Joe Burk

For the American football player, seeJoe Burks.For other people with similar names, seeJoseph Burke.

Joe Burk
Born	Joseph William Burk (1914-01-19)January 19, 1914
Died	January 13, 2008(2008-01-13)(aged 93) Scottsdale, Arizona
Education	Moorestown High School

Joe Burk

Medal record
Men'sRowing
RepresentingUnited States
Diamond Challenge Sculls
	1939 Henley-on-Thames	Single sculls
	1938 Henley-on-Thames	Single sculls
Gold Cup Challenge
	1940 Philadelphia	Single sculls

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

Raised inDelanco Township, New Jersey,he graduated fromMoorestown High Schoolin 1930.

At theUniversity of Pennsylvania,Burk rowed in the varsity boats. After graduating in 1934, he began racing in thesingle scull(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 theDiamond Challenge Scullsat theHenley Royal Regattawhen he set a Henley course record of 8:02, which was to stand for 27 years. He won Diamonds again in 1939, beatingRoger Vereyin the final. He became known as the "world's greatest oarsman", and at the end of the 1939 season, Burk was voted theJames E. Sullivan Awardas the country's outstanding amateur athlete.

Portrait of Joe Burk taken byCarl Van Vechtenin 1940.

In 1940, Burk won the Olympic try-outs, the National Regatta and thePhiladelphia Challenge Cup,also known as the Gold Cup. The1940 Olympics,however, were cancelled because ofWorld War II.An attempt was made to schedule a match race with world professional sculling championBobby Pearce,who was then living inCanada,but that race failed to materialize.

Burk served as aPT boatcommander 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 anensignat the time. He was awarded theNavy Crossfor his efforts. At the time of the award he was aLieutenant (j.g.).

Burk began to coach theYale Universityfreshman 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 theGrand Challenge Cupat theHenley Royal Regattain 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 [4/100] of a second of beatingHarvardin the finals of the Olympic trials for the right to go to the1968 Summer Olympics.

At Penn, Burk coachedHarry Parker,both as an undergraduate, and afterwards as a sculler. Parker represented the United States at the1960 Summer Olympicsin the single scull and later became the head coach forHarvard.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.

TheBurk Cup,awarded annually to the winner of the rowing race betweenPennandNortheastern,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
• James E. Sullivan Award1939
• US Rowing Hall of Fame, Single Scull (elected 1956)
• US Rowing Hall of Fame, 1955 Penn Crew (coach) (elected 1977)

External links

• Obituaryat theNew York Times
• Obituaryat row2k.com