Olympedia – Joe Wright, Sr.

At the turn of the century, Joe Wright Sr. was arguably the most famous rower on the Canadian national scene. A lifelong member of the Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club, he won over 130 national titles during his extensive career, as well as medals at two editions of the Summer Olympics, taking silver and bronze in the in the coxed eights at the 1904 and 1908 Games respectively. Between 1885 and 1895 he also helped capture numerous American titles and, in 1905, won Canada’s Henley Royal Regatta.

He retired from active competition after his second Olympics, well into his 40s at the time, and took up coaching with his beloved club. He spent 10 years as a coach with the University of Pennsylvania’s rowing team and guided his son Joe Wright, Jr. to a victory in the Diamond Sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta (then the equivalent of a world championship in the single sculls) and an Olympic silver medal in the double sculls in 1928. His older son, George Wright, won a medal at the 1908 London Olympics with the Canadian eight.

Also successful as an amateur in other sports, Joe Senior was Canadian heavyweight boxing champion in 1897 and national heavyweight wrestling champion in 1899, spent 18 years on the Toronto Argonauts football squad, and was the Toronto champion in the shot put and hammer throw in 1888. In 1950, the year of his death, he was named Canada’s outstanding oarsman of the half-century, despite having been 36 when it began.