Hiram Boardman Conibear (September 5, 1871 – September 9, 1917) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

and

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. He served as head football coach for the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

from 1903 to 1904, compiling a record of 5–7. Conibear was head rowing coach at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

from 1907 to 1917, coaching both the men's and women's rowing teams. He developed the distinctive style that became known as the Conibear stroke that "had an effect on the sport that lasted for 30 years".

Professional Career

Conibear studied in Mendota and Dixon, Illinois, and attended the Chautauqua School of Physical Training for four years. He was a Coach of Athletics at the University of Illinois, and was also employed by the University of Chicago, the University of Montana, and the World's Championship Baseball Team Chicago White Sox in 1906. Conibear's early coaching career was in cycling and physical conditioning. In 1906 while at the University of Chicago, Conibear met Bill Speidel, a medical student and former Washington quarterback. Through Speidel's contacts with the Sun Dodger (later Huskies) athletic manager, Lorin Grinstead, Conibear was offered the position as Washington's athletic trainer. As an athletics trainer at the

, Conibear accepted the post of rowing crew coach even though he had no rowing experience and knew nothing about the sport. Experiments convinced him that the traditional Oxford style of rowing, involving a long stroke, was both unsound and uncomfortable, and he developed the new, shorter style with which his name is still associated. Under his coaching the university crew became, in 1913, the first Western crew to compete by invitation in the

Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs College rowing (United States), intercollegiate rowing between Varsity team, varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, whil ...

regatta in

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, and Washington crew members went on to achieve success at subsequent regattas and at national and Olympic level using the technique developed by Conibear.

Personal life

Conibear was born on September 5, 1871, in Mineral, Illinois to Edward H. Conibear of Bratton Fleming,

Devonshire, England Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and Amelia Boardman of Stockport,

Cheshire, England Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shropshire to the south; to the west ...

. The couple may have met and married after emigrating to the United States in the 1860s. Hiram had at least three brothers and one sister. Th
FamilySearch genealogical database
shows that Conibear married Grace Evertt Miller of

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River (Mississippi River ...

in about 1898. The couple had at least one daughter, Catherine Amelia Conibear, born December 12, 1909 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Conibear died from a fall from a

plum tree A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

at his home in

, on September 9, 1917, at age 46. According to th
Find A Grave
database, the disposition of his remains is not known.

Legacy

* Conibear Rowing Club * Conibear Shellhouse

Head coaching record

Football

References