

They would give him a part time job and he could continue to pay for school (pg. 8)

Question 19

How many seats are there on a rowing boat?

Answer 19

Nine (pg. 9)

Question 20

What is the name of Joe’s high school sweetheart?

Answer 20

Joyce Simdar (pg. 9)

Question 21

What are the names of Joe’s father, mother, and older brother?

Answer 21

Harry Rantz, Nellie Maxwell, and Fred Rantz (pg. 11)

Question 22

When was Joe born?

Answer 22

March 1914 (pg. 12)

Question 23

What happened to Joe’s mother right before he turned four?

Answer 23

She got sick and passed away (pg. 12-14)

Question 24

What illness did Joe get right after moving in with his aunt Alma?

Answer 24

Scarlett Fever (pg. 14)

Question 25

How old was Joe when he went to go live with his brother?

Answer 25

Five years old (pg. 14)

Question 26

Where did Joe and Fred’s father go after their mother died?

Answer 26

He moved to Canada (pg. 14)

Question 27

When Harry moved back to Spokane who did he marry?

Answer 27

Thula La-Follette (pg. 16)

Question 28

What are the names of Joe’s half brothers?

Answer 28

Harry Junior and Mike (pg. 17)

Question 29

What did Harry go back into the fire to get?

Answer 29

Nellie’s piano (pg. 17)

Question 30

Who was the freshman coach when Roger and Joe tried out for the freshman team?

Answer 30

Tom Bolles (pg. 20)

Question 31

Who was the head coach of the rowing program?

Answer 31

Al Ulbrickson (pg. 21)

Question 32

Why was Al nicknamed “Man with the Stone Face”?

Answer 32

He was the least talkative man on campus and he didn’t like to show his emotions (pg. 21)

Question 33

What position did Al have when he was a rower?

Answer 33

Lead rower or stroke oar (pg. 21)

Question 34

Where did Joe and his family move after their house in Spokane burnt down?

Answer 34

The Gold and Ruby camp near the Idaho mines (pg. 23)

Question 35

What did Thula dream of becoming when she was younger?

Answer 35

A concert violinist (pg. 25)

Question 36

Why was Joe sent to live at the school house?

Answer 36

Thula refused to live with him any more and told Harry to choose between them (pg. 27)

Question 37

What work did Joe have to do in order to be able to live at the school house?

Answer 37

Chop wood and keep the fireplace stoked (pg. 27)

Question 38

What word did Joe have to do in order to eat at the cookhouse?

Answer 38

He worked for the company cook, Mother Cleveland carrying plates to and from the dining hall (pg. 27)

Question 39

How many rows does each shell hold?

Answer 39

Eight (pg. 31)

Question 40

What is the job of the coxswain?

Answer 40

He directs the pace and steers the boat (pg. 31)

Question 41

What was Tom Bolles nickname?

Answer 41

The Professor (pg. 31)

Question 42

What was the name of the school’s training barge?

Answer 42

Old Nero (pg. 34)

Question 43

What does “catching a crab” mean?

Answer 43

If the oar didn’t hit the water properly it would become stuck and could cause the rower to be thrown from the boat (pgs. 34-35)

Question 44

Where was the farmland Joe and his family lived on?

Answer 44

Right outside Sequim (pg. 38)

Question 45

How did Harry Junior’s chest become burned?

Answer 45

Thula tripped and dropping a hot skillet of hot bacon grease, potatoes, and onions on him (pg. 41)

Question 46

What age was Joe when his family left him on the farm by himself?

Answer 46

He was fifteen (pg. 43)

Question 47

How far did Roger walk every day to school?

Answer 47

Two and a half miles (pg. 46)

Question 48

Who was in-charge of building all of the shells?

Answer 48

George Yeoman Pocock (pg. 47)

Question 49

What advice did George’s father give him that he never forgot?

Answer 49

“No one will ask you how long it took to build; they will only ask who built it” (pg. 48)

Question 50

What are the two illegal jobs Joe worked when he was around 15?

Answer 50

Catching salmon with an improper pole and stealing alcohol to sell (pg. 54)

Question 51

In what year did Fred ask Joe to come live with him and his family?

Answer 51

Summer 1931 (pg. 57)

Question 52

What sport did Joe excel at his senior year of high school?

Answer 52

Gymnastics, especially on rings, high bar, and the parallel bars (pg. 58)

Question 53

What job did Joyce work to pay her way through school?

Answer 53

She worked as a maid doing chores (pg. 60)

Question 54

Which boat were Joe and Roger assigned to as freshman?

Answer 54

First boat (pg. 63)