Charles Stahley Butt, Jr. (1919–1992) was a high school

rowing 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 a ...

coach in Northern Virginia, United States, who was also involved in promoting the growth of school rowing in the Washington D.C. area and the United States.

Life and career

Butt graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1941, where he was involved in varsity rowing. After graduation he moved to Northern Virginia. In 1949, he approached the administration at

Washington-Lee High School Washington-Liberty High School, formerly known as Washington-Lee High School, is a public high school in the Arlington Public Schools district in Arlington, Virginia, covering grades 9–12. Its attendance area serves the central third of Ar ...

, offering to start a rowing team. In their first season the team won the three most prestigious championships in the area: the Northern Virginia Championships, the

Stotesbury Cup The Stotesbury Cup Regatta, sponsored by the Schuylkill Navy, is the world's oldest and largest high school rowing competition. It is held annually in mid-May over a two-day period on the Schuylkill River near Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, Penn ...

, and the National Schoolboy Championships held in Detroit, Michigan. Butt was head coach of Washington-Lee High School's Crew program in Arlington, Virginia for 41 years. He organised numerous rowing programs in the area, both scholastic and collegiate, and coached while working full-time for the Department of Defense as an Aeronautical Engineer. He coached the W-L Varsity Eight to win the

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is a rowing event at Henley Royal Regatta open to school 1st VIIIs. History The event was instituted in 1946 for public schools in the United Kingdom. It was opened to entries from overseas in 1964, an ...

(PE) at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, England, in 1964, the first year the PE was opened to foreign crews. Two years earlier, the crew had made the semi-finals of the regatta's

Thames Challenge Cup The Thames Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club A rowing club is a club for people intere ...

against an international field. Since rowing was only a club sport at Washington-Lee, a public high school, most of the money was raised locally to take the crew and equipment to England. In 1969 the school won the Princess Elizabeth Cup a second time. Over the years, Washington-Lee also won 19 scholastic National titles and numerous Stotesbury Cup and Northern Virginia Championships. Butt coached several Olympians, including Tony Johnson, Sean Hall, E. Fredrick Borchelt (1984), and Walter Lubsen (1984). On six occasions (1967, 1971, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981), Butt was the coach of the US Junior World Championship team, reaching a high place of 8th in 1980 in

Hazewinkel The Hazewinkel is a 2000-meter rowing and regatta course belonging to Sport Vlaanderen in Heindonk, municipality of Willebroek, near Mechelen, Belgium. The site consists of a finish tower, boathouses, a cafeteria, and eight basic huts that ho ...

, Belgium. Butt also spent many summers and falls coaching rowers at

Potomac Boat Club The Potomac Boat Club is a rowing club on the Potomac River in Washington, DC. It was established in , originally as the Potomac Barge Club. The club provides a rowing hub for around 300 senior members, ranging in ability from recreational rowers ...

(PBC). Between 1961 and 1980 Charlie hosted and coached boats comprising parts of the Junior Men's National Team, rowing out of PBC. He also helped create the Sandy Run Regional Park rowing facility on the

Occoquan River The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties. The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the r ...

Fairfax Station Fairfax Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,420 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is located southwest of Washington, D.C. History Establishe ...

, Virginia, and consulted on the development of Thompson Boat Center, a public rowing facility in Washington, DC, located near the Kennedy Center.

Personal life

Charlie was married to Mildred Martin, a gym teacher at Washington-Lee from North Carolina. They lived in

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is ...

, and had five children: Susan, Sarah, Janie, Nancy and Charles III.. His son, Charles III ("Charley") is a leading rowing coach and presently the Bolles-Parker Head Coach for

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Men's Heavyweight Crew.Harvard Magazine A Feel for the Water In 1990, Butt was diagnosed with acute leukemia
. He continued to coach into the fall of 1991, and died in Spring of 1992. A Charlie Butt Trophy is awarded to Boys JV8 at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in May. A Charlie Butt Regatta is held each spring on the Potomac River for scholastic crews.

Honors and awards

*1964 Arlington Sports Hall of Fame *1981 U.S. Rowing Association's John Carlin Service Award *1987 U.S. Rowing Association's Jack Kelly Award *1979 & 1980 '' Washingtonian'' magazine "Washingtonian of the Year" *1987 & 1989, ''The Washington Post">Washingtonian (magazine)">Washingtonian'' magazine "Washingtonian of the Year" *1987 & 1989, ''The Washington Post'' "All-Met Men's Rowing Coach" *Virginia Athletic Directors, Administrators, and Coaches Association Award

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20050427201503/http://www.w-lcrew.org/story.49.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20050902194357/http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hltcrew/charlie.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20180208064226/http://www.rowinghistory.net/US%20Team/members-b.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20051121143233/http://gwaa.acps.k12.va.us/crew.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Charlie 1919 births 1992 deaths Rowing coaches Scholastic rowing in the United States MIT School of Engineering alumni