Rowing With ‘Hammering Hank’

I read with great interest Henry Huntington ’87’s essay, “Lessons from the Arctic” (Princetonians, Dec. 4). In it, he briefly mentions that he was a “rowing-obsessed English major” during his undergraduate years. This hardly does justice to Henry’s rowing accomplishments and, modest as he is, Henry would never say more.

With no rowing experience prior to Princeton, Henry stroked four of the best lightweight collegiate crews ever to hit the water. In particular, as a sophomore, he stroked the legendary, undefeated 1985 lightweight varsity. That crew — immodestly named the “Best Evers” — is still the only lightweight crew to win a national heavyweight rowing title in the JV division (at the IRA’s in 1985). To those of us privileged to have rowed with Henry, he will always be known as “Hammering Hank” for the relentless power of his stroke and his unyielding tenacity. It is no surprise to his teammates that Hammering Hank thrives in the challenging Arctic environment.