Varsity Club Hall of Fame
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Calvin T. Coffey has been elected to the Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the sport of crew.
As a sophomore in 1972, Coffey stroked the varsity heavyweight eight to the Eastern Sprint Championship and Northeastern advanced to the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta and finished a videotape second to the U.S.S.R. Olympic Crew. Success seemed to follow Coffey and the Northeastern eight again in 1973, as they defended their Eastern Sprint title and made another brilliant showing at Henley, finishing behind the U.S.S.R. World Championship Crew. Coffey, whose staying power and dedication were just two of his admirable trademarks, made the ultimate rowing sacrifice in that second fling at Henley, when he passed up a chance to train for the Olympic team to row for the Huskies against the Russians.
After graduating from Northeastern in 1974, Coffey continued to pile up the crew laurels. He rowed with the U.S. National team at the World Championships in Moscow, won a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games, raced in Germany, Switzerland and Denmark and competed in the Nottinghampshire International Regatta.
The silver medal won in the 1976 Olympics in the pairs without coxswain, though, remains his personal crew coup. Coffey and Michael Staines' efforts were so dramatically described by well-known broadcaster Jim McKay, that Coffey-Staines combo universally recognized to the sport of rowing.
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