“It was very exciting to compete with Harvard crews,” said Gladstone, speaking about his time at Brown from 1982-1994. “There was a consistency in performance with Harvard, and I think that consistency stimulated other programs to reach their standard.”

Parker achieved success on the world stage as well. He coached several men’s Olympic crews from 1964-1984, leading his teams to three medals during his tenure. However, given the state of women’s sports in this era, his success with the women’s Olympic team was perhaps more notable.

In 1975, Parker became the first women’s national team coach in American rowing history. His impact was immediate, leading the eight-woman squad to a silver medal in its first appearance at the World Rowing Championship. The next year, he led the team to a bronze medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

“He put women’s rowing on the map,” Stone said. “He coached women the same as men and they performed the same. He was very much an egalitarian at the time when most male athletes and coaches were not.”

Parker’s impact on his oarsmen stretched beyond just rowing; his former athletes say that the relationships he formed with them transcended their years with the Harvard crew and helped shape who they were as people.

When the former Crimson coach was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in 2011, Hodges and other rowers asked many former oarsmen for some notes that could be amalgamated in a get-well soon card. The expectations for the messages were not too large—more or less, just some small words of encouragement. The response they received, however, was much greater than they had imagined, as over 400 rowers took the time to send him sincere messages.

“It was incredible,” Hodges said. “They weren’t just [get better soon] messages. They were robust paragraphs, sometimes even long letters, saying how Harry Parker had deeply impacted their lives.”

While Parker impacted the lives of many of those who rowed under his watch, they perhaps affected him just as much. The oarsmen meant as much to Parker as he meant to them.

“His best friends were the people he used to coach,” said Abigail Parker, Harry’s daughter and current Harvard rower. “They would have reunions and spend a lot of time together. You could tell that they were all grateful for the impact they had on each other.”

In honor of the legendary coach, the Head of the Charles Regatta administration will recognize a moment of silence before racing begins.