50 years later, Holy Spirit Rowing celebrates their 1974 Henley Royal Regatta World Championship; Coach and team to be honored at PSWA Banquet
By John Russo
The Press of Atlantic City
Stan Bergman took a moment while standing in front of his crew this past summer.
He was like a proud father, seeing most of the members of one of Holy Spirit (Absecon, NJ) High School’s most famous boats gathered before him. They stood next to the John W. Holland M.D. vessel they rowed to many victories half a century ago.
“This is awesome,” Bergman said. “Coaching them, they became part of your (family). They’re like your sons, actually. You’re with them so much, and you really love them. It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years.”
On July 7, 2024, most of the varsity eight and the reserves gathered at John Holland Boathouse on the bay in Ventnor to commemorate the program’s first ever Henley Royal Regatta victory — considered rowing’s world championship — 50 years ago to the date on July 7, 1974, in Henley-on-Thames, England.
The 1974 lineup consisted of coxswain Leo Egnor, stroke Ken Monar, Tom Reed, Mark Fickler, Mark Brestle, Mike Peacock, John O’Connor, Geoff Lapres and Jim Thompson. The reserves that went to England were Mike Walsh, Dan Kelly, Nick Placentra and coxswain Anthony Caravello.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, this historic Spartains team will be honored with a Special Achievement Award by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association at its 120th Banquet at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cherry Hill, NJ. Tickets are available to the public and can be purchased by clicking here. Holy Spirit rowing will join the likes of former Phillies World Series-winning manager Charlie Manuel, legendary Phillies owner/executive Bill Giles, the 1984 and ’85 Philadelphia Stars and more in being honored at this year’s banquet.
Taking a high school crew team to England was a challenge, especially a bunch of 17- and 18-year-olds, some of whom never had been on a plane before.
The vessel and oars had to be flown out separately, Bergman said, estimating the whole trip cost around $25,000 to $30,000, a great expense in 1974.
The journey wasn’t smooth. The team took a red-eye to England, but got stuck in the airport because there was a bomb threat where they landed.
“They wouldn’t let us leave. The whole story about that is in these scrapbooks,” Thompson said.
The Spartans spent over two weeks in England. While there, they learned Bergman signed them up to compete in two races at the Nottingham International Regatta, one week before Henley.
After winning the first race, Reed described the feeling of floating above the water while rowing to the start of the next. The Spartans won again, and Reed said those two races were the best the boat ever rowed, even better than their victory at Henley a week later.
Reed said the crew’s win at Henley was notable because they had the slowest stroke rate of all the boats. Bergman had trained them to focus on being explosive when pulling each stroke. The boat was noticeably powerful, Reed added.
“We all had legs like horses,” Reed said.
With help from the late Dr. John Holland, the founder of the Viking Rowing Club in Ventnor, Bergman became Holy Spirit’s first boys crew coach in 1965.
“He was an amazing man who had a lot of belief in me. He told me I was going to coach Holy Spirit High School. I was 24 years old. He did not ask me. My wife worked for him and I thought maybe he would fire her (if I didn’t take the job),”
Bergman held the head coaching position through 1968, from 1970-76 and from 1980-84. His Spartans boys varsity eights went to Henley in 1970, 1974, 1976, 1981 and 1982, winning in ‘74, ‘76 and ‘81, and finishing second in ‘82.
Stan Bergman, Holy Spirit rowing coach
He took over as head men’s crew coach at Penn in 1985 and held that position through 2006. He returned to Holy Spirit in 2008 as the head coach for two years.
Bergman, 83, is still coaching as one of current coach Mike Giegerich’s assistants on the boys crew team.
“Holy Spirit is one of the greatest places I taught,” Bergman said. “Outstanding teachers, cared about the kids a lot, and it had great athletic programs.”