Amongst the giants in PCBC history, two leading Pembroke oarsmen of the 1870–1873 period were the three times President of the Oxford University Boat Club, Robert Lesley, who came up from Radley College and R S Mitchison, an old Etonian.

[5] Pembroke won by approximately half a length from University College Dublin, who were using fixed seats.

In 2003, Pembroke achieved a historic victory in the Oxford Summer Eights competition by becoming the first college to win the 'Double Headship', having both men's and women's first boats end the week at the 'Head of the River'.

In 2013, for the first time since 1903, the M1 Torpid maintained its Headship with female double Olympic gold medallist Caryn Davies at stroke.

The Women's First Eight was the first to gain Headship from a mixed college in 2000 and held that position for four straight years;[9] they were Head of the River again in 2012 and 2018.