1 March 2025

By Tim Koch

Recently, there was a welcome return to YouTube of a 2013 profile of the great Harvard coach, Harry Parker. Unlike many things on the controversial video sharing platform, the 18-minute programme is worth watching as it was made by the highly respected and long running CBS television news magazine, 60 Minutes.

Harry Parker (1935 – 2013) learned his rowing at the University of Pennsylvania under the great Joe Burke and rowed on the 1955 Penn Varsity crew that won Henley’s Grand Challenge Cup.

In 1959, Harry won the single sculls at the Pan American Games and came second in Henley’s Diamond Sculls to the eventual six-time champion Stuart Mackenzie. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, he finished fifth in the single sculls.

Harry was appointed Harvard freshman coach in 1961 and varsity coach in 1963, holding the latter position for 51 seasons and coaching 44 winning varsity crews in the Harvard-Yale Race. Further, there were 11 Henley wins, 22 undefeated seasons and 24 EARC Sprints varsity titles.

Internationally, Harry coached US crews for the Olympic Games from 1964 to 1984. A total of 52 of his Harvard students went on to become Olympians.