Class of 1963

Reflections and Stories

From the 'Forgotten Oarsman'

by Christopher E. Metzger F'63

I have read the histories of Georgetown Crew, posted to date, and would like to add a few details not mentioned thus far, (and possibly of no significance. But here we go.) I am talking about the cruel winter of 1960-1961.

I was a sophomore at the School of Foreign Service. A good friend of mine, David Timothy Casey, was always bugging me to do more – for some reason. He thought he could improve upon my act, I guess. Eventually, we come to the subject of crew. David Timothy, (I used to call him that, to his great annoyance) and I frequently worked out in the gym, spotting each other at the weights and trying to impress one another with how good we were at all the physical stuff. I distinctly remember, I had just memorized the poem ‘Casey at the Bat’ for a production of one acts titled: ONE IN A MILLION for a show the Mask & Bauble was staging. I recited it to David Timothy one morning as we were walking to the Gym. He was mightily impressed and he told me so in his rough Boston Irish brogue, which was even more attractive to my ear than was that of the soon to be inaugurated President of the United States. David Timothy said if I could make the crew team I might become a more well-rounded person than I was at the time. He suggested I was seemingly doing OK in the mental aspect, having memorized a poem and all – but making the crew team – well, that would be some kind of a feat, indeed, said David Timothy. So, I tried out.

The river was frozen over, and in lieu of rowing we met in the dark at McDonough Gym. (Other reports claim it was 6:00 in the morning, but I remember it being 5:30 and a hell of an early hour it was, pardon my French. It did not matter what time it was, I would not miss a work-out because I refused to take any ragging from that Irishman from Boston – and, I would relish the opportunity to razz him in case I was lucky enough to find him slacking off in the morning due to a late night with Peaches.

The coach selected a ‘dream team’ while the river was frozen. Here is how it went: A test. A physical fitness test with a possible score of one thousand (1,000) points. You could get a point for each sit-up you did – up to three hundred sit-ups (300 points.) A point for each deep-knee bend – up to four hundred (400 points). A point for each push-up you did up to one hundred (100 points). Four points for every chin-up you did – up to twenty-five (100 points) And then there was a hundred points available on the Rope Climb, timed by the Coach. All the chins, push-ups, deep-knee bends and sits had to be perfect, because we all judged each other’s performance, not wanting anyone to get anything for free. We did all these trials consecutively and it did not take the whole Saturday morning. (We all took the test one Saturday a month)

Everybody on the team was well into the high nine hundreds. Everybody did all the sits, deeps and pushes. Everybody was over twenty on the chins. The rope was the killer – especially for the big lugs in the ‘engine room’. We were in very, very good shape. I remember walking from the gym to Teehan’s for breakfast after a Test one morning and feeling like I had not even had a work-out. I made the ‘Dream Team – every month. Take that David Timothy. (So did he, however.) I was Bow. David Timothy sat somewhere up front, near the cox. I can still see his right shoulder.

One of 3 sisters isles on Potomac

with Key Bridge in background

T-shirt map shows relationship of

3 sisters islands, Potomac Boat

Club and Key Bridge: the crew

seat challenge course

So, the ice melts and we go to the river. I learned to feather the sweep (You had to learn a new vocabulary for this sport – it was good for the brain, too). I learned to smell the early morning river and watch the mist turn into daylight. And I learned what pain was. True pain. Forward, lean, stretch then back up and pull. Jesus, it was hard; but David Timothy and all those big strong guys in front of me seemed to love it.

Now, if you wanted to get on the first team, the First Shell, (We called them ‘shells’ instead of boats, I do not know why.) all you had to do was challenge a member of the dream team – challenge him at his spot.

So, accepting the challenge, the Dream Team goes up to the ‘Three Sisters’ and plies its way, full speed, down to the Key Bridge. It is timed. Then the person in the challenged position (Let’s say #3) exits the shell and the challenger sits in his place (#3) and the crew does the same run again, from the Three Sisters to the Bridge. If the time on the second run is better – the challenger is seated on the third seat and the other poor guy is dropped from the team. You with me?

I never lost to a challenger. Here is why:

One cold gray day we had turned about at the Sisters and started to blast towards the Bridge. I reached forward on my seat. Ooops. I mean to say I went forward on the rails of my seat, but the seat itself stayed stuck in its rear-most position. There I was, forward on the stretch - and had to pull back with the team. If I did not slide back – I could pull a crab (more with the vocabulary) which means I could throw the whole shell off stride, off course, and maybe even some fellow teammates could get a sock in the jaw from their own sweeps – or worse my sweep could buck and toss me into the water. So, I slid back on the wooden rails. Two times I did this. Two times and many stitches later – after the shards of wood were removed from my you know what. I stood in class for about two weeks. I never got back on the first team. While I was standing in class the new guy and his cohorts broke the river record and that was the end of that.

I wowed them at the theater with my rendition of ‘Casey at the Bat’, however. And I think of David Timothy Casey, to this day, as much as I think of any of my pals. I am glad he tried to make something of me –and I am grateful he gives me the opportunity to tell you this story.

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Rowing at Georgetown, 1959-1963

Memories, Sketches and Witty Observations

by Jim Mietus, ‘63

I. Beating Washington and Lee High School for King of the River

Please take a look at the web page for Charlie Butt, coach of Washington and Lee High school and US Olympic rowing teams: Charlie Butt: Wikipedia
Coach Butt was a superstar rowing coach. Akin to Don Cadle, A rowing coach for oarsmen from high school to college to the Olympics.
W&L was a dominant rowing high School in a part of the country where rowing competition was intense.

--Take a look at the web page for the Stotesbury Cup Regatta.

--Take a look at the web page for the Canadian Henley Regatta. .

--Take a look at the West Side Rowing Club. I learned to row there for Canisius HS, Buffalo NY’s Jesuit High School.

Canisius High School , where I rowed, was good. Washington and Lee, where Charlie Butt coached was legendary.
As you probably know, GU raced and beat W&L on April 29, 1961.

-- Most people hardly noticed. Rowing is just not that well known among non-oarsmen.

-- But to most people rowing, coaching, or watching that day, our victory was a tremendous surprise.

-- To me personally, I rowed four years against W&L in high school. We never beat them. This time was different.

-- To me and the other eight oarsmen in the shell that day, we were delighted.

-- This is was during that period when we were rowing rented boats and getting 300 yard handicaps from local high school teams.

--Clearly better times lay ahead.

And Coach Don Cadle was pleased. He also announced that our days rowing against high school crews were over.

II. You win the races in the gym in January. You collect your medals after the races in May.

One of life’s greatest pleasures is being, say, 300 yards from the finish line, a boat length out ahead of the second place crew and the rest of the pack. You will win if you have it in you. You have it in you. You win!!
Q: How do you ensure you win? A: Have a grueling, competition–oriented exercise program.
We had a outstanding exercise program at GU (and at Canisius HS too).
I think this has been written up already. If not, lets add it to the items to write up

--I don’t even remember the numbers we hit. Certainly 50 solid push ups, 100 sit ups

Important additional point: We were exercising in competition for seats in the top shell. That is, the eight oarsmen with the highest scores won a seat in the varsity eight.

III. Winning the Dad Vail Championship in 1962

Jim Mietus, 1962

Thanks to all the folks who made this possible: Goose, Barrett, Inge and Don Cadle, and many, many more:

(1)Vollbrecht, (2) Mietus, (3) Mullin, (4)Doyle, (5) Hoeschler, (6)O'Brien, (7) Hager, (8) Casey, (9) Ritter

Anecdotes:

--Vollbrecht message to Mietus: “You are not going to believe this, Jim, but we are out half a deck!!

--We purposely arrived at the start of the race late, per Cadle instructions, to spook the other crew

--And many more…

IV. Boys will be boys!

The crew had just arrived in Philadelphia and we were unloading our clothes and other gear. Thump Thump. I heard two thumping sounds. Oh. Now I see. One of the oarsmen brought two quarts of Jack Daniels. No big problem here.
We went to dinner in Georgetown. Nice place, The wait staff brought the wine menu. We ordered wine. The waiter brought the wine and invited one of the oarsmen to sniff the wine. The oarsman tasted the wine. He told the oarsmen the wine is no good. He told him to take the wine back. (This is actually a Canisius story, not a Georgetown.)

V. A sport and a coach that will last a lifetime

Under Don Cadle’s tutelege I applied for a Rhodes Scholarship. I did not win one. But I sure had fun trying – including a 500 mile solo bike trip behind the Iron Curtain from Danzig on the Baltic to Warsaw on the Vistula.
As time went by, I lost contact with Don and Inge Cadle. But clearly Don and Inge continue to have a large impact on my life. When I met Don in 1960, he was policy analyst at OMB with oversight responsibility for NASA.

--I recently retired from 30 years working at OMB on energy and natural resource issues. I did some good and had some fun.

--The apple does not fall far from the tree.

VI. One more thing...

Jim Mietus, 2012

My wife, Janet, and I were talking one evening after dinner about the Georgetown crew.

“Tell me, Jim, just why do you think GU crew was so good?”

“Well,” I replied, “I am not sure. It could be due in part to an intense work ethic that the Jesuits teach. We were taught for example to do things ‘Ad Majorem Dei Glorium.,’ That translates “ For the greater glory of God.” With the power of God linked to the power of 75 solid push-ups – now that’s a pretty strong source of power.” I said.

“OK, Jim, so is that it?”

“Well, that could be the story, Janet,” I continued. But maybe there’s a simpler explanation. The Jesuits spend a fair amount of time and energy encouraging us to control our sexual urges and appetites. Could it be that all the other crews on the river are driven by hard work and the work ethic – and Georgetown is driven by hard work, a strong work ethic and , in addition, a heavy dosage of underutilized testosterone?”

Never Row.

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Subpages (7): Class of 1961 Reflections and Stories Class of 1962 Reflections and Stories Class of 1963 Reflections and Stories Class of 1964 Reflections and Stories Class of 1965 Reflections and Stories Class of 1966 Reflections and Stories Class of 1967 Reflections and Stories

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