Many mos in a boat. This is a crew of professional oarsmen on the Harlem in 1888. From the bow: Fred Plaisted, Albert Hamm, Peter H. Conley, Jack Largan, Wallace Ross, Jacob Gaudaur, George Bubear and George Hosmer. Cox is James Pilkington, owner of The Golden Oar saloon near Boathouse Row in Harlem. From Bill Lanouette's book The Triumph of the Amateurs (New York Historical Society).

18 November 2021

By Göran R Buckhorn

More beautiful mos.

On 6 November, HTBS reminded the readers that it was Movember and time to grow and groom a moustache, a mo, as it's called this particular month. We are reminded by the Mo-Movement about men's health, and the Movember Foundation is raising money around the world to fund projects in mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer to mention a few. "Your donation could help save a father, a brother, a son, a friend, a partner, a man's life," as it says on the foundation's website. Google to see if there is a foundation in your country that raises money for this good cause.

Since HTBS ran the article on 6 November, we received photos and pictures of rowers in their elegant mos. Therefore, we are running a second batch of rowers in their beautiful mos.

Detail of Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, also known as The Champion Single Sculls by Thomas Eakins. Sculler Max Schmitt (on the left) and his friend the artist who painted this picture also in a single scull, Thomas Eakins.
A portrait of Thomas Eakins, the artist and sculler.
Professional oarsman John Biglin, one of the famous Biglin brothers. From Bill Lanouette's book The Triumph of the Amateurs. From the Thomas E. Weil Collection.
Professional rower Ellis Ward, "the Rascal". From the Thomas E. Weil Collection.
Sculler Henry Coulter of Pittsburgh won the first race in a paper boat on 30 October 1867 when he beat John McKiel of Cold Spring, N.Y. The paper boat was built by George Waters with the help of his father Elisha and his brother Clarence in Troy, N.Y.
Australian Peter Kemp, world professional sculling champion.
Australian Henry Searle, world professional sculling champion. He was the only professional oarsman being depicted by SPY in the Vanity Fair magazine.
Bill Beach was born in England and moved as a young child with his parents to New South Wales. He started to row and became the world professional sculling champion.
Famous schoolmaster and rowing coach at Eton, Reginald Saumarez de Havilland, by SPY, Vanity Fair magazine.
A bronze plaque of William Fletcher by George Drinkwater, c.1915. From the Thomas E. Weil Collection.
Three-time Oxford Blue Dick Holdsworth, who was killed serving with the RAF in WW2. As the OUBC Treasurer, he was responsible for the building of the college boathouses, a task which would be completed after his death in the 1950s.
Yale rower David Wight, who took a gold medal in the eights at the 1956 Olympic rowing in Ballarat. Here Wight is at Gales Ferry during the Yale-Harvard Boat Race in 2017.

The 2021 Larry Gluckman Crew

Famous oarsman and coach Larry Gluckman died in March this year. Honouring him at the 2021 Head of the Charles was this "Fat Cat" crew. From left to right: Joe Dougherty, Michael Atalay, Jon Kawaja, Stephen Barr, Gordon Ritter, Allan Amico, Charles Cobbs, Andrew Ballard and Michael Vatis.

Shortly after HTBS had published the 6 November article, Michael Vatis sent an email with two photographs. Vatis wrote that he thought that I would get a chuckle out of the images, which were taken at the Head of the Charles Regatta in October. He was right.

Larry Gluckman

The Fat Cat RC (Princeton alums) decided to honour the memory of coach Larry Gluckman at this year's Head of the Charles Regatta. Michael Vatis wrote:

As the Princeton men's heavyweight coach in the 1980s, Larry not only coached Princeton to its first IRA Championship (and Ten Eyck trophy), but also brought together the diverse programs into one united boathouse, joined by an ethos of equality, camaraderie, and hard work. So, his legacy at Princeton is a lasting one, even if his time there was relatively brief.

At the Head of the Charles, six of the Fat Cat RC's entries wore special jerseys bearing Gluckman's name, "but a few of Fat Cat crews decided to go the next step and add a personal touch," Vatis said in his email. The Fat Cat Senior Master eight agreed to grow a mo. "Sadly, our spouses feel the same about mustaches as yours [Mrs B.] does, so the growths did not last till November (I guess that makes them merely "Mocktober" mustaches)," Vatis wrote.

He continued: "Notably, only Joe, Gordon and I rowed under Larry. Four of the other guys were lightweights, and two rowed after Larry had left."

Here the Fat Cat Senior Master eight are under way on the Charles: bow Michael Vatis, 2 Andrew Ballard, 3 Charles Cobbs, 4 Allan Amico, 5 Gordon Ritter, 6 Stephen Barr, 7 Jon Kawaja, stroke Michael Atalay and cox Joe Dougherty. Photo courtesy of row2k ©

HTBS Crew Mos

William "Bill" Miller – Going to the 1972 Olympic Games, Vesper BC's oarsmen James E. Moroney, Richard Dreissigacker, William "Bill" J. Miller and Charles Hewitt in the coxless four made the cover of the Aug. 27 to Sep. 2, 1972, issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer's TV magazine.
William "Bill" Miller – Close up on Bill and his mo.
William "Bill" Lanouette – When working for The National Observer, Bill won an award for his coverage of atomic energy. The paper's cartoonist drew him in what was then a full mo. Now, white-haired, Bill wrote: "I had black hair then, too."
Tim Koch – Tim and his then girlfriend Maggie are ready to be off to Henley Royal Regatta in 1988. Tim wrote that Maggie didn't mind his mo.
Peter Mallory – Between coaching crews at the 1978 World Rowing Junior Championships in Belgrade, Peter had time to relax while flashing both a smile and his mo.
William O'Chee – In his younger days, William was happily wearing a mo. William wrote: "My wife forbids me growing a moustache these days. I like it as it makes me look like a Triad gangster."
Thomas "Tom" E. Weil – After graduating from Yale, Tom joined the U.S. Navy. Here's a mo photo of him as LTJG, Lieutenant (junior grade).

Two members of the HTBS Team did proudly wear a mo once upon a time, but unfortunately neither of them can lay their hands on a picture for this article.

Christopher "Chris" Dodd – A mo-less Chris at Henley Royal.
Göran R Buckhorn – A clean-shaven Göran somewhere outside Dubrovnik, c.1983.

Two members of the HTBS Team, Greg Denieffe and Philip Kuepper, claim not having had a mo. It's a pity, they will never know what they have missed!

One member of the HTBS crew is excused on this subject, Hélène Rémond.

You who are allowed – grow a mo!