George Yeoman Pocock


George Yeomans Pocock was a leading designer and builder of racing shells in the 20th Century.
Pocock-built shells began to win U.S. Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships in 1923. He achieved international recognition by providing the eight-oared racing shells which won gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics with a crew from the University of Washington, and again in 1948 and 1952. In this era, nearly every collegiate and sport rowing program in America used wooden shells and oars built by Pocock. Beyond his achievements as a boatbuilder, his influence, promotion and philosophy of rowing have inspired countless oarsmen and coaches.

Biography

A native of Kingston upon Thames England, Pocock learned the craft of boat-building as an apprentice to his father, Aaron Frederick Pocock, a boat-builder for Eton College. A champion sculler himself, Pocock used prize money earned from racing to emigrate from England to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1911, in search of better employment prospects. The brothers established an independent boat-building business, initially supplying rowers affiliated with organizations such as the Vancouver Rowing Club, and the Prince Rupert Rowing Club.
In 1912, Hiram Boardman Conibear, rowing coach at the University of Washington, visited the Pocock brothers at their Vancouver Harbour shop and convinced them to move to Seattle to build boats for the Washington crews. When rowing at U.W. was shut down during World War I, and there were no boats to be built, the Pocock brothers hired on as pontoon builders for a fledgling Seattle aircraft manufacturer, Pacific Aero Products, which was the forerunner to Boeing. In 1922 as the use of wooden components in the manufacture of airplanes began to decline in favor of metal, George left Boeing to return to boatbuilding for Pocock Racing Shells on the campus of the University of Washington.
Over the next half-century, Pocock perfected the craft of building fast and efficient wooden shells, introducing many innovations including the use of western redcedar for the outer skin of the shells. He was appointed Boatman to U.S. Olympic Rowing Teams in 1936, 1948, 1952, and 1956. He was a mentor to many of the day’s rowing coaches, and continues to be revered by oarsmen and coaches for his contributions to the sport of rowing.

Awards

Pocock was named "Sports Star of the Year" for 1948 by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Inducted into USRowing’s Hall of Fame in 1966 as “Premier boat-builder.”
Inducted into Washington State Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.