Harry Vail
Encyclopedia
Harry Emerson "Dad" Vail, was a rowing
(crew) coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, USA. The Dad Vail Regatta
, held annually in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, is named in his honor.
Harry Emerson Vail was born in Gagtown, New Brunswick
, Canada
.
His career is traced in his obituary, which was published in the Wisconsin State Journal on October 8, 1928. It read:
He died in his native Canada.
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
(crew) coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, USA. The Dad Vail Regatta
Dad Vail Regatta
The Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the USA, drawing over a hundred colleges and universities from North America. The event has been held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1953. Briefly in late 2009, it was planned...
, held annually in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, is named in his honor.
Harry Emerson Vail was born in Gagtown, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
His career is traced in his obituary, which was published in the Wisconsin State Journal on October 8, 1928. It read:
- Mr. Vail, aged 69, was the oldest crew coach in the U.S. at the time of his death. Jim Ten EyckJames A. Ten EyckJames A. Ten Eyck was a crew coach at United States Naval Academy and Syracuse University. He was born in Tompkins Cove, New York and is the father of Edward H. "Ned" Ten Eyck, who coached crew for the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1907 to 1910, and took over coaching duties at Syracuse...
of Syracuse was the only one who exceeded "Dad" in age. Coach Vail was "Dad" to every boy who ever worked under him, and he was one of the most beloved figures on the university campus.
- Coming to WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonThe University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in 1911, Coach Vail almost won the PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie RegattaThe Poughkeepsie Regatta is an annual regatta contested by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association in the United States. It was originally held in Poughkeepsie, New York, on the Hudson River, in 1895, with Cornell, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania competing...
title that year. Again in 1924, following a ten-year period in which the University of Wisconsin authorities refused to send the crew east, "Dad" took second, and his praises were sung from one end of the country to the other.
- Deeply religious, "Dad" Vail was one of the few coaches taking crews to Poughkeepsie who refused to do any rowing on Sunday. Gradually, other coaches followed the lead of the Wisconsin mentor and until now it is quite unusual to see an eight swinging down the Hudson on Sunday.
- Coach Vail was possessed of an inimitable sense of humor, and some of his stories will survive as long as eights with the long sweeps are propelled over Lake MendotaLake MendotaLake Mendota is the northernmost and largest of the four lakes near Madison, Wisconsin. The lake borders Madison on the north, east and south, Middleton on the west, Shorewood Hills on the southwest, Maple Bluff on the northeast, and Westport on the northwest....
. As long as rowing is discussed, there will be those to tell of the feats of "Dad" Vail when he was one of the greatest single scullers in the world, of his uncanny ability in sizing up a crew, and of his flashes of biting sarcasm.
- Previous to his work at Wisconsin, Coach Vail had been coach at Georgetown PrepGeorgetown Preparatory SchoolGeorgetown Preparatory School is an American Jesuit college preparatory school for grades 9 through 12. It is the oldest all boys school in the United States, and the only Jesuit boarding school in the country...
, Ariel Boat Club, and HarvardHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. However, it was through his work at Wisconsin that Coach Vail became widely known.
He died in his native Canada.