Tom Bolles

Washington's Freshman Crew Coach 1927-1936

Harvard's Crew Coach 1937-1951

Tom Bolles was a member of the 1926 Washington varsity crew that won the Varsity 8 race at Poughkeepsie.  He graduated that year and would go on to be the the coach of the Washington freshmen crews until 1936, the same year he completed his masters degree in history.  In 1936, he was offered the choice of two head coach positions, one at Cornell and the other at Harvard.  He accepted the position at Harvard and reached out to fellow 1926 teammate, Rollin Harrison "Stork" Sanford, who in turn contacted Norman Sonju.  This resulted in them taking the head and freshman coach positions at Cornell. 

Bolles' Harvard crews were very successful.  During his tenure, Harvard only lost to Yale and Princeton once.  His crews also brought home the Grand Challenge Cup from Henley twice.  The 1947 crew set a world record for the 2000 meter course.  Harvard had taken a risk when they hired him as he had not coached a varsity crew before, but it certainly paid off in the end.

He stepped away from coaching in 1943 when he enlisted in the Navy as a Lieutenant.  He continued to serve until 1946 and left having attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander.  After his service , he returned to coaching at Harvard.

In 1951, he was appointed Director of Athletics, the first non-Harvard alumnus to hold the position.  He continued in this position until his retirement in 1970.

He passed away in December 1978 as a result of a heart attack.

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