FOOTBALL.

Evening Star, Issue 11664, 26 September 1901, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

It is seated that T. Cross, who represented Canterbury this season and was' one of the New Zealand team which played recently against New South Wales, is returning to Dunedin. A. Q. Jones, who is coming to the colonies this year with Maclaren's cricket team, is captain and crack three-quarter of the Leicester Football Club. His leadership during the last two or three seasons has been highly successful, and his absence will be severely felt. • The Wellington correspondent of the Canterbury Times said that Davy Gage had been imported by the Poneke Club for the purpose of trying to win a particular mateh. This statement is taken strong excoptionto by the club in question, and they have written giving it a flat contradiction. The secretary of the club, in the course of a letter on the subject, says:—"The Poneke Club had nothing whatever to do with the return of Mr Gage to Wellington, nor did the Committee know he was returning to Wellington until he was actually here." It is evident from this that the club's officials had nothing to do with the return of Gage, who, on finding himself once more in Wellington, naturally threw in his lot with the club with which he had been long associated, and for which bo had done such good service in the past. THE DEATH OF W. A. SHORTLAND. News to hand this morning from Sydney regarding the death of W. A. Shortland", who accompanied the New South Wales team on their recent tour through this colony, show that when he returned home by the Mararoa on the Saturday preceding his death ho appeared to be in his usual good health, his only complaint being that he felt very tired after the trying tour in New Zealand, and he referred particularly to the constant travelling the team had to do. Except a slight injury to one of his hands, however, he was not affected by the tour. On the following Monday he complained of feeling ill, and on Dr Mills being called in he found that the patient was in a very low state. Early next morning he became much worse, and at 4.30 he died in his mother's arms. The cause of death was influenza and a kidney trouble. Mr Shortland, who was a Bachelor of Engineering of the Sydney University, and took.all his degrees with high honors, was a son of Mr William Henry Shortland. He was highly esteemed both by his comrades on the field and his numerous private acquaintances, to whom his sudden death was a very painful shock. His remains were buried at Rookwood.