The Rowing Roosevelts

Do you happen to have $25,000/£15,960 that you would like to spend on a combination of ‘rowing’ item and an American president artefact? If so, HTBS has found a thing for you! A bookseller in Mertztown, Pennsylvania, has a letter of May 1927 for sale written by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, to his oldest son, James Roosevelt (1907-1991), who rowed at Groton School just like his father, FDR, had done. In his letter, FDR discuss his son’s return to rowing at Harvard and to see his son in action. James did row for Harvard, according to Wikipedia, in the freshman and junior varsity boats. James’s younger brother, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jnr (1914-1988) also rowed at Harvard, in the 1935 junior varsity crew.

Here is a film clip of FDR and members of his family following a race between Harvard and Navy and Pennsylvania in 1938.

CREW RACE - ROOSEVELTS WATCH HARVARD BEAT NAVY (aka US ROWING RACE) (LNER)