ASSOCIATION

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 5, 30 September 1922, Page 15

ASSOCIATION

LATE R. H. DAVENPORT.

The passing of Robert H. Davenport, lift - an illness of some months, sadly Cl pi'etes the ranks of the pioneers of Soccer football in Wellington. With Mae exception of the late Alex. Henderson, no one worked harder to establish the game among the boys than “Bob” Davenport. His Work started on the old Thorndon “Rec.” way back in the ’nineties. Boys’ teams were formed, mostly in the Thorndon area, and Mr. Davenport played the part of parent of these boys’ teams. Only those who played on it realise the character of the “Rec.” The grounds were irregular and stony, with an occasional asphalt cricket pitch running across them, but. in spite of these difficulties boys’ football increased in popularity mainly through the enthusiasm and energy of Mr. Davenport. He it was who with crowbar and some of his own employees made it possible for play on wet days; he it wgs who saw to the goal-posts and marking of the ground; and he 1* was who eventually reaped the reward in the growth of the game among the boys in the early days of Soccer in Wellington. Many , of "his boys” became the stalwarts of th© present-day management, and not a few representatives owe their success to the training an*} coaching of Mr. Davenport. His watchword was: "Play a clean game.” As junior football progressed, he took less part in the control, contenting himself with keeping a watchful e--j on the Pearl*’ and Diamonds. Until the time of his death ho was president of the* Diamonds, holding a long-distance record of thirty years in that capacity. For his work he was elected a vice-presi-dent of the W.F.A., but his true reward came in the steady growth and success of the game he had done, sc much to foster. He will bo sadly missed by all those who have passed through his hands and who benefited by the cheery help and generous encouragement always freely given by him. His epitaph could well bo written in his own words: “He played a clean game.”