The Boat Race 1885
| 42nd Boat Race | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 28 March 1885 | ||
| Winner | Oxford | ||
| Margin of victory | 2½ lengths | ||
| Winning time | 21 minutes 36 seconds | ||
| Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) |
18–23 | ||
| Umpire |
Robert Lewis-Lloyd (Cambridge) |
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The 42nd Boat Race took place on 28 March 1885. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. In a race umpired by former Cambridge rower Robert Lewis-Lloyd, the lead changed hands several times. Oxford won by a margin of two-and-a-half lengths in a time of 21 minutes 36 seconds. The victory took the overall record to 23–18 in favour of Oxford.
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2 miles (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions having won the previous year's race by two-and-a-half lengths, while Oxford held the overall lead, with 22 victories to Cambridge's 18 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).
Oxford's coach was G. C. Bourne who had rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1882 and 1883 races. There is no record of who coached Cambridge, who were seriously disrupted in the build-up to the race, with Edric Wolseley Haig contracting mumps, J. C. Brown breaking a floating rib and William King Hardacre being introduced to the crew days prior to replace him. The umpire for the race was Robert Lewis-Lloyd (who had rowed for Cambridge four times between 1856 and 1859).
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