Courtney won the 3-mile (4.8 km) race by a quarter-mile over a field that included noted New York City rowers Charles Smith and William Bishop.

[7] Among his major victories was the National Association single sculls championship in 1875 at Saratoga where he beat four competitors in the final heat, including noted rower of the day James Riley.

The Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway added extra trains to meet the demand of rowing fans that wanted to witness the event.

Courtney had not fully recovered from the after-effects of the poisoning and planned to take it slow at the beginning of the race so he would be able to have a strong finish.

Riley and Plaisted's racing sculls almost collided; this allowed Courtney to take very small lead just before the turning stake.

After the race, Riley was very disappointed, complaining about Plaisted's coming across his path at the beginning and almost hitting his boat at the turning stake.

[17] Courtney's first loss came on October 3, 1878, when he lost to Canadian champion Ned Hanlan in a very close 5-mile (8.0 km) single scull race near Lachine, Quebec with about 20,000 spectators for a $10,000 prize.

The New York Times investigated and could not find any truth to the rumors, calling him the "most unjustly accused man in the country today."

To accommodate the expected crowds, a temporary grandstand was built along with a special rail line to carry spectators to the site.

[22] Robert Emmet Odlum, who would later be killed jumping off Brooklyn Bridge, swam the entire course before the race, and was surprised to learn from Hanlan and Courtney that neither could swim.

[24] On September 1, 1882, he beat George W. Lee in a three-mile (5 km) race on Canadarago Lake, finishing the course in a record time of 19 minutes and 311⁄2 seconds.

[25] In 1885, Courtney and his partner P. H. Conley defeated the team of George H. Hosmer and Jacob Gaudaur for the double scull championship of the world.

Courtney's four-oared crew from Union Springs beat Cornell, but helped build excitement at the college for rowing.

They adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, That the committee, while deeply regretting the most unfortunate misunderstand, feel that they must abide by the laws of boat racing and cannot review the decision of the umpire or starter.

Fennell had caught a crab and the handle of his oar struck his side, inflicting injury including bruising his groin.

C. S. Francis, a Cornell alumnus who helped raise money for the trip to England, was also the editor of the Troy Times, which was associated with United Press.

Courtney insisted that several things that Chicago Associated Press reported, such as troubles and disagreements between members of the team and Mr. Francis' saying the drawing of the Leander rowing club was fixed, were fabrications.

After a very violent football game in the fall of 1894, the faculty of Harvard suspended all athletic relationships with Yale, effective at the end of the 1894–95 school year.

[49] That year, Harvard sent its varsity team to Poughkeepsie to race Cornell, Pennsylvania, and Columbia in the annual Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.

Harvard, coached by Rudolph C. Lehmann, used a typical English stroke that was long and sweeping with the rowers stretching as far as possible on the catch to drive the water hard.

The Minneapolis Tribune wrote that "the splendid victory...was not more a tribute to the superior muscle and methods of the Ithacans than it was a rebuke to the all too prevalent practice of going abroad for our manners.

[60] The next year, Courtney attempted to have his crew repeat its victories over Harvard and Yale and then win Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta a few days later.

Courtney's crew was unable to overcome fatigue of a hard race in New London as well as the travel and the intense summer heat.

[62] In 1901, Cornell returned to championship form when it won the Varsity eight-oared race at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.

In addition, the Athletic Council limited their interference with the rowing team by giving Coach Courtney the power to pick members of the crew and designate the oarsmen positions.

Sweetland, however, did not become Courtney's assistant because in the time it took resolve the conflict, he was offered and accepted the position as head football coach at Ohio State University.

[13] On July 17, 1920, Courtney died of apoplexy at his summer cottage on Farley's Point on Cayuga Lake, New York near his boyhood home.

[74] Courtney summed up his view: "I have found in my experience that young men are much better off, and do better work, without alcoholic stimulants than with them, and they are, therefore, absolutely prohibited in our training.

[19] Some believe that the controversies surrounding the Hanlan and Courtney single scull races in 1878 and 1880 caused a public backlash against professional rowing that eventually led to its loss of popularity.

[82] Another illustration of his authoritative power that he had gained was in 1897 when he kicked out most of team for eating strawberry shortcake before the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.