Ned Hanlan

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Edward "Ned" Hanlan (12 July 1855 – 4 January 1908) was a professional sculler, hotelier, and alderman from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Ned Hanlan
Ned Hanlan, 1887
Born	Edward Hanlan 1855-07-12 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	1908-01-04 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Burial place	Necropolis Cemetery, Toronto 43°40′4″N 79°21′41″W / 43.66778, -79.36139
Nationality	Canadian
Other names	Ned Hanlan (Hanlon)
Title	World champion sculler
Height	5 ft 8.75 in (1.75 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Term	1880-1884
Predecessor	Edward Trickett
Successor	Bill Beach
Spouse	Margaret Gordon Sutherland
Parents	John Hanlon and Mary Gibbs
Notes [1]

Hanlan was born to Irish parents; one of two sons and two daughters. His mother was Mary Gibbs, his father, John, was first a fisherman and later a hotel keeper on the Toronto Islands. The Hanlan family originally lived at the east end of Toronto Island, but a severe storm in 1865 pushed their little house into the harbour. It washed ashore near the north end of Gibraltar Point, at the island's west end. A few years later, Ned's father built a small hotel there, and the area started becoming known as Hanlan's Point, long before Ned became famous. Young Hanlan used to row several kilometres across the harbour to go to and from George Street public school, Toronto every day. He developed speed to bring freshly-caught fish to sell at market before other fishermen arrived to compete. ^{[2] [3]} By the time Hanlan was a teenager, he was competing in rowing events and he gained his first important success at the age of eighteen, when he became amateur champion of Toronto Bay.

He turned professional in c. 1874 / 5 and soon afterwards he beat all comers at the Centennial International Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. In 1877 he became champion sculler of Canada, followed by Champion sculler of the United States in 1878. After further success in North America he decided to test his mettle against Europe and travelled to England in 1879 where, on 16 June 1879 he defeated the English champion, W. Elliott of Blyth, rowing the course from the Mansion House in Newcastle to the Scotswood suspension bridge on the Tyne in the record time of 21 minutes 2 seconds.^[4] Ultimately he lost only six of his 300 races during his rowing career. He was the world sculling champion for five consecutive years from 1880-1884. Unlike his English professional rivals, he used the slide simultaneously with the swing, kept his body well back, and held his arms straight long past the perpendicular before bending them, added strength being given by the skilful use of his great leg power.^[5]

Diminutive compared to his competition at the height of 5 feet 8.75 inches (1.75 m) and normal race weight of 150 pounds (68 kg) and familiar blue shirt, Hanlan was called "the boy in blue". Actor Nicholas Cage portrayed Hanlan in the 1986 film The Boy in Blue. He married on 19 December 1877 Margaret Gordon Sutherland of Picton, Nova Scotia; they had two sons and six daughters.

Following his career as an athlete, Hanlan became a hotelier like his father, and eventually became involved in municipal politics as an alderman of Toronto. He was the first head coach of the University of Toronto Rowing Club in 1897. In 1900, he decided to leave and coach the crew of Columbia University, New York for some years ^[6]. Ned died of pneumonia at age 52. Ten thousand Torontonians thronged to pay their final respects at the church where his body lay in state.

In 1926, a larger-than-life bronze statue of a mustachioed, muscular, shirtless Hanlan, shown clad only in surprisingly revealing trunks, was unveiled on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition. This monument was relocated to a site near the ferry dock at Hanlan's Point in 2004.^[7] In 1980, a postage stamp was issued in his honour commemorating the centenary of his first world championship.^[8] In addition, the Ned Hanlan Steamboat is named after him.

[edit] References

• T. C. Mendenhall, A short history of American rowing, Boston, 1980
• S. Crowther and A. Ruhl, Rowing and track athletics, 1905
• W. B. Woodgate, Boating, 1888

[edit] External links

• Hanlan's career on DVD Video
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Brief biography
• The Boy in Blue at the Internet Movie Database
• Ontario Plaques - Ned Hanlan 1855-1908

Persondata
NAME	Hanlan, Ned
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hanlan, Edward
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Canadian athlete
DATE OF BIRTH	1855-07-12
PLACE OF BIRTH	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH	1908-01-04
PLACE OF DEATH	Toronto, Ontario, Canada