22 August 2023

By Bill Miller

Little is known about the Silver Lake Regattas of 1877, 1878, and 1879. It was the site of some great professional races, but it was also the site of some major incidents.

Silver Lake is located about 25 miles south of Boston in Southeastern Massachusetts. I happen to take a special interest in these regattas because I live about six miles from the lake.

The map above shows the 1879 Silver Lake Regatta Plan. The Old Colony Railroad Station, the Grove for spectators, and the Start are on the left, and then the ½-mile, 1-mile, 1½-mile and 2-mile are marked.

1877

In 1877, the Old Colony Railroad decided to sponsor a rowing regatta but not the usual one on the Charles River in Boston. Instead, the railroad chose Silver Lake in Plympton where the company had a line servicing the area. A few thousand spectators would book fares to travel to see the races. We see how business decisions influenced professional racing.

Two regattas were scheduled. The first regatta was promoted for June 13, 1877. Spectators arrived from New York and Toronto. Edward Hanlan drew the Toronto supporters, and the John Biglin/William Maxwell pair attracted the New York enthusiasts.

June 13
The first train left Boston at 8:30 AM with “18 crowded cars”. Another train left at 12:00 PM with “23 cars packed full”.

There were three events, all professional: the Single-Sculls, Pair-Oars, and Four-Oared Working Boats. Entered in the single was Edward Hanlan (Toronto), Fred Plaisted (New York), Frenchy A. Johnson (Boston), George Hosmer (Boston), M. Mahoney (Boston), and John Landers (Salem, Massachusetts). In the pairs was the favored Biglin/Maxwell from New York. In the four-oar working boat, seven boats entered.

All Silver Lake races were going out 1½ miles, turn, and return 1½ miles to the finish line.

Results:
Single-Sculls (prize money 1st $150, 2nd $75):
1st Fred Plaisted 21:49¾, 2nd Frenchy Johnson 22:08, 3rd John Landers 22:22, 4th George Hosmer, 5th Edward Hanlan, 6th M. Mahoney

Pair-Oars (prize money 1st $150, 2nd $75):
1st Biglin/Maxwell (New York) 21:49¼, 2nd Gookin brothers (Boston) 21:54½, 3rd Connelly brothers (Boston) 21:59.

Four-Oared Working Boats (prize money 1st $125, 2nd $75):
1st Lakeman crew (Boston), 2nd Riverside (Cambridge), 3rd Portland crew (Boston), 4th St James crew (Boston), 5th Lynn Rowing Association (Lynn, Massachusetts).

So, the Silver Lake Regatta established a high bar for professional racing.

August 29
Another regatta was scheduled for August 29. Three events were scheduled, again, all for professionals: Single-Sculls, Working Single-Sculls, and Four-Oared Working Boats. Good quality scullers entered the single-sculls race but three of the top professionals, Courtney, Riley, and Plaisted, were absent and expected to race at Saratoga. The contestants were all from the Boston region. The Old Colony Railroad transferred 1,600 enthusiastic spectators to Silver Lake.

1878

The next year bigger plans were made for the Silver Lake regattas and the managing association was the Eastern Rowing Association.

May 30

The weather didn’t cooperate. There was a “smart rain, still 3,000-4,000 spectators arrived”. […] “James Riley was favored. The favorites got beaten.”

The events were: Amateur Single-Sculls (Meeker Cup), Professional Single-Sculls (prize money 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $50), Professional Pair-Oar (prize money 1st $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25), Four-Oared Working Boats (prize money 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $50). All prizes payable in gold.

Amateur Scullers’ Race – seven starters and the race was won by Frank E. Holmes of Pawtucket (Rhode Island).

Professional Scullers’ Race – eight starters, result:
1st Frenchy Johnson 21:36½, 2nd James Riley 21:44, 3rd Daniel Sullivan 22:02½, 4th James Ten Eyck 22:20½, 5th M. Mahoney 22:21

Pair-Oar Race – four starters, result:
1st Portland Crew 21:14, 2nd Gookin brothers 21:23¼, 3rd Connolly brothers 22:56, 4th Casey brothers 23:22½

Four-Oared Working Boats – eight starters, result:
1st Chelsea Crew 19:55½, 2nd West End Club 20:11, 3rd Riverside BC 20:19, 4th Lakeman #1 20:19½, 5th Lakeman #2 20:30

June 17
Regatta day was again rainy, so instead of the expected 10,000 spectators, 3,000 arrived. The Dauntless Crew drew special attention when they arrived with a six-oared paper shell.

The events were: Amateur Single-Sculls, Amateur Six-Oar, Professional Four-Oar, Four-Oared Working Boats, and Professional Single-Sculls.

The Amateur Single-Sculls drew seven starters. The race was for a “magnificent silver cup… will be on exhibition, today, in the window of Bigelow, Kennard & Co. Washington Street.” (Boston Globe June 13, 1878). Frank E Holmes (Pawtucket, Rhode Island) won the cup.

The Amateur Six-Oar was won by the Dauntless Crew followed by City Point, Shawmut Club, Narragansett BC, and the Lakemans in that order.

The Professional Four-Oared race was for 1st $200 and 2nd $100. 1st was the George Faulkner/Patrick Reagan Crew followed by the Mahoney Four, The Lowells, and the Union Crew from Portland.

The Four-Oared Working Boats was won by the Lakeman #1 followed by Chelsea BC and House Crew.

The Professional Single-Sculls for 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $50 was won by Fred Plaisted (New York), followed by David Kennedy (Lowell), Michael Lynch (Salem), Lawrence Rourke (Lowell), Frenchy Johnson (Boston) while George Hosmer (Boston) was well back.

August 15
The entries drew much excitement:

Charles Courtney, James Riley, Elis Ward, Fred Plaisted, Frenchy Johnson, George Hosmer, Evan Morris, Wallace Ross, and others were expected. Courtney was heavily favored and drew odds of 2:1.

This time the weather was clear and many spectators attended.

The main interest was the Professional Scullers’ Race. Five started: Courtney, Riley, Johnson, Ward, and Sullivan. Frenchy Johnson took the lead from the start and never relinquished it. From the start Courtney seemed to be ill and finally waved to the referee’s boat that he had had it, but he still finished.

Result: 1st Johnson ($250) 21:29, 2nd Riley 21:36, 3rd Ward 22:44 ½, 4th Courtney 24:49, 5th Sullivan.

A fourth Silver Lake Regatta was scheduled for the season.

October 9
The Professional Single-Sculls race – the New England Championship – would be, by far, the main event.

The build up to the race was immense. It was between Michael Davis (Portland, Maine) and Patrick “Patsy” Reagan (Boston), a factory worker at the American Can Company. The race was for $2,000. Portland supporters flooded the “Boston sporting venues” and they bet $100 to $80 on their man. Everywhere in Boston, the talk was about the showdown between Boston and Portland.

The Old Colony Railroad ran a twenty-car train to Silver Lake. A less desirable group of people accompanied the enthusiastic supporters as they looked to take advantage of the crowd by picking pockets for cash and gold watches. The bookies were in full force ready to take bets on the spot.

The start was fair between the two scullers, but it didn’t go well for Patsy Reagan, who bet all his savings on himself. Michael Davis pulled away, turned the stake well in front and crossed the finish line lengths ahead.

The Boston supporters were shocked and then turned to anger. Patsy’s boat must have been tampered with. The crowd then rushed the betting booths where the bookies pulled out their derringers, waived them in the air and fired shots to ward off the mob. Finally, the commotion settled down and everyone moved toward the Old Colony train station. After everyone boarded, the train departed about an hour late.

Then “Disaster.”

The train was passing through Wollaston, Massachusetts, about ten miles from Boston at full steam. A freight train was inadvertently switched to the travel tracks. The engineer tried to apply brakes, but it was too late.

Boston hospitals were put on emergency status. Trains from Boston were dispatched with doctors to aid and collect the wounded and dead. Nineteen people lost their lives and over one hundred were injured. Among the dead was poor Patsy Reagan. He lost his race, lost his money, and lost his life. The calamity shocked Boston and the rowing community.

So ended the 1878 Silver Lake season. Would there be an 1879 season?

1879

After the October disaster, the public had little interest in revisiting Silver Lake. The Old Colony Railroad decided to drop sponsoring the events there. There was only a match race scheduled in July.

July 1
Evan Morris (Pittsburgh) was matched with Warren Smith (Halifax, Nova Scotia). The race was for $1,000. Morris arrived with a new paper shell.

The water was rough and the race was delayed. Finally, the race started a few hours late. Morris took the lead and held it right up to the finish when he was leading by one length. Suddenly, he stopped just a length before the line and Smith rowed in ahead of him.

Claims that the race was “Sold” and “The finest swindle in the world” were heard from all those on shore. It was another blow to the integrity of professional rowing.

So ended the races at Silver Lake, Massachusetts.

The 1879 race at Silver Lake, Massachusetts, should not be confused with Silver Lake races Southeast of Buffalo in Western New York.