(I wrote this, or, more accurately, cobbed it together, in August 1993 from various sources. At the time, I was just trying to put together an "historical narrative" and so didn't pay any attention to writing style. Unfortunately, I never got any further than this. The writing is pretty bad. But, still, its a good story that deserves to be passed along. Perhaps someone reading this will know a little more about the Gold Cup and can contribute. Who knows - maybe we'll find it!!!)
The Philadelphia Challenge Cup was first awarded to John B. (Jack) Kelly by the Schuylkill Navy after he returned in 1920 from Brussels, Belgium where he was the first American to win the single sculls race in Olympic competition, defeating Jack Beresford, Jr. of England. J. Elliot Newlin, then Commodore of the Schuylkill Navy, led the effort to raise over $2,500 by popular subscription from the Philadelphia rowing community for the purchase of the Cup.
Emblematic of the amateur single sculling championship of the world, the Cup was intended to be to rowing what the Davis Cup is to tennis. 18" high and of solid gold, it was awarded to the winner of the Olympic single scull race. Between Olympiads, a suitable challenger, if deemed qualified by the Philadelphia Challenge Cup Committee, could challenge the champion to a special match race.
On June 6, 1922, Walter M. Hoover, of the Undine Barge Club, won the first race for the Cup in Philadelphia, defeating Paul V. Costello of Vesper Boat Club.
In 1923, W. E. Garrett Gilmore, of the Bachelors Barge Club, defeated Mr. Hoover at Duluth, Michigan. Hoover had left Bachelors for Duluth Boat Club under the influence of its benefactor, Julius H. Barnes, donor of the Barnes Trophy which is awarded each year, to this day, to the club amassing the most points in men's events at the national championship regatta.
On May 26, 1924, in Philadelphia, Paul V. Costello of Vesper B.C. defeated Mr. Gilmore in a challenge race on the Schuylkill.
Later in 1924, Jack Beresford, Jr. of England acquired the Cup by beating Gilmore at the Olympics in Paris, France.
On July 13, 1925, Beresford beat Hoover, challenger for the Cup, at Putney, England. Beresford finally returned the Cup to the Stewards as he no longer wished to defend it.
In 1928, H. R. Pearce of Australia became the holder of the Cup by defeating Kenneth Myers of the Bachelors Barge Club at the Amsterdam Olympics.
In 1932, Pearce again won the Cup at the Olympics at Los Angeles, California, defeating William G. Miller of Penn A.C.
In 1933 Pearce turned professional and returned the Cup to the Stewards. He was never beaten for it.
The Stewards held the Cup until 1935 when it was won by Charles A. Campbell of the Argonaut Rowing Club, Toronto, Canada, in the combined Olympic try-outs and National Regatta on Lake Carnegie, Princeton, New Jersey. Campbell beat Winthrop Rutherford, Jr. of the Princeton University Rowing Association.
In 1936, Gustav Schafer, Germany, became the holder of the Cup by virtue of his victory at the Olympics in Germany over Hans Hasenohrl of Austria.
Joseph W. Burk, Penn A.C.R.A., was awarded the Gold Cup in 1940 when he beat Theo. A. DuBois of the Winnipeg Rowing Club, Winnipeg, Canada at the Olympic try-outs and National Regatta at Red Bank, N.J. prior to the already canceled Olympics. Burk won 46 consecutive races in the single scull from 1937 to 1940, inclusive. He was the U.S. and Canadian champion for those four years and won the Diamond Sculls in 1938 and 1939. In his 1938 Diamond Sculls victory, Burk set a new Henley course record of 8:02, breaking the previous mark of 8:10 set by F. S. Kelly of Tasmania in 1905. Joe Burk's Henley record was to stand for 27 years. At the end of the 1939 season, Burk was voted the James E. Sullivan Award as the country's outstanding amateur athlete.
In 1948, Mervyn T. Wood, Sydney, Australia, won the Olympics at London, England, defeating Edward Risso, Uruguay. John B. Kelly, Jr. was second to Tony Rowe in the semi-final; Rowe lost to Wood in the final.
On September 23, 1950, Mervyn T. Wood defeated John B. (Jack) Kelly, Jr. and Anthony (Tony) Rowe in a challenge race for the Cup on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa. Wood, of the New South Wales Police Rowing Club, Sydney, Australia, was the 1948 winner of the Diamond Sculls and the reigning Olympic champion. Kelly, Vesper Boat Club, Philadelphia, was the U.S. and Canadian champion, 1949 European champion and winner of the Diamond Sculls in 1947 and 1949. Rowe, Leander Club, Henley-on-Thames, England, was the 1950 Diamond Sculls winner and had represented England in the 1948 Olympics.
The 1952 Olympics were held in Helsinki, Finland and the single scull race and title to the Philadelphia Challenge Cup were won by Jurij Tjukalov of the U.S.S.R. Jack Kelly was second to Tjukalov in the heat and was beaten in the repechage by Kocerka of Poland. Wood was second to Tjukalov in the final, Kocerka third.
Vyacheslav Ivanov of the U.S.S.R. won the first of his three Olympic single scull gold medals in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia; Stuart MacKenzie of Australia was second and Kelly third.
The February, 1958 issue of "Rowing News", an NAAO newsletter published by C. Leverich Brett, former NAAO President, reported:
"A challenge for the Philadelphia Challenge Cup has been received by the Committee from our present National and Canadian champion, Thomas McDonough of the Fairmount Rowing Association.
The cup committee ... has received this challenge and are communicating with the holder, V. Ivanov of the U.S.S.R. who gained title to this cup by having won the Singles Event in the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia in 1956."
Two issues later, the August, 1958 issue of "Rowing News" in an article entitled "American Crews in Moscow", reported:
"In the singles match Vladimir Ivanov, Russian 1956 Olympic champion, defeated his teammates, Tukulov and Berkotov, Olympic Gold Medal winners, while our Tom McDonough of the Fairmounts of Philadelphia was fourth with a time of 7:57."
Ivanov won his second Olympic gold in the 1960 Games in Rome; the U.S. single sculler was Harry Parker of Vesper B.C. who finished 5th.
On July 4, 1962, Ivanov successfully defended his title to the Philadelphia Challenge Cup in a challenge race on the Schuylkill by defeating Seymour Cromwell of Riverside Boat Club and Robert Lea of Vesper B.C.
Ivanov won his third Olympic gold in the 1964 Games in Tokyo. Hill of West Germany took the silver medal and Kottman, Switzerland, the bronze. Don Spero of New York Athletic Club was 6th.
The holders of the Cup have been:
1920 John B. Kelly Vesper Boat Club
1922 Walter M. Hoover Undine Barge Club
1923 W. E. Garrett Gilmore Bachelors Barge Club
1924 Paul V. Costello Vesper Boat Club
1924 Jack Beresford England
1928 H. R. Pearce Australia
1932 Charles Campbell Winnipeg R. C., Canada
1935 Gustav Schafer Germany
1940 Joseph W. Burk Penn A.C.
1948 Mervyn T. Wood New South Wales Police Rowing
Club, Sydney, Australia
1952 Jurij Tjukalov U.S.S.R.
1956 Vladimir Ivanov U.S.S.R
The above is a compilation of the documented history of the Philadelphia Challenge Cup found to date.
There are several versions of when and how the Philadelphia Challenge Cup disappeared:
1. The original story I was told by Peggy O'Neal, who had researched the Cup during her tenure at USRA, had the Cup disappearing in 1962 after a race in Philadelphia including Ivanov.
2. Others believe the Cup disappeared around 1951 and that the subsequent races were for a handsomely framed picture of the Cup.
(The 1950 revision to the rules governing the Cup stipulated that the "Cup shall at all times be in custody of the Philadelphia Challenge Cup Committee" and that "the winner of the Cup shall be given an appropriate memento of the occasion, and he shall be provided with a copy of these Rules and Regulations".)
3. The Cup was stored in the vaults of Bailey, Banks & Biddle and another theory has the Cup languishing, unidentified, in those vaults. Ownership of Bailey, Banks & Biddle has changed hands several times over the years and I've been told that recent efforts by others to track the Cup at Bailey, Banks & Biddle met with less than enthusiastic cooperation by the new proprietors.
4. Finally, it is speculated that some local rowing official may have made off with the solid gold Cup.
The latest evidence of the Cup's presence found to date is a photograph in the Philadelphia Bulletin, Sunday, September 24, 1950, showing the victorious Mervyn Wood holding the Cup. The latest mention in print of the Cup is in the 1963 NAAO Rowing Guide in the report of the challenge race held in conjunction with the Independence Day Regatta. The 1965 NAAO Rowing Guide makes no mention of the Cup in describing Ivanov's victory in the 1964 Olympics.
Philadelphia Challenge Cup Committee
As described in the 1950 revision to the "Regulations for the "Philadelphia Challenge Cup" for the Amateur Single Sculling Championship of the World" the Philadelphia Challenge Cup Committee was comprised of the Commodore of the Schuylkill Navy, Secretary of the Schuylkill Navy, President of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen and two other members elected annually by the unanimous choice of the other three members.
The original committee was:
J. Elliot Newlin, Chairman
Henry Penn Burke, member, 1920 - 1945
Arthur H. Clevenger
George G. Melloy
Samuel Truitt
Russell H. Johnson. Jr., Secretary
The 1950 committee was:
J. Elliot Newlin, Chairman
Francis H. Ludwig, Secretary
John C. Bratten
John J. Carlin, Treasurer
W. E. Garrett Gilmore
In 1958 the committee was:
J. Elliot Newlin, Honorary Chairman
John J. Carlin, Chairman
Al Fitzpatrick
Fred Weiss
Franz Ludwig
Jack Kelly, Jr.
Garrett Gilmore
Ernest Bayer
Who was on the Cup Committee in 1962 (assuming it disappeared then)? Was a police investigation ever done? Who were the officers of the Schuylkill Navy at that time? Are any of the 1958 or 1962 Committee members or Schuylkill Navy officers still alive?
For Thomas McDonough: Was the Cup still present circa 1958? If so, did the Cup travel to Moscow for the 1958 race? What were the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the Cup? Did Ivanov ever physically possess the Cup?
For Harry Parker, American Olympic single sculler in 1960: Was the Cup in contention in 1960, i.e., had it been lost yet? Was the Cup presented at the Olympics?
For Joe Burk: Was he given the actual Cup (or, instead, a "appropriate memento") in 1940? If so, how long did he hold it? (The Cup was next raced for in 1948.) Did he attend the 1962 race? Was the Cup there?
For Merv Wood: When was the last time he saw the Cup? Was a police investigation ever contemplated or discussed?
For Bailey, Banks & Biddle: When was the Cup last in their possession? Who signed it out last? What was it's value? How much did they charge for storing and handling the Cup? What other cups or trophies do they still hold?
For Charlie Kain: Was the Cup still around when he wrote his book (1958)?
Who was involved in handling the Cup?