24 January 2025

By Göran R Buckhorn

U.S. sculler William “Bill” Thomas Belden, Jr., has passed away at age 76.

Bill Belden, who was born in 1949 and grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, was the oldest of eight siblings.

Belden had a somewhat different way to get into rowing. In an obituary, it reads:

A less than stellar student, Bill attended Bishop Kendrick [sic] High School, where on a spring day in 1965, he was given the option to sit in detention or attend a meeting of the newly formed crew team. He chose the latter, setting off an improbable rowing career that enabled him to compete around the world.

He attended La Salle University and rowed at the Upper Merion Boat Club. He would later coach the rowing programme at Upper Merion High School.

A natural lightweight, Belden, at 5’9’’ and 155 lbs., was a two-time World Champion in the lightweight single sculls, winning gold in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1974 and Bled, Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), in 1979. He competed in 10 World Championships. He never had a problem winning races in the heavyweight classes in regattas on the Schuylkill River. Belden won several national championships racing for the Undine Barge Club, the Fairmount Rowing Association and the New York Athletic Club.

During the years 1973 and 1984, Belden was on 13 U.S. national teams winning two gold, three silver and two bronze medals for the United States in the lightweight boats, including a gold medal in the lightweight single sculls at the 1979 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where he also took a bronze in the lightweight quadruple sculls. He competed, together with Lawrence Klecatsky, in the heavyweight doubles, placing 8th at the 1976 Olympic Games. Belden was also selected to row in the single sculls at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, but as we know these Games were boycotted by the USA.

Bill Belden was inducted twice in the National Rowing Hall of Fame, in 1974 and 1979 when he became world champion in the lightweight single sculls. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

William “Bill” Thomas Belden, Jr., born 5 January 1949 passed away on 18 January 2025.