A Harvard legend passes away
Legendary crew coach Harry Parker, who joined Harvard in 1960 and helmed the Crimson’s heavyweight program starting 50 years ago, died Tuesday. He was 77 and had mentored generations of Harvard rowers and U.S. Olympians. In the decades he coached, Parker’s crews powered their way to 22 undefeated regular seasons, 16 national championships (official and unofficial), and a 44-7 record over Yale in the traditional Harvard-Yale Regatta. It was in June of 1963 when the 27-year-old Parker — the freshman coach who became interim varsity coach that January — coached an underdog heavyweight squad to an unlikely eight-boat-length victory over Yale. It opened a winning streak against Yale that went unbroken until 1981. He closed out his career at Harvard with six consecutive victories in the same annual contest. Parker, a man of few words but of telling words, observed simply, “I vastly prefer winning to losing.” He had fallen in love with...