Club History
Our Hanlan Boat Club has a rich and colourful history on Lake Ontario. The club was named after the world famous sculler, Edward “Ned” Hanlan, born on July 12, 1855.
Hanlan began his rowing career when he was a boy growing up on Toronto Island. He was the second son of fisherman, hotelier, and constable John Hanlan and Mary Gibbs. At first, the family lived on the eastern part of the Islands. The family moved to Hanlan's Point, landing there by chance from Mugg's Landing. Hanlan's Point is named after the parents, not Hanlan, the sculler.
Some have said that a boat was Hanlan's baby carriage. While youngsters handled toys, Hanlan grasped oars. Hanlan became fascinated with rowing, as he observed the single oarsmen rowing along Toronto Bay. Rowing became as natural as walking. In a scooped out wooden plank, Hanlan used to cross Lake Ontario in all kinds of weather to attend George Street Public School on the mainland.
At 18 years old, in 1873, Hanlan won the amateur sculling championship on Toronto Bay, defeating prominent scullers, Sam Williams and William McKen. Hanlan went on to win competitions at the local, provincial, and national levels.
By 1876, Hanlan's early success persuaded local businessmen to form “The Hanlan Club”. Among the group was David Ward, a pawnbroker, Col. Albert D. Shaw, American consul, John Davis, a government inspector, and James Douglas, a hotel keeper. They arranged matches, drew up contracts, and negotiated prize money. Matched single competitions would have up to 100,000 spectators and the equivalent of up to $20 million in bets wagered on the outcome. Prize money was from $1,000 to $5,000, a substantial sum, upwards of $100,000, today. Race lengths varied, usually from 1 to 1.5 miles, or from 2 to 6 miles, with a turn, so spectators could watch most of the rowing, and place bets at the half-way mark.
Hanlan's rise to prominence was secured when he defeated elite scullers from Canada and the United States at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Regatta on the Schuylkill River. Over the five kilometre course, Hanlan won the final race against Alex Brayley of St. John, New Brunswick, in a record time of 21 minutes, 9.5 seconds. His arrival home, aboard the S.S. City of Toronto, was welcomed by thousands of delirious celebrants. Martial bands played “See the Conquering Hero Comes”. Great blasts issued from tug boats. Hundreds of boats, all sizes, formed a half mile procession along the waterfront, and it was said that you could step from one boat to another and never get your feet wet. A torchlight procession marched down Yonge Street and Hanlan received a watch and silver medal from His Worship Angus Morrison, Mayor of Toronto. “Had Hanlan been a victorious general returning with a brilliant military record, 'the hero of a hundred fights', he could not have received a greater or more hearty reception,” proclaimed the Toronto Globe newspaper editorial.
In 1877, Hanlan married Margaret Gordon Sutherland of Pictou, Nova Scotia, a loyal wife and enthusiastic supporter who travelled to many of his regattas. The family had six girls (Edith, Audrey, Mae Gladys, Grace, Margaret, and Eileen) and two boys (Edward Gordon and Douglas), born between 1879 and 1899.
In 1878, Hanlan became United States Champion, victorious against Evan Morris, on the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh. From Toronto, a chartered railway car, transporting 54 wealthy citizens to see the event raised, initially, $60,000 to bet on Ned. By the time they reached Pittsburgh, the total was $300,000, millions of dollars today.
In 1879, Hanlan was the Champion of England, defeating William Elliott by 11 lengths on the Tyne River. In England, he was described as a young colonial boy with the “knees to nose” style of rowing. The Buffalo Courier proclaimed, “Hanlan has been worth more to Canada than their new railroad.”
Also in 1879, W.H.C. Kerr wrote a poem about Hanlan and published it to raise funds to build a large stone house for the Hanlan family at 189 Beverley Street, coincidently opposite that of George Brown, one of the fathers of Confederation.
On November 15, 1880, Hanlan became the World Champion sculler by winning, on the Thames River in England, against E.A. Trickett, 6' 5'' known as “a giant at the oar”, from Australia. The Marquis of Lorne, son-in-law of Queen Victoria and Governor General of Canada, requested that news of the race be telegraphed to him immediately. Hanlan would go on to win 300 matched competitions, only losing about 6, a remarkable achievement.
Hanlan, known as “The Boy In Blue”, was only 5' 8'', never more than 155 pounds. He is considered as the oarsman who mastered the sliding seat which was an innovation in rowing during the 1800s. He developed a long, powerful stroke, trained up to 13 kilometres a day, and seldom raced at more than 32 strokes per minute. Local newspapers described Hanlan as “unreserved, gracious, kindly, clean, humorous, honest and sporting, with those two sterling qualities: friendliness and cleanliness of mind.”
As an example of sportsmanship, when Hanlan won the United States championship race in 1878, he presented Evan Morris with a new pair of sculling oars, made by Toronto manufacturer, George Warin.
John Joseph (J.J.) Ryan, who was an exemplary sculler during the 1880s with Bayside Rowing Club and Toronto Rowing Club, rowed a double with Hanlan. In a tribute to the great oarsman in Outdoor Canada journal, 1908, Ryan argued that the foundation of the Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen was due to the vast interest Hanlan created in rowing. Ryan wrote, “Hanlan was not only the best oarsman of his time – most men would say of all time – but he put rowing on an entirely different basis from that which it occupied, both in fact and in public appreciation.”
The CAAO, now known as Rowing Canada, held its first regatta on Toronto Bay in 1880, in large measure due to Hanlan's influence in the sport. After this annual regatta toured different cities in Ontario (Barrie, Brockville, Hamilton) and Lachine, Quebec, Hanlan was on the selection committee to choose a permanent home. In 1903, this became the Royal Canadian Henley in St. Catharines.
Hanlan won the World Championship six times between 1880 and 1884. In 1884, he lost his world title in a matched race on the Paramatta River in Sydney against William Beach, a 200 pound, steel-nerved blacksmith from Australia. At the conclusion of the historic race, Beach said, “I have beaten you, Ned, but you are still the best oarsman in the world.” To honor Hanlan, Australians renamed a city and called it Toronto, New South Wales, Australia.
Hanlan was hailed as a “prince of scullers”, “the sculling phenomenon”, “the Champion of Worth”, “the little Canuck”, “A Canadian David”, “The Aquatic King”, and “The Conquering Hero”. Only a dozen years after Confederation, Ned Hanlan was the very first native-born Canadian to achieve international recognition in any discipline, long before Canadian politicians, adventurers, doctors, scientists, or academics received adulation for their accomplishments. The success of Hanlan drew suggestions by editorial writers that he achieve knighthood.
The rivalry between Canada and the United States in rowing was best illustrated from 1878 to 1880, when Hanlan competed in three races against Charles Courtney, from Union Springs, New York. The press wrote headline stories, featuring the plucky Canadian, “Mighty Ned”, against the powerful American eagle. Controversy and scandal intruded into the public perception of professional rowing as a healthy and honest endeavor. This was the beginning of the end of matched single events, with betting and big money stakes.
In a New York Times feature, May 13, 1917, by James C. Rice, noted coach of Columbia University of New York, declared, “No man has yet equalled the achievements of 'Edward Hanlan of the Island' in the game of rowing. I never knew a finer oarsman, I never met a straighter man. He met his opponents without fear or favor. He rowed under all conditions and in many countries. In the days when the sport produced the greatest men in its annals he fought his way to the top and held the crown for four years. In short – he was the best ever.”
In major cities around the world, when Hanlan was competing, operas stopped, theatres stopped, people paused, debate in Parliament halted, in mid-stream, with heightened expectation, as people awaited news of the results and then cheered his victories. Hanlan represented the new Dominion of Canada, and its citizens had reason to celebrate. His name became a household word in Paris, London, Rome, Boston, New York, and particularly throughout the British Empire.
Hanlan was proud of his nationality. When an American newspaper reporter called Hanlan 'a thoroughbred American', he replied, “I was born in Canada and I am a Canadian.”
Hanlan has been honored in several ways. In Meadowvale-Mississauga, at Second Line East (Tomken Road) and Brittania Road East, the area was named “Hanlan's Corners” in the late 1800s, at the height of his fame. In this district, there was also a “Hanlan's School”.
In July 1884, a Toronto tradition began. The annual Dominion Day Regatta hosted crews from Canada and the United States, most likely at the foot of York Street. The event was also held in Humber Bay, near the CNE grounds. During the 1930s, the Dominion Day Regatta Association held races at the old Hanlan's Point Lagoon, and the regatta course was named “Hanlan Memorial Course”. When the Island Airport was born, the site moved to Long Pond on Centre Island. The Year 2009 is the 125th anniversary of the oldest and largest combined canoeing and rowing regatta in North America.
In 1897, Hanlan retired from competitive rowing but he became dedicated to coaching. At different times, he was coach of both single scullers and sweep oar crews from Columbia University Rowing Club in New York, Ottawa Rowing Club, Toronto Rowing Club, Argonaut Rowing Club, and the University of Toronto. Hanlan also coached Jacob Gill Gaudaur, World Champion sculler in 1896, who had defeated Hanlan for the American Championship, in Austin, Texas, 1894, with a world record time of 19 minutes, 1.5 seconds, for 3 miles with a turn, reputedly never surpassed. Hanlan coached 1904 Henley Royal Diamond Sculls Champion, Lou Scholes, who was stroke of the Toronto Rowing Club junior eight.
Also in 1897, Ten Eyck, of the Wachusett Boat Club of Worcester, Massachusetts, who won the Henley Royal Diamond Sculls in a record time of 8 minutes, 35 seconds, was christened Edward Hanlan Ten Eyck, after the Canadian sculler.
From 1898 to 1899, Hanlan served as Alderman, representing the Toronto Islands, known then as Ward 4, for the City of Toronto. He showed that he cared about the welfare of his fellow residents. He saw the need for more adequate funding of infrastructure for improvements such as electrification. He supported public recreation and he urged that a bicycle path be constructed on the Islands.
Hanlan died of pneumonia on January 4th, 1908, age 52. A civic funeral service was held at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on King Street. Over 10,000 people paid their respects, the cortege consisting of 155 carriages and the procession stretching 1.5 kilometres. Tributes came from around the world.
On September 3rd, 1926, the Ned Hanlan 20 foot monument is unveiled at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, at what was called the Manufacturers Building. Created by renowned sculptor, Emanuel Hahn, the bronze statue was a wonderful civic reminder of Hanlan's achievements.
From the 1930s, Hahn was known as the most skilled and experienced sculptor in Canada for public monuments, medals, postage stamps, and portraits. In 1937, for example, he designed the “Caribou” on our 25 cent coin and the “Bluenose” on our 10 cent coin. The great Argonaut Rowing Club sculler, Joe Wright Jr., posed as a model for Hahn. In 1972, the statue was moved to another site at the CNE and placed in front of the Maritime Museum, by Lakeshore Road. In 1983, a City Council motion to relocate the Hanlan monument to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame site was defeated when Mayor Art Eggleton broke a 11-11 tie vote.
In 1910, the Hanlan family donated the Hanlan Memorial Challenge Trophy, a large and beautiful silver award, to the Henley regatta. As part of the engraving, there is a scene of the Toronto Islands, and an inscription which reads, “Hanlan's childhood home Toronto Island”. Every August, it has been the Royal Canadian Henley tradition to award this trophy to the winner of the men's senior eight race, the final highlight event of a week long regatta schedule. In 1982, at the 100th anniversary of the Henley, the Hanlan Boat Club eight won this race and the elated crew was photographed with the historic trophy and the honored guest, Miss Margaret Hanlan, daughter of Ned Hanlan.
In 1955, Hanlan was inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame. On October 3rd, 1971, the Toronto Historical Board unveiled a plaque erected by the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board to commemorate Edward Hanlan at Hanlan's Point. In 1980, Canada Post paid tribute to Hanlan and issued a special stamp. Three years later, on August 27th, 1983, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board situated a plaque honoring Hanlan, in front of the Canada Sports Hall of Fame building on the CNE grounds. In 1986, Nicolas Cage starred as Hanlan in the award-winning movie, “The Boy In Blue”.
In 2003, the City of Toronto's Economic Development, Culture and Tourism staff recommended, with subsequent Council approval, that the Hanlan monument be moved from the CNE grounds to Hanlan's Point. During the summer, the statue was taken, in three pieces, by barge across Lake Ontario and reassembled. The following year, on June 12th, 2004, the City of Toronto re-dedicated the Hanlan statue at Hanlan's Point. Honored guests were Qennefer Browne, daughter of Emanuel Hahn, the renowned Canadian sculptor, Edward Hanlan, grandson of Ned Hanlan, and Marnie McBean and Emma Robinson, World and Olympic rowing champions. McBean told the audience that Ned Pratt, 1930s champion from the Vancouver Rowing Club, had presented the coveted Hanlan gold cane to Derek Porter, 1993 World Champion sculler from Canada. On June 14th, 2004, Hanlan was inducted into the Ontario Sport Legends Hall of Fame.
Hanlan's legacy was expressed by J.P. Fitzgerald of the Toronto Evening Telegram, who wrote on the day of the statue unveiling, in 1926, that Hanlan “dazzled the world as has never been done before, or since, and never will be again by any single figure.”
Hanlan Boat Club - Modern Day History
The origins of Hanlan Boat Club began in 1972 when a group of Upper Canada College (UCC) parents, led by Sam Craig, formerly of Cadillac Fairview Corporation, and Doug Clark, who wanted to revive rowing at the school. In 1974, the first Quonset hut was built on the property, at the foot of Cherry Street, near Unwin Avenue in the Toronto Harbour. Our property is on Regatta Road, current site of the Hanlan Boat Club.
Our first club captain was Bob (Henry Robert) Pearce, world renowned sculler, who was born in Australia but moved to Canada and represented Leander Boat Club in Hamilton. Pearce was the Olympic single gold medallist in Amsterdam, 1928. Rowing for Australia, he won his second gold medal in singles competition at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and he was Canadian Champion in 1933. He was awarded Sydney Rowing Club's first honorary life membership.
Hanlan youth men and women enjoyed victories at the Royal Canadian Henley and Canadian Championships, from 1977 to 1980, in junior and senior lightweight singles, pairs, doubles, and four-oar events. Upper Canada College sent men's eights overseas to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta in England.
Two outstanding achievements by Hanlan athletes, among others such as Pat Turner, was the gold medal row, and historic photo finish against the United States, by Mike and Mark Evans, Upper Canada College alumni, part of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games men's eight, coached by Neil Campbell, and twin boys of Dr. John R. Evans, President Emeritus, University of Toronto (1972-78), and former Chairman of Torstar (1993-2005), also an enthusiastic Master's oarsman at Hanlan during the late 1980s.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, our club began to grow with the increasing popularity of Masters rowing, for athletes over 27 years old. The prominence of Masters rowing was demonstrated by the lead role by Sam Craig, Chairman, Toronto organizing committee, and volunteers of area rowing clubs, including Hanlan Boat Club, when Toronto hosted two major international regattas, consecutively, over seven days, on Long Pond course, Centre Island. Over 800 athletes from around the world (Argentina, Mexico, Belgium, Denmark, England, Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Yugoslavia, Japan, United States) competed against Canadians during August 1985 at the 12th FISA Veterans International Regatta and the inaugural World Masters Games.
Between 1988 and 1989, Havergal College arrived at the club and a second boathouse and dock were constructed to accommodate the growth. From 1987, a formal executive committee was established and the running of Hanlan was led by Michael List and then in the early 1990s, by Debbie Beatty. Hanlan had over 200 members, including two high schools, Masters rowing enthusiasts, and a Learn-to-Row program.
Kay Worthington, also a leading University of Toronto member from 1979-82, contributed to the Hanlan Boat Club's success, winning two golds at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, both in the women's coxless four and eight. More recently Princeton University's National Rowing Association Vice-President, during the 1990s, Kay Worthington provided coaching and sage advice to Hanlan members.
In the mid-1990s, electricity was brought in, and the road leading to the club was paved. A full summer program was in place with well over 100 athletes competing in various regattas. By 1996, led by the dedicated work ethic and achievements of Masters single sculler and gold medalist, Ralph Manktelow, who represented an infusion of leadership by example and determined excellence, our members were winning in junior, open, and masters events, in provincial, national, and international competitions. More recently, the University of Toronto moved to Hanlan Boat Club, adding to our membership.
From the Year 2009, with the proposed construction of a new boathouse, and even greater participation by members representing all age levels and abilities, the future looks bright for our club.
References
Andy Anderson, “Bad Bets – The scandals, rivalries, and big-money stakes of rowing's betting heyday.” Rowing News Vol. 16 No. 2 (April 2009), pp. 48-53.
Frank Cosentino, Ned Hanlan. Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1978.
Christopher Dodd, Henley Royal Regatta. London: Stanley Paul & Co. Ltd., 1987.
City of Toronto Archives, 255 Spadina Road.
City of Toronto, Reference Library, Baldwin Room, Bloor/Yonge Street.
Byron Falk Jr. and Valerie A. Falk, New York Times Personal Name Index, 1851-1974, Roxbury Data Interface, 1978. Ned Hanlan (14 references, 1880 to 1917)
Edward Hanlan, Family Archives, Scrapbooks and Historic Research, Ottawa, Ontario. Courtesy of Edward Hanlan, grandson of Ned Hanlan.
Robert S. Hunter, Rowing in Canada Since 1848. Hamilton: Davis-Lisson Limited, 1933.
W. H. C. Kerr, Edward Hanlan – A Lay of Young Canada. Toronto: Belfords, Clarke & Co., 1879.
Peter King, Art and a Century of Canadian Rowing. Toronto: Amberley House Limited, 1980.
Richard MacFarlane, “Ned Hanlan's History and the Toronto Islands.” Canada Day Canoeing and Rowing Regatta Programme, July 1, 2008.
Richard MacFarlane, “Row for Glory: Canada's Ned Hanlan stayed one stroke ahead of controversy to become the world's fastest man on water.” The Beaver (Canada's History Magazine) Vol. 87 No. 6 (December 2007/January 2008), pp. 44-48.
Richard MacFarlane, “12th FISA Veterans Regatta/World Masters Games, Long Pond, Toronto.” Catch - Canadian Amateur Rowing Association Journal (November 1985), pp. 26-29.
Mike Murphy, “Henley Fever 1880.” Catch - Canadian Amateur Rowing Association Journal (November 1982), pp. 40, 41.
John J. Ryan, “Some Characteristics of Our Own 'Ned' Hanlan.” Outdoor Canada Vol. 4 No. 1 (February 1908), pp. 17, 31.
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