23 March 2024

By William O’Chee

It is almost time for the Boat Race, and that means online marketplaces are witnessing a new influx of fake Oxford rowing memorabilia. We have reported on this in the past, but the inventiveness of fraudsters and con artists is always amusing. It also serves as a warning to the gullible as to how easily they can be parted from their money.

This year’s prize for sheer audacity must go to a seller on eBay who is offering not one but four different items, all purporting to be trophy oars from Oxford colleges. Two of these are supposedly St Antony’s College trophy oars, the one above, which is claimed to be a 1971 trophy oar, and this one below, ostensibly from 1987. I like the thoughtful touch in the second, where the cox is shown as being from Boston, Massachusetts.

Each item is described in its listings as a “vintage rowing blade”, with the first described as “Trophy OXFORD 1963 ST ANTONY’s” and the second as “Trophy OXFORD 1987 ST. ANTONY’s”.

Never let it be said that we are unfair at Hear The Boat Sing, so the seller was contacted with a message pointing out that the items were fake, and politely suggesting that they be withdrawn from sale. A reply was received saying “Hello they are a reproduction from the 1980s”, implying they are a reproduction of a genuine item.

This just isn’t true.

Firstly, Oxford college trophy oars are painted in their college colours and adorned with the college coat of arms in the middle. Shown below is a real Oxford trophy oar, this one for the 2013 Brasenose College Women’s 1st Torpid. It was painted by Jonny Cantrell, whose majestic work can be seen on his website. It is worth a look.

A real St Antony’s oar is painted red and yellow, with a thin black vertical stripe dividing the two main colours. And lest there be any mistake, Oxford college trophy oars aren’t painted a generic blue. Even if they were, the colour of these oars is not Oxford blue, which is much darker.

Secondly, the races mentioned on these oars are also fake. There has never been a “May Day Visitors” race at Oxford, and certainly not in 1987. The author should know, as he was there at the time. Similarly, there was never a Freshers Autumn Sprint race in 1971. Furthermore, a check of the names shows that these people did not exist – at least not as students at Oxford.

If neither of these fakes takes your fancy, the seller has other offerings. Try this supposedly 1934 Somerville College trophy oar, or its “reproduction”.

This is even more humorous than the ones before, because there were no races for women at Oxford until 1976, and Somerville was, until 1992, an all women’s college. Moreover, the author has access to the OUBC Presidents’ Reports for this period, and there was no Autumn Sprint race in 1934. In short, it is another total fake. Who the fictional people are who appear on the oar is anybody’s guess, but we are sure that some suitable anagrams might be made of the names.

Finally, the seller must have run out of blue paint, for they are offering a fourth trophy oar, this time painted white.

Once again, it is fake. There has never been a Cherwell Chalice race at Oxford, the colours are wrong, and it is a fair bet that the names on the oar are as fictitious as the race.

eBay also has some culpability here. Not long after spotting these fakes, an advertisement appeared on the author’s eBay feed claiming that the seller was a “Top trusted seller”. This is disturbing, not just because they are involved in fraudulent listings, but because they have 0% positive feedback, and have never sold any items through this account before.

Clearly eBay has little regard for its customers.

None of this is meant to deter our loyal readers from collecting and preserving rowing memorabilia. There are some lovely pieces available for sale, including this trophy rudder on eBay relating to the 1935 Clare College Boat Club Lent Eight, which is offered for sale at £450. The listing is here:

Rowing is a fabulous sport, and having a passion for its history is immensely rewarding. Just watch out for trophy oars that come with their own catch.