Torpids 1973

BUMPS CHARTS

STANDINGS Start Finish Pos College Pts Pts College 1 Oriel 64 71 Oriel 2 University 53 50 University 3 Balliol 47 47 Balliol 4 Christ Church 44 45 Christ Church 5 Queen's 42 40 St Catherine's 6 St Catherine's 42 39 Worcester 7 Jesus 36 37 Jesus 8 St John's 36 36 Queen's 9 Worcester 31 32 S.E.H. 10 Keble 29 30 Keble 11 Wadham 28 27 St John's 12 S.E.H. 22 25 New College 13 Lincoln 22 23 Wadham 14 New College 21 23 Trinity 15 Trinity 20 22 Lincoln 16 St Peter's 19 20 Pembroke 17 Magdalen 19 16 St Peter's 18 Exeter 18 16 Magdalen 19 Pembroke 16 14 Brasenose 20 Brasenose 15 13 Exeter 21 Osler House 12 10 Merton 22 Merton 9 10 Osler House 23 Hertford 8 9 Corpus Christi 24 Corpus Christi 7 3 Hertford 25 Wolfson 2 3 Wolfson 26 Linacre 1 1 Linacre

STATISTICS College All Crews [ ]=ranking Crews Bps Avg S.E.H. 3[ 1] 14[ 1] 4.67[ 1] Oriel 3[ 1] 11[ 2] 3.67[ 3] Worcester 2[ 9] 6[ 3] 3.00[ 4] Corpus Christi 1[18] 4[ 4] 4.00[ 2] Merton 2[ 9] 4[ 4] 2.00[ 6] Wolfson 1[18] 3[ 6] 3.00[ 4] Christ Church 2[ 9] 3[ 6] 1.50[10] Pembroke 3[ 1] 3[ 6] 1.00[11] Linacre 1[18] 2[ 9] 2.00[ 6] Trinity 1[18] 2[ 9] 2.00[ 6] New College 1[18] 2[ 9] 2.00[ 6] Jesus 3[ 1] 2[ 9] 0.67[12] Wadham 3[ 1] 1[13] 0.33[13] Balliol 1[18] 0[14] 0.00[14] Queen's 2[ 9] -1[15] -0.50[15] Keble 3[ 1] -3[16] -1.00[16] Osler House 1[18] -3[16] -3.00[22] Lincoln 3[ 1] -4[18] -1.33[17] Brasenose 2[ 9] -4[18] -2.00[19] St Peter's 2[ 9] -4[18] -2.00[19] Exeter 1[18] -4[18] -4.00[25] St Catherine's 3[ 1] -5[22] -1.67[18] University 2[ 9] -5[22] -2.50[21] St John's 2[ 9] -6[24] -3.00[22] Magdalen 2[ 9] -7[25] -3.50[24] Hertford 1[18] -11[26] -11.00[26]

Notes

• Wed 28 Feb – Sat 3 March 1973
• Multilane racing
• Divisions at 30 min intervals from 1:30 until 4:00.

• Coverage in The Times limited to just the bumps charts while the The Daily Telegraph combined reports on Torpids with the Cambridge Lents which were being held at the same time.

• The Daily Telegraph Wed 28 Feb

  Oriel & Clare look likely winners

  The Oxford Torpids which start today should have benefitted from the mild conditions, but that can hardly compensate for rowing only three days a week, which seems to be the extent of training in these days.

  Oriel are generally expected to hold the headship which they gained last year. But it may be that they achieved their peak in finishing second in the Southern Universities Championships last week.

  Certainly no one is likely to unseat them except Balliol, who have most of last year's crew still in readiness. Pembroke, St Edmund Hall, Trinity and Lincoln seem to be the best of the rest.

  [remainder of the article concerns prospects for the Cambridge Lents] [Start Order]

• The Daily Telegraph Thu 1 March

  [article starts with report on Cambridge Lents]

  Oriel looked safe and well above average at the head of the First Division in the Oxford Torpids. However, the final outcome is in doubt, as Balliol's No 3 broke his slide in the first few strokes and they were passed by University before reaching Donnington Bridge.

  Christ Church close

  But if the headship was out of their grasp, Balliol were certainly not out of the race. Christ Church were within a quarter of a length of them in the Gut, but Balliol hung on all the way up the Green Bank. They had only a few feet to spare at the OUBC, but drew away a little at the finish.

  Keble and Magdalen made the only gains in the Second Division, and in the Third, Lincoln overlapped St Edmund Hall at the OUBC, but could not catch them.

  In the Torpids the crews row in two lanes. It is therefore possible either to bump the crew ahead or to pass crews in the other lane. [List of bumps/passes]

• The Daily Telegraph Fri 2 March

  Balliol make up ground

  Balliol have a chance to show their paces behind Oriel in the Oxford Torpids this afternoon after regaining the place they lost to University on Wednesday. They made up their distance at the OUBC and easily defied a University counter-attack to finish well clear.

  Oriel were several lengths clear at the head of the river and look likely to hold their position. Queen's fell to St Catherine's and Jesus and will now be hard pressed to stay in the First Division.

  At the bottom of the river Linacre scored an over-bump on Magdalen II and also passed Jesus III. But, remarkably, they showed a net gain of only two places for their effort — the hapless Magdalen having dropped no fewer than five places. [List of bumps/passes]

• The Daily Telegraph Sat 3 March

  Oriel are securely established at the head of the Oxford Torpids, and will not be pressed today, barring accidents.

  Only at the bottom of the First Division was there any doubt about the outcome. Jesus threatened St Catherine's, but could not overtake them. [List of bumps/passes]

• The Sunday Telegraph Sun 4 March, just lists the finishing order for Divs I and II.

• The Daily Telegraph Mon 5 March, by a Special Correspondent [the online article is rather blurred]

  Clare and Oriel stay well ahead

  Oriel completed a most successful week in the Oxford Torpids by rowing over on Saturday with a generous three lengths to spare. Their second crew made up six places, and their third crew five places.

  Behind them Balliol, University and Christ Church were all in turn well ahead of their followers, and Worcester made up two places to finish 5th.

  St Edmund Hall were the next most successful college, their three crews gaining four, six and four places respectively, but they had started lower on the river.

  Hertford had the unhappy experience of dropping 11 places in four days, which must be almost unprecedented. [Head crew - illegible] [Finishing Order]

• The Daily Telegraph Tue 6 March

  Oriel's Head of the River crew in the Oxford Torpids was: [as below]

• In other news ... [1973]

  February 27

  Rail workers and civil servants went on strike.

  February 28

  The Republic of Ireland general election is held. Liam Cosgrave becomes the new Taoiseach.

  February 28

  The landmark postmodern novel Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon is published.

  March 1

  Charlotte's Web, the animated film based on the children's book of the same name, is released.

  March 1

  Dick Taverne, having resigned from the Parliament of the United Kingdom on leaving the Labour Party, is re-elected as a 'Democratic Labour' candidate.

  March 1

  Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, one of rock's landmark albums, is released in the US. It is released in the UK on March 24.

  March 2

  Wellington Street bus station in Perth, Australia, is opened by Western Australia's premier John Tonkin

  March 3

  Two IRA bombs exploded in London, killing one person and injuring 250 others. Ten people were arrested hours later at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being involved in the bombings.

  March 3

  Tottenham Hotspur wins the Football League Cup final at Wembley, beating Norwich City 1-0

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