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Class of 1978
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Bob Rowland
Bob Rowland won as many speed boat races as any person of his era, but was well known for his all around athleticism.
Rowland was born in South Norfolk, now Chesapeake, Virginia, and graduated from the College of William & Mary. Rowland made his home in Portsmouth for many years where he was an avid golfer, winning several regional championships. While at William & Mary, his track high hurdle record of 14.9 seconds in 1939 stood for many years.
From 1950 through 1952, Rowland won the Virginia & Maryland Gold Cup of racing and in 1951 he won the Calvert Silver trophy for Unlimited Class Boats in Louisville, Kentucky. The same year, he won the Southland Sweepstakes for 266 cubic inch boats at St. Petersburg, Florida.
In the 1951-1952 boating season, Rowland won the President’s Cup Regatta at Washington, D.C. That same year, he won the Gold Cup for Unlimited Hydro Planes at Red Bank, New Jersey, and in 1952 won the National Sweepstakes.
In 1951, Rowland was inducted into the National Marine Racing Hall of Fame and was chosen by other members of the Hall of Fame as the “Outstanding Speed Boat Racing Driver in America.”
In 1952, he was the National High Point Champion of the 266 cubic inch Hydroplane Class. He had previously set the world record in 1951 for the same class in 5-mile competition when he drove 83.48 miles per hour at New Martinsville, West Virginia.
Rowland was elected to the All-American Racing Team in 1952, which turned out to be his last full year of open competition in speedboat racing.
(To Sports Inductees List) |
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