Jim McMillin, 91, Legendary 1936 Olympic gold medal crew [rower]
Hoodoo
He rowed on the 1936 gold medal U.S. crew
Aug. 31, 2005
http://gohuskies.collegesports.com/sports/c-crew/spec-rel/083105aab.html
SEATTLE - Legendary Washington rower Jim McMillin, a member of
the Huskies' 1936 Olympic gold medal crew, died Aug. 22 in Kitsap
County, Wash.
He is the second member of the famed UW 1936 crew to pass away
this year. Coxswain Bob Moch died on Jan. 7. There are two
surviving members of that crew - Roger Morris and Joe Rantz.
The tallest member of the 1936 crew, the 6-foot-7 McMillan was
the captain and rowed in the No. 5 seat. The entire Washington
varsity eight represented the United States at the Summer Olympic
Games in Berlin, Germany.
The Olympic final was witnessed by 70,000 vocal spectators on
Lake Grunau, including Adolf Hitler who presented gold medals and
olive wreaths to the victorious Huskies. Entering the race, the
crews from Germany and Italy were the heavy favorites.
The Husky-powered U.S. shell got off to a slow start, but
steadily caught up with the field throughout the race. The U.S.
boat took the lead in the final 50 meters, winning by a few feet.
That triumph has been heralded as one of the greatest moments in
Seattle sports history. It was named the "Sports Event of the
Century" by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.
"That group was a big part of the fabric of sports here in the
Northwest. Winning that race was one of the first things in sport
that gave the community a personal identity," current UW rowing
coach Bob Ernst has said. "There were no major league teams or
professional sports at that time. The Huskies of course were
great in football and basketball, but this was an international
splash and the community was behind them. What they accomplished
in Berlin was huge to Seattle and the Northwest."
The Americans had set the world and Olympic records with a time
of 6:00.86 over the 2,000-meter course in their qualifying race.
The Husky boat faced many obstacles in the finals, however. The
Americans were assigned lane six, which was the lane furthest
from the Belgian starter that provided the opening commands in
French. Lane six also had the choppiest water and strongest head
wind. Even worse, Don Hume, the Huskies' strongest rower, fell
ill before the race with walking pneumonia.
When the race was signaled to start, the Husky boat did not hear
the command and found itself in last place. The Americans
continued to struggle, still in last after 1,100 meters, and the
Huskies were rowing without Hume who appeared to be unconsciousness.
At 1,200 meters, Hume became alert and Moch quickened the boat's
pace. The Americans pushed to third place at 1,500, trailing the
Italians by half a boat length and the Germans by a few feet.
Moch continued to speed the pace, pushing their typical racing
rate from 35 strokes per minute to 44.
The Huskies passed Germany and then Italy in the final 10 strokes
to win the gold.
A graduate of Seattle's Queen Anne High School, McMillan was one
of over 200 freshmen who tried out for the rowing team upon his
arrival at UW. He rowed with the freshman and junior varsity
boats his first two years before joining the varsity eight his
final two seasons. The UW varsity eight never lost a race during
his two-year tenure.
McMillan coached at the Massachusetts Institute of Technolgy
after graduating from UW. He later worked as an engineer at
Boeing and lived on Bainbridge Island for over 45 years.
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