In 1936 the eight of the University of Washington was fully made up of Washingtonians, none of whom had seen the inside of a rowing boat before attending university. With Roger Morris in the bow seat, the crew won the 1936 and 1937 IRA Regatta, as well as the 1936 Olympic rowing tryout. The team then had to raise money for the trip to Europe, but it paid off when they defeated Italy by six tenths of a second to grab the gold medal. Morris lived most of his life in the Seattle area, earning an engineering degree at Washington, and working as a mechanical engineer, with a specialty in dredging at Manson Construction. Morris was the last suriving member of his eight, although three others also lived into their 90s.
United States