TOPICS AND PEOPLE IN THE WORLD OF SPORT

Northern Advocate, 17 December 1938, Page 1 (Supplement)

TOPICS AND PEOPLE IN THE WORLD OF SPORT

Von Cramm to Play Tennis Again Baron . Gotfried von Cramm, whose arrest and imprisonment caused a world-wide sensation, has been released from prison. His departure from prison was kept a secret. Von Cramm intends to rest for six months and then go to America, where he will play professional tennis. This step will relieve the Wimbledon authorities of an awkward predicament; leading tennis players had threatened to withdraw their entries if von Cramm’s

entry was accepted and other leading racquet-wielders stated they would withdraw their entries if von Gramm's entry was refused. • m ■ Boxer Clouted by Show Girl More than a hundred patrons of a Broadway (U.S.A.) night club saw an

incident recently in which Jack Doyle, the Irish heavyweight boxer was involved. • A brunette show girl stated that she “had been engaged to Doyle for two days." After stating that she had a “date” with him, she continued: “I just walked up and hit him squarely on the nose.” Following the incident Doyle left the table where he had been sitting, and hurried into a street car after the girl, who went straight to her hotel and locked herself in her room.

» » • • Fine Throw by S. Lay At the open meeting of the Hamilton Amateur Athletic and Cycle Club, Stan. I,ay, Stratford, won the javelin event with a fine throw of 196 feet. Lay made six throws and each was well over the New Zealand standard of 175 feet. V. P. Boot, the British Umpire Games representative, created an unofficial record for the 1000 yards event. Boot finished third in this race in 2minl3 sec, bettering his previous record for the distance by l-ssec. A civic reception was accorded Lay and Boot. The Mayor of Hamilton, in referring to their attendance at the Empire Games and their respective achievements, said both had done much to keep the Dominion's name before the world. ♦ * * * Boot Invited to Australia A move has been made by the N.S.W.A.A.A. to invite Vernon Boot, the great New Zealand half-miler to Sydney this February to compete in the N.S.W. State championships.

Backhouse, of Victoria, is another runner who is being sought. Up against the crack N.S.W. half milers, these men would figure in a great race, the competition being very valuable to Boot and Backhouse in view of their Olympic aspirations of 1940.

N.Z. Golf Courses Compare with Anything in World

' That the best New Zealand golf courses compare favourably with any in the world and were right up to the full English standard is the opinion of Sir Cyril Ward, who has just returned from a world tour lasting seven months. In England. Sir Cyril played golf at St. Andrews. Gleneagles and Hayling Island Golf Club, near Plymouth. He considers the Hayling Island course the finest seaside course he has ever seen. Tire English coast courses had all impressed him, they being all bunkered, with hardly any trees.

BRADMAN SETS NEW STYLE IN CRICKET HATS Den Bradman set a new fashion in hats in Adelaide on Saturday. For a week the city had been sweltering in an early summer heat wave, and with the temperature well into the nineties, Don led his team, Kensington, into the field wearing a khaki helmet. Probably the heat wave reminded Don of Colombo, where the Australians wear sun helmets in their matches against Ceylon. Anyway, Don's helmet looked smart and cool, although it was a bit troublesome when he was fielding. He was compelled to retrieve the topee as well as the ball on several occasions when it fell off. But at least it was a safeguard against sunstroke, and that is a big consideration when players are compelled to chase the ball in the broiling Australian heat. Now the Australian skipper

has set the fashion, perhaps we can look for a crop of topees on our cricket fields.

Flayers Will Have to Pay Up in Queensland If present intentions of the Queensland Rugby Union are gone on with, Union players in Brisbane next season will have to pay a fee each Satur-

day. Q.R.U. officials take the view that the players would not object to a levy similar to that paid by cricketers for ground fees. The move is contemplated in an effort to bring in revenue which last year did not come up to expectations. The visit ™of the New Zealand side was not the money-spin-ner expected, although it gave the New South Wales Union a big lift financially. * * ♦ ■ VIVIAN McGKATII TO TAKE NEEDED REST FROM PLAY

At last Vivian McGrath is to take that badly-needed respite from lawn tennis. Selected to represent New South Wales aganst Victoria ir* the interstate match, he notified the selectors soon after returning from Queensland that he desired to withdraw from the team. McGrath says that it is his intention to rest from tennis activities until early next year. His right arm trouble, particularly the wrist, is causing him great worry? Loyalty to his doubles partner, Jack Crawford, has induced him to participate in the N.S.W. doubles title, which they have won five times. McGrath needs a much longer complete respite from the game. His tennis powers should richly benefit from the spell.

MILLER AFTER TITLE Freddie Miller, former featherweight champion of the world, left England recently for his native America in quest of the world crown left vacant by the abdication of Henry Armstrong into the light and welter ranks. Miller, on his second trip to England, won all twelve contests, and stated that he hopes to make another trip to South

Africa next year and possibly tour England again. • *' » • ' BROWWICH DISPENSES THE INDIAN SIGN Any casual spectator at the New South Wales lawn tennis championships might have been forgiven if he concluded that young John Bromwich had the Indian sign on his rivals in the singles championship. In succession ho defeated E. Pails,

J. Gilchrist, H. Hopman (semi-final) and A. K. Quist in the final. In the competition he lost only two sets, one each to Hopman and Quist. Bromwich •has developed uncommon ability to qpver the court without fluster and get back balls that look impossible. In this he now stands alone among _ contemporary Australians. His service is still not a match-winner by aces, but it possesses a little more snap than it used to with the ball lifting well.