The Betsy Ann and the Chris Greene

The Betsy Ann and the Chris Greene raced on July 11, 1928 from New Richmond to Neville, 20 miles.  The Chris Greene  was a newer,  steel-hulled craft,  got off to a faster start, but the Betsy Ann, an older, smaller, wooden hull steamer, quickly pulled alongside.  They bumped in mid-stream at one point as the Chris Green tried to block the channel, but the Betsy Ann eventually won.  ( from a clipping dated July 11, 1928 of an unnamed Cincinnati paper.)

And yet the Greene denied that the BA had won, so they had a rematch on July 25.  This time, they started on the downtown section of the river and raced to New Richmond.  An estimated  50,000 on both side of the river turned out to watch.  This time, The Chris Greene  won, and the Betsy Ann, captained by Frederick Way, conceded defeat.  The Betsy Ann had mechanical issues not far from the finish line, and insisted she would have otherwise won.  Capt. Chris Greene piloted his namesake boat.  (this from an article dated July 25, 1928, from an unknown paper).