One of Ky Ebright's greatest Cal crews … won the 1939 IRA national title when they set the four-mile record on the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie … defeated six of the strongest collegiate crews, including Washington for a second time … earlier in the season, defeated Washington by a resounding 12 lengths in the Oakland Estuary … would have been a favorite to be the U.S. representative at the 1940 Olympics, but World War II precluded that possibility … elected in 1979 to the National Rowing Hall of Fame … .team members were: Kirk Smith, Chet Gibson, Stan Freeborn, Emile Bergh, Linton Emerson, Dave de Varona, Stan Backland, Benson Roe and Jim Dieterich … Varona was also a member of the Cal Rose Bowl Championship team of 1938.
