Allen "Skip" Walz
Manhattan College's Crew Coach 1933-1940
Wisconsin's Crew Coach 1940-1942, 1945-1946
Yale's Crew Coach 1946-1950
Allen "Skip" Walz was born in 1909 and raised in New York City. He was a talented athlete participating in rowing, boxing, and football. He rowed as an amateur sculler and as part of the Hun Prepatory Academy (Princeton, NJ) crew. In 1930, he attended the University of Wisconsin for one semester and was a tackle on their freshman football team. He transferred to New York University mid-year and competed as a boxer and as tackle on their football team where he served as team captain in his senior year. He also won a Golden Gloves boxing tournament while at NYU. He continued to be involved in rowing throughout this time, rowing as part of the New York Athletic Club, but did not row for a university crew.
After graduation, he went to Manhattan College to assist his ailing father with coaching the crews and also served as a speech teacher there. Walz would become head coach upon his father's death in 1935, only the second coach for their program, and built it up, so it was not a surprise that Wisconsin hired him to replace Ralph Hunn in 1940. Walz trained the crews in a new stroke, very similar to that of Cornell. He had learned the basic principles of the stroke from Mohroff, the champion sculler, and built upon that. He had a great ability to motivate his crews and get the most out of them through his friendly and charming manner. He was also good at recruiting members for his crew, often convincing those cut from the basketball team to row.
Wisconsin's rowing budget still suffered as it had under other coaches, but Walz did all he could to cut coasts whenever possible. He smuggled his assistant into the train car holding the coaching launch so he didn't have to pay his fare. He also managed to confuse the train conductor on the way home from the 1941 Poughkeepsie Regatta into accepting 25 tickets for 28 passengers.
In the fall of 1942, Walz took a leave of absence from the University of Wisconsin. He joined the Navy and served as PT boat skipper during World War II. He returned to Wisconsin in 1945, along with many members of the 1941 and 1942 crews. He began rebuilding the crew for the 1946 season, the 1946 crew went on to win the Eastern Rowing Regatta.
Later that year, Walz was offered the position of head crew coach at Yale University. He elected to leave Wisconsin as he wanted to return to the East Coast to be closer to New York City and reunite with his wife, who had not returned with him to Wisconsin in 1945. Walz continued as coach at Yale until 1950.
He left coaching behind for a public relations position, perhaps putting his knack for publicity to good use. Walz always had a talent for publicity and involvement in the entertainment industry. He had been a commentator for the fist televised professional football game in 1939. Walz was also skilled at drumming up publicity for his crews, which in turn drew in donors and funds. For example, he managed to get his crews to a competition by plane, the first Badger crew to travel by plane. He had also put together a number of "tricks" involving the press while coaching for Wisconsin including have the professional boxer, Lou Nova, row as part of the substitute crew at Poughkeepsie. Another time, he recruited four sports writers, including the New York Times's Allison Danzig to row with his substitutes at Poughkeepsie. His move to the Arma Corporation of Brooklyn as a consultant on industrial relations, made a lot of sense. He went on to be vice president for public relations at Canada Dry Beverage Company and later Getty Oil.
While he had left rowing behind, his contributions were not forgotten. In 1977, he and his 1946 crew were inducted into the Citizens' Athletic Foundation's Hall of Fame.
He passed away on January 10, 1990 at the age of 81 in Rancho Miraz, CA.
Sources about Walz:
Wisconsin Where They Row: A History of Varsity Rowing at the University of Wisconsin by Bradley F. Taylor
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