 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 . 
