Joseph William Burk (January 19, 1914 – January 13, 2008) was an American

oarsman Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

and coach. Raised in

Delanco Township, New Jersey Delanco Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 4,283, reflecting an increase of 1,046 (+32.3%) from the 3,237 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...

, he graduated from

Moorestown High School Moorestown High School (MHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Moorestown in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the M ...

in 1930. At the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, Burk rowed in the varsity boats. After graduating in 1934, he began racing in the

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to mini ...

(1x), a one-man boat. Burk won 46 consecutive races in the single scull from 1937 to 1940, inclusive. He was the U.S. and Canadian champion for those four years. In 1938, he won the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders w ...

at the Henley Royal Regatta when he set a Henley course record of 8:02, which was to stand for 27 years. He won Diamonds again in 1939, beating

Roger Verey Roger Roland Verey (14 March 1912 – 6 September 2000) was a Polish rower who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born in Lausanne, Switzerland and died in Kraków. In 1936 he won the bronze medal with his partner Jerzy Ustupski in ...

in the final. He became known as the "world's greatest oarsman", and at the end of the 1939 season, Burk was voted the

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

as the country's outstanding amateur athlete. Joe Burk

In 1940, Burk won the Olympic try-outs, the National Regatta and the Philadelphia Challenge Cup, also known as the Gold Cup. The 1940 Olympics, however, were cancelled because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. An attempt was made to schedule a match race with world professional sculling champion Bobby Pearce, who was then living in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but that race failed to materialize. Burk served as a

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...

commander in the Pacific in World War II. On March 29, 1943, he was assigned to the Commander Motor Torpedo Squadron Twenty-One, Navy Yard, New York City for outfitting. He was an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

at the time. He was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for his efforts. At the time of the award he was a Lieutenant (j.g.).PT Boat Organization
/ref> Burk began to coach the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

freshman crew in 1946. In 1950 he became coach of the University of Pennsylvania varsity crew and remained at that post until 1969. His crews won numerous championships and honors, including all cup races in the U.S. and the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing ...

at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1955 and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship in 1967, 1968 and 1969. In 1968 the Penn crew (with the addition of some alumni) came within four one-hundredths /100of a second of beating Harvard in the finals of the Olympic trials for the right to go to the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

. At Penn, Burk coached Harry Parker, both as an undergraduate, and afterwards as a sculler. Parker represented the United States at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in the single scull and later became the head coach for Harvard. Parker would train by doing workouts with Burk in an opposing boat. Parker has stated that he never remembers beating Burk in practice even though Burk was 20 years his senior. The Burk Cup, awarded annually to the winner of the rowing race between Penn and

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

, is named after him. Burk died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 13, 2008, just short of his 94th birthday.

Awards

* 1938 and 1939 Diamond Scull, Henley Royal Regatta *

1939 * US Rowing Hall of Fame, Single Scull (elected 1956) * US Rowing Hall of Fame, 1955 Penn Crew (coach) (elected 1977)

References

External links

Obituary
at the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''
Obituary
at row2k.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Burk, Joe 1914 births 2008 deaths American male rowers Moorestown High School alumni Penn Quakers rowers Penn Quakers rowing coaches People from Delanco Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Burlington County, New Jersey Yale Bulldogs rowing coaches James E. Sullivan Award recipients Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Harvard Crimson rowing coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Military personnel from New Jersey