Torpids 1885

BUMPS CHART

STANDINGS Start Finish Pos College Pts Pts College 1 Corpus Christi 27 27 Corpus Christi 2 Brasenose 24 24 Brasenose 3 New College 23 22 Exeter 4 Christ Church 21 20 Christ Church 5 Magdalen 20 20 New College 6 Trinity 14 18 Magdalen 7 Exeter 14 13 Trinity 8 Keble 13 12 Balliol 9 Balliol 11 10 Keble 10 Queen's 9 10 Queen's 11 Pembroke 8 8 Pembroke 12 Wadham 7 7 Wadham 13 Lincoln 6 5 St Catherine's 14 Hertford 5 5 Oriel 15 Worcester 4 4 Jesus 16 St Catherine's 4 4 Hertford 17 Oriel 3 3 Lincoln 18 University 3 3 Worcester 19 Jesus 2 2 University 20 St John's 2 2 St John's 21 Merton 1 1 Merton

STATISTICS College All Crews [ ]=rank Crews Bps Avg Jesus 1[ 7] 5[ 1] 5.00[ 1] Exeter 2[ 1] 4[ 2] 2.00[ 4] St Catherine's 1[ 7] 3[ 3] 3.00[ 2] Magdalen 2[ 1] 3[ 3] 1.50[ 5] Oriel 1[ 7] 3[ 3] 3.00[ 2] St John's 1[ 7] 1[ 6] 1.00[ 6] Queen's 1[ 7] 1[ 6] 1.00[ 6] Christ Church 2[ 1] 0[ 8] 0.00[ 8] Wadham 1[ 7] 0[ 8] 0.00[ 8] Balliol 2[ 1] 0[ 8] 0.00[ 8] Brasenose 1[ 7] 0[ 8] 0.00[ 8] Corpus Christi 1[ 7] 0[ 8] 0.00[ 8] Pembroke 1[ 7] 0[ 8] 0.00[ 8] University 1[ 7] -1[14] -1.00[14] Trinity 1[ 7] -1[14] -1.00[14] Merton 1[ 7] -1[14] -1.00[14] Hertford 1[ 7] -2[17] -2.00[18] Worcester 1[ 7] -3[18] -3.00[20] Keble 2[ 1] -3[18] -1.50[17] New College 2[ 1] -4[20] -2.00[18] Lincoln 1[ 7] -5[21] -5.00[21]

• 6 days Thu 19 – Wed 25 Feb 1885
• Assume 2 divisions with 14 boats in Div 1 (it would have been at least 14 boats from what is written below)

• Notes from Sherwood

  First day: New College, in preliminary, ran on a sunken pile, and had to swim ashore, and run up to their barge through the floods. They had only just time to alter the stretchers in their second boat and get down to the race.

  A curious incident occurred with Christ Church II, too long for insertion here [see below]

  Second day: University fouled their bung, and were bumped by Jesus.

• From the main text of Sherwood (p.47), referring to the last day's racing

  The Christ Church book records the following incident:

  'The second had a curious adventure. Pembroke (no.10) broke an oar at the start and were run into by Keble above the Green Barge, both crews stopping. Wadham (12) ran into Keble and stopped, apparently thinking that they had made a bump, and our boat (13) rowed by, followed at the regular interval by the Unattached (14) [St Catherine's, formally the Delegacy for Unattached Students]. Pembroke now began to question whether they had been bumped or not, and went off again, reaching the Green Bank two lengths in front of Christ Church II. Here we were gaining on them naturally every stroke, when at their boat-house [presumably the newly-constructed OUBC Boathouse] their stroke jumped overboard, having up to then sat and swung, though he had broken his oar at the start. Notwithstanding this, they came back to us, and were bumped at the Barge, amidst wild excitement. The O.U.B.C. Junto, however, decided that they had been bumped by Keble, and were therefore no prey for us, but that we might have a bump off Wadham, which, however, on our producing the precedent of the Eights of 1864, we were allowed to waive, an attention that Wadham magnanimously declined to accept'.

  Then comes a note

  After all our Torpid remains 13 instead of 12, for the president ruled that our wish should be acceded to, and that Wadham should remain 12 malgré lui.

  This naturally led to a complaint as to the uncertainty of presidents' decisions; it having been ruled in 1883 that Christ Church must lose three places, though both boats wanted the bump to be off, whilst this year Wadham is forced to accept the offer though refusing to do so.

  A rule has now been passed that bumps over two places [overbumps] must always stand good. [My interpretation is that this means that Christ Church would have been given the bump on Pembroke]

• In other news ... [1885]

  Monarch: Victoria

  Prime Minister: William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal)

  February 21

  United States President Chester A. Arthur dedicates the Washington Monument.

  February 23

  Sino-French War Battle of Dong Dang: France gains an important victory over China, in the Tonkin region of modern-day Vietnam.

  February 23

  An English executioner fails after several attempts to hang John Babbacombe Lee, sentenced for the murder of his employer Emma Keyse; Lee's sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.

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