Before M's, Seahawks, there was UW rowing

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California and Washington will row Saturday morning in the Montlake Cut.

There was a time when nothing mattered more around here, when the races and the coaching proclamations leading up to them were front-page news in the Sports sections of Seattle papers.

For a while, when the races were held off Matthews Beach, spectators followed the action on a train along what is now the Burke Gilman Trail.

Dick Erickson, the former Washington coach, remembers his first race against Cal.

"I was in the freshman boat and was scared to death," he said. "We were down at Seward Park, there were boats and people everywhere.

"We were the only show in town."

Between 1928 and 1948, eight-oar crews from either Cal or Washington represented the U.S. in the Olympic Games, and won gold medals.

The result of the spring race between the two schools often suggested who would win the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national title. Between 1920 and 1950, they combined to win the IRA 15 times.

The dual races were big here, but they were also big in California. The result of the race was the top story in the Saturday afternoon Oakland Tribune where I worked in the 1960s.

Even though much has changed around them - the advent of professional baseball, football and basketball in Seattle - Cal and Washington are practically as good in rowing as they've ever been.

It is still what the Huskies do best, especially following the addition of a women's program that has won nine national titles in 21 years.

"The tradition of racing between Washington and Cal has gone on for a long time," said Bob Ernst, the UW men's coach, "and it will go on for a long time in the future."

The series began in 1903. Over the years, the Huskies have won 64 varsity races, lost 25 and rowed to an epic tie on Lake Washington in 1963.

The Huskies usually had more depth and power than Cal. They had miles of open water on which to train, a boathouse on campus, a big university stocked with tall, outdoor-oriented athletes, and a close involvement with the evolution of the sport - the rowing stroke was pioneered by Hiram Conibear and the shells built by George Pocock.

In the '60s, as the races were trimmed from four miles to three miles and finally the Olympic sprint of 2,000 meters, the training advantages provided by ice-free waters were not as important. Ivy League crews got better.

Still, in the past four years, Washington and Cal have won three of the IRA national titles. The problem for Washington is that Cal has won the past two and is favored to win again.

"We've got our hands full," Ernst said. "The pendulum has swung in Cal's favor for right now, but it will swing back our way in time."

The Huskies are good. Still, they were beaten by two boat lengths by the Bears at the San Diego Crew Classic.

"We're up against a huge philosophical question," Ernst said. "Clearly, we want to be on terms with Cal. You don't plan every day of your life to be second. On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for recruiting people from your own state and continuing with an intercollegiate rowing program."

Cal will have five Olympic athletes in its men's varsity boat Saturday - from Australia, Norway, Yugoslavia and Canada. The Huskies will have one.

Cal Coach Steve Gladstone had a power at Brown using foreign rowers. Back at Cal for a second time, he is doing the same.

"Steve is doing what he can to win within the rules," Ernst said. "There is nothing wrong with that."

But in men's crew there are no rules. The sport isn't part of the NCAA. For years, there were no scholarships. Now there are.

While the public interest in rowing has declined, there is no lack of interest around the boathouse at Washington.

"The magic of this place is that 70 percent of the guys who rowed at Washington who are still alive live within two miles of the boathouse," Ernst said. "They care."

They care enough to put up the money to provide scholarships for male rowers if Ernst wants to award them. The women at Washington already get scholarships. To compete nationally, they have only two American athletes in their varsity boat.

"I liked the sport the way it was," Ernst said. "Our guys are good this year. Their worth shouldn't be measured by how good Cal is."

But sport is sport. The Cal-Washington series is the Cal-Washington series.

The answer for Washington is for men's rowing to become an NCAA sport, where scholarships could be limited. Barring that, the Huskies will have to go get the athletes to compete against Cal.

On the water, that is just the way it has been. And, fortunately, still is.

Blaine Newnham can be reached at 206-464-2364 or bnewnham@seattletimes.com.