Men of Kent by Rick Rinehart '72

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:20:08 -0000

Rick Rinehart ’72 tells the story of one of Kent School’s most celebrated crews in his newly published book, Men of Kent: Ten Boys, a Fast Boat, and the Coach Who Made Them Champions. Men of Kent is about the undefeated 1972 Crew, victors at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships in Worcester, MA, and, most notably, at Henley Royal Regatta, where they won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in a dramatic finish. The publisher describes Men of Kent as “a book about ordinary boys who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances… unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent era.”

A chapter of Rinehart’s work appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the Kent Quarterly, where he traced the development of rowing at Kent from Father Sill’s launching of the first shell on the Housatonic in 1922, through four Henley Championships from 1933 to 1950, and up to the author’s arrival at Kent in the late 1960s. Rinehart rowed bow in the ’72 crew, so he writes with an insider’s knowledge and understanding of the sport.

The ’72 crew also gained recognition in 2007 when they were named by Rowing News Magazine as one of “The Greatest Eights” in an article about outstanding high school and junior crews.

On Saturday, October 16, 2010 members of the ’72 crew and their coach, Hart Perry, will gather at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT, where Rinehart will sign copies of his book at the Maritime Bookstore.

The '72 crew after winning the Stotesbury Cup in Philadelphia

Pre-Engineering

Men of Kent by Rick Rinehart '72