The Boys in the Boat Flashcards
Who is the coxswain?
Bobby Moch
Who was not at the 10-year reunion?
Don Hume
Who is Joe’s stepmother?
Thula
Which seat does Johnny sit in?
Seat 4
Which seat does Stub sit in?
Seat 5
What is Jim’s nickname?
Shorty
What is George’s nickname?
G
What is Shorty’s seat number?
Seat 6
What is Don Hume’s position?
Stroke
Who was nearly too sick to row at the olympics?
Don Hume
Where did they find Joe’s lost gold medal?
In the attic, a squirrel had taken it and hidden it up there (pg. 2-3)
In what year did Roger and Joe try out for the rowing team?
October 1933 (pg. 5)
What school did the rowing team attend?
University of Washington (pg. 5)
What class did Roger and Joe meet in?
Engineering (pg. 5)
How many men showed up to try out for the freshman rowing team?
175 (pg.6)
What are the boats used for rowing called?
Racing shells (pg. 6)
What was happening in America that caused so many to lose their jobs and homes?
The Great Depression (pg. 7)
Why was it so important for Joe to get a spot on the freshman rowing team?
They would give him a part time job and he could continue to pay for school (pg. 8)
How many seats are there on a rowing boat?
Nine (pg. 9)
What is the name of Joe’s high school sweetheart?
Joyce Simdar (pg. 9)
What are the names of Joe’s father, mother, and older brother?
Harry Rantz, Nellie Maxwell, and Fred Rantz (pg. 11)
When was Joe born?
March 1914 (pg. 12)
What happened to Joe’s mother right before he turned four?
She got sick and passed away (pg. 12-14)
What illness did Joe get right after moving in with his aunt Alma?
Scarlett Fever (pg. 14)
How old was Joe when he went to go live with his brother?
Five years old (pg. 14)
Where did Joe and Fred’s father go after their mother died?
He moved to Canada (pg. 14)
When Harry moved back to Spokane who did he marry?
Thula La-Follette (pg. 16)
What are the names of Joe’s half brothers?
Harry Junior and Mike (pg. 17)
What did Harry go back into the fire to get?
Nellie’s piano (pg. 17)
Who was the freshman coach when Roger and Joe tried out for the freshman team?
Tom Bolles (pg. 20)
Who was the head coach of the rowing program?
Al Ulbrickson (pg. 21)
Why was Al nicknamed “Man with the Stone Face”?
He was the least talkative man on campus and he didn’t like to show his emotions (pg. 21)
What position did Al have when he was a rower?
Lead rower or stroke oar (pg. 21)
Where did Joe and his family move after their house in Spokane burnt down?
The Gold and Ruby camp near the Idaho mines (pg. 23)
What did Thula dream of becoming when she was younger?
A concert violinist (pg. 25)
Why was Joe sent to live at the school house?
Thula refused to live with him any more and told Harry to choose between them (pg. 27)
What work did Joe have to do in order to be able to live at the school house?
Chop wood and keep the fireplace stoked (pg. 27)
What word did Joe have to do in order to eat at the cookhouse?
He worked for the company cook, Mother Cleveland carrying plates to and from the dining hall (pg. 27)
How many rows does each shell hold?
Eight (pg. 31)
What is the job of the coxswain?
He directs the pace and steers the boat (pg. 31)
What was Tom Bolles nickname?
The Professor (pg. 31)
What was the name of the school’s training barge?
Old Nero (pg. 34)
What does “catching a crab” mean?
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)
Where was the farmland Joe and his family lived on?
Right outside Sequim (pg. 38)
How did Harry Junior’s chest become burned?
Thula tripped and dropping a hot skillet of hot bacon grease, potatoes, and onions on him (pg. 41)
What age was Joe when his family left him on the farm by himself?
He was fifteen (pg. 43)
How far did Roger walk every day to school?
Two and a half miles (pg. 46)
Who was in-charge of building all of the shells?
George Yeoman Pocock (pg. 47)
What advice did George’s father give him that he never forgot?
“No one will ask you how long it took to build; they will only ask who built it” (pg. 48)
What are the two illegal jobs Joe worked when he was around 15?
Catching salmon with an improper pole and stealing alcohol to sell (pg. 54)
In what year did Fred ask Joe to come live with him and his family?
Summer 1931 (pg. 57)
What sport did Joe excel at his senior year of high school?
Gymnastics, especially on rings, high bar, and the parallel bars (pg. 58)
What job did Joyce work to pay her way through school?
She worked as a maid doing chores (pg. 60)
Which boat were Joe and Roger assigned to as freshman?
First boat (pg. 63)
What day did the freshman step foot into a real racing boat?
January 8th (pg. 65)
What is the nickname for rowers in seats 4, 5, and 6?
“The engine room” (pg. 67)
What did George Morry chant as they rowed?
MIB (pg. 67)
What does MIB stand for?
Mind in boat (pg. 67)
What day was the Pacific Coast Regatta held?
Friday, April 13th (pg. 71)
Around how many people came to watch the Pacific Coast Regatta?
Nearly eighty thousand (pg. 72)
Who won the Pacific Coast Regatta?
The University of Washington (pg. 74)
How many boat lengths were Washington ahead when they won the Regatta against California?
Four and a half length ahead (pg. 74)
In a rowing race the winning team has the right to what?
Collect the jerseys of the opposing team (pg. 74)
June 1st 1934 the boys got on a train to go where?
To the national championship held in Poughkeepsie, New York (pg. 75)
Why did Joe feel cast out during their train to New York?
He was playing his guitar and his teammates were teasing him (pg. 76)
What kind of sporting events did the National championship regatta rival?
The Kentucky Derby, the Rose Bowl, and the World Series (pg. 77)
The 1934 regatta was a clash of what kind of men?
A clash of rich and poor (pg. 78)
What was the name of the shell they took with them to New York?
The City of Seattle (pg. 79)
How many fans were their watching the regatta in New York?
More than seventy-five thousand (pg. 79)
What lane was the Washington boat in for the New York regatta?
Lane 3 (pg. 80)
How many lengths did Washington finish ahead of Syracuse?
Five lengths ahead
What was the “Dust Bowl”?
A time when millions of tons of soil became airborne and spread to different parts of the United States
Who was the baby of the boat?
George “Shorty” Hunt at 17 years old was the youngest in the boat
Whose was the only boat crew that didn’t change sophomore year?
Joe’s boat
Where were Harry and Thula living after they left Joe alone?
Seattle
What did Thula say when Joe asked if he could come back to visit his father and siblings?
“No, make your own life, Joe. Stay out of ours”
How did coach Ulbrickson change the practice technique during the winter quarter sophomore year?
They were going to practice all out everyday instead of working on details the first few weeks
What is it called when a crew finally rows in complete unison?
Finding their “swing”
How many years had it been since Harry saw Joe?
Five and a half years
Who was named the 1935 first varsity crew?
The sophomore boat
Where was the 1935 Pacific Coast Regatta held?
In California, they rowed in the Oakland Estuary
Why was Joe so emotional during the parade after winning the 1935 Pacific Coast Regatta?
He never dreaming of getting this far and he was proud of himself and what he had accomplished
What race did the sophomore boat participate in during the 1935 Poughkeepsie Regatta?
JV race
What did Joe do for work the summer of 1935?
He worked building the foundation for The Grand Coulee Dam
How much did Joe get payed working on the Dam?
Seventy-five cents an hour
Why was it uncomfortable to take a shower in the shower house in Shack Town?
Black widow spiders would leap on people when the water turned on
Who were the two other boys from Washington that were working on the Dam as well?
Johnny White from the freshman boat and Chuck Day
What was the name of the family Joyce worked for after leaving the judge?
The Tellwright family
What did coach Ulbrickson tell his wife he would do if he didn’t get gold in Berlin?
He was going to quit coaching
What sad news did Joe learn a few days into his third season?
Thula had died from an infection
After Thula died what did Harry say to Joe that caused him confusion and anger?
Harry said he was going to build a house for all of them to live and he wanted Joe to come home
What news did Joe get from Sequim after Thula’s death?
Charlie McDonald had died in a car accident
Who was the most obvious choice to include in the olympic boat?
Bobby Moch in the stern
What did Pocock tell Joe he needed to think of the race as?
A symphony and he was just one of the players in the orchestra
What would Joyce do while Harry and Joe working on building the new house?
She would entertain the four children by playing card games and making fudge with them
Who was in the 1936 varsity crew?
Don Hume, Joe Rantz, Shorty Hunt, Stub McMillin, Johnny White, Gordy Adam, Chuck Day, Roger Morris, and Bobby Moch
What is the name of the shell the 1936 varsity crew used?
Husky Clipper
What liquid did Pocock use to christen the boat and why?
Sauerkraut juice so it could get used to Germany
What did Joyce paint on her good luck sign before sending Joe off to New York?
A four-leaf clover
What was the name of the cook outside the cookhouse in Poughkeepsie?
Evanda May Calimar
Where were the 1936 U.S. Olympic trials held?
At Princeton they would compete in Lake Carnegie
What six crews were competing to go to Berlin?
Washington, California, the Pennsylvania Athletic Club, Navy, Princeton, and the New York Athletic Club
When did the first elimination heats begin?
July 4th
What four crews made it to the final round of the Olympic trials?
Washington, California, Pennsylvania and the New York Athletic Club
What problem arose after the boys won the Olympic trials?
The US Olympic Rowing committee let the coaches know if they wanted to go to the Olympics they would have to pay their own way
How did Washington raise the 5,000 dollars necessarily to go to the Olympics?
People from all over Washington and their hometowns donated and raised the money needed
Who was the leader in Germany at the time of the Berlin Olymics?
Adolf Hitler
Why was Hitler hesitant to hold the Olympic games at first?
He didn’t want people of different colors, religions, and races visiting his country
The Olympic rowing course was set to take place on what lake?
The Langer See in Grünau, Germany
What three laws did Hitler enact on September 15th, 1935?
- Announced the Nazi party emblem, the swastka
- Only with German blood could be citizens
- Jewish and non-jewish people couldn’t get married
The New York City Athletic club invited Washington to use their training facilities where?
Travers Island
Bobby Moch received two letters from his father, what did he learn form the second more private letter?
That his father, and his family, was jewish
How did George Pocock spend his last day before traveling to Germany?
Sanding down the hull and adding marine varnish to the Husky Clipper
How long of a boat was the Husky Clipper?
Sixty-two feet
Who became terribly seasick during their trip over to Germany?
Don Hume and Roger Morris
What country did the US share a boat house with during the Olympic games?
Germany
According to Pocock and Ulbrickson who was the boat to beat during the 1936 Olympics?
The British
Why did a fight break out between different countries during lunch one day?
The Yugoslavian team starting singing “Yankee Doodle” and the American team thought they were being insulted
How many eight-oared crews were competing at the Olympics?
14
Which four countries did Washington row against during their first preliminary round?
France, Japan, Czechoslovakia, and Great Britian
How much weight did Don Hume loose due to being ill?
fourteen pounds
Which lane did the US row in during the gold medal race?
Lane six, one of the worst lanes
Which countries made it through to the final gold medal race?
US, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain
About how many fans came to the regatta field to watch the gold medal race?
More than seventy-five thousand
Why was lane six the worst lane?
It wasn’t protected from the wind, the boys would have to row harder against the wind
Since the boys couldn’t hear him, what did Bobby Moch do to tell them to raise their stroke rate?
He started banging on ironwood knocker boards
Who won the gold metal during the final race?
The United States
Where is the Husky Clipper now?
It hangs from the ceiling of Washington’s Conibear Shellhouse
