The 95th Boat Race took place on 26 March 1949. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames in London. The race, umpired by the former Oxford rower Guy Oliver Nickalls, was notable as the commentator for the BBC, John Snagge announced "I can't see who's in the lead, but it's either Oxford or Cambridge." Cambridge won by a quarter of a length, the narrowest margin of victory since the 1877 race, which was officially recorded as a dead heat. The victory took the overall record in the event to 51–43 in their favour.