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The 1936 Olympic games were meant to be a show of force by host, Nazi Germany, a display of what their so-called "master race" was capable of.
However, their efforts were turned on their heads when African American Jesse Owens brought home four gold medals for the United States for track and field events.
But another storied victory to emerge from the games that year is the gold medal taken home by the American rowing team from the University of Washington.
The team, sometimes referred to as the "miracle 9," consisted of coxswain, Robert Moch and an 8-man rowing crew, made up by Herbert Morris, Charles Day, Gordon Adam, John White, James McMillin, George Hunt, Donald Hume and Joe Rantz.
The story of the team's ascent was chronicled in the 2013 book, “The Boys In The Boat,” by author Daniel James Brown.
A film adaption of Brown's book directed by George Clooney was released on Christmas Day, 2023, starring Callum Turner as Joe Rantz.
Rantz had strong and unique ties to the area, as his parents, Henry Rantz and Nellie Maxwell, both hailed from Williamsport.
In 1899, Rantz, 20, and Maxwell, 17, were among the first couple to be married by telephone, as Rantz was in Elmira, New York, at the time.
Eleven years later, they moved to Spokane, Washington, where Joe Rantz would be born later.
Tragically, Nellie would pass away March 2, 1918, at the age of 36, after what The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington, referred to as "a lingering illness," according to Lee Green in his article, “Profile: Joe Rantz's Opportunity Began in High School.”
Henry would go on to remarry, and at the age of 15, Joe was left behind at his step-mother's insistence, when the family moved in search of a better life.
For two years, Joe worked in the logging industry and on local farms to support himself while attending school, until 1931 when he was invited to move in with his older brother, who was a teacher at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, where unburdened by such a staggering workload, Joe excelled in both academics and athletics, Lee wrote.
Joe enrolled at the University of Washington in 1934 and, a year later, earned a place on the varsity eight-boat.
After being soundly defeated at the Poughkeepsie Regatta by Cal Berkeley in 1934 and 1935, the Huskies would turn things around in dramatic fashion, when in 1936, they claimed victory of their arch-rival by almost four seconds, going on to win all three races of the day, a feat not accomplished by a single team since 1912, John Caldbick wrote in his October 2023 article, “The 1936 Berlin Olympics and the Washington Huskies' Road to Rowing Glory.”
Two weeks later, the Huskies secured their place as the U.S. Olympic rowing team for the 1936 games in Berlin, with a course-record setting win against teams including the University of Pennsylvania, but the road to Berlin would not be a smooth one, as the U.S. Olympic Games rowing committee informed the team that they would be asked to foot a roughly $5,000 portion of the cost to get them to Germany. In today's money, the cost would amount to roughly $110,000, according to Caldbrick.
Several Washington newspapers took up the cause, publishing ads calling on those able to make donations to get the Huskies to the games, with The Seattle Times pledging $500 themselves, Caldbrick wrote.
Within days, through gathering street donations and a multitude of volunteers making phone calls, the Huskies had gathered the necessary funds.
Of the 14 eight-man rowing crews sent to Berlin, the six competing in the finals included the Huskies and teams from Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary and Switzerland.
Before an estimated audience of 75,000, including Adolph Hitler, Herman Goering and other Nazi officials, conditions for the Huskies were less than favorable as they were placed in the outside lane, considered the worst due to having the roughest water and strongest winds, which affected the boat's starboard side. Additionally, Hume had been sick with a bronchial infection since the Olympic trials, though he was determined to compete in the final race, Caldbrick wrote.
Due to the wind, Mock and British coxswain, Noel Duckworth, failed to hear the starting call, with the Huskies beginning the race in last place.
It wasn't until three quarters of the way through the race that the Huskies began a breathtaking comeback as they passed the Italian crew to take first place, but they and the Germans worked hard to make up the lost ground, resulting in a photo finish that would take several minutes to be announced, according to Caldbrick.
The anticipation was palpable as the Huskies were named the winners, beating the Italians by less than a full second, with the Germans taking bronze.
"The boys of 36" had fulfilled the promise they made to those that had worked so valiantly to fund their trip to Germany.
Joe Rantz would go on to graduate from the University of Washington in 1939 with a degree in chemical engineering, having a successful 35-year career with Boeing, according to Lee.
That same year, he would marry his college girlfriend, Joyce, with whom he would share 63 years of marriage and five children.