All Sorts of Sport.

Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 847, 29 September 1916, Page 22

All Sorts of Sport.

Personal Pars. _ The latest- report of the,new caterpillar motor cars and their work in the Latest offensive by the British on. the Western front brings to mind a statement in Wallis Myers' book on the late ■Anthony' Wilding, New Zealand's greatest tennis player. This ' is how it reads :—"General Sir Douglas Haig spent half-an-hour with __ Wilding inspecting his new trailer, which, was devised by Wilding as a check to the machine gun fire." Lieut. J. S. D. Walker, who played cricket with the Sydney Grammar School and later with the Sydney University some years ago, lias been awarded "the ' Military Cross for gallantry Jn the field. E. Er Booth, one of.Otago's representatives in the famous "All Black" tes>m. will shortly leave for the front with one of the Australian contingents as field officer attached to the Y.M.C.A. '/The General'" has visited England twice — with the "All Blacks" and later with the "Wallabies" -(New South Wales Rugby team), is an Ot-ago boy, and has been living in Australia for_some years, so that he is a cosmopolitan, if anyone is. ' The above paragraph reminds me thax Con Struck, the well-known Wellington hockey player, is on the eve of leaving for the front, or lias left Avith the latest batch of- Reinforcements to take up a similar position to Booth. Two of his brothers—George and Karl —have been in the fighting line for some considerable time. The Y.M.C.A. work will be congenial to Con Strack. for he is one of the finest fellows I know, popular with his* comrades, and a real good sport. Lance-Corporal Roy C. Milton (killed in France) was educated at the Sydney Grammar School. He stroked the winning crew of the champion eights at the G.P.S. Regatta in 1915, and a year earlier was a member of the Combined Schools' first fifteen organised against the University. George Prince, the well-known Newtown bowler, tells Mr. W. K . Corbett, of the Sydney "Referee" :—"l'm going to live here altogether. What a paradise this place is in weather conditions compared with those of my own country! When did I ever see a succession of glorious spring days 5 Andyou play bowls here all the year round, and enjoy every moment!" It is not generally known, but Mr. J. J. Virgo, the man well known in Y.M.C.A. work the world over, and who is to be in Wellington directly, is a keen 'sport. When residing in Adelaide he was keenly interested in junior cricket, and in Sydney he was a great admirer of the summer game. Mr. Virgo is one of those men who recognise the value of field sports, and especially British games, as an element in nationbuilding. .*"■*' * * Cricket. ' ■ . The cricket season opens in Sydney on the 7th October. In the three grades there will be 43 teams this summer—ll in the first. 18 in the second, and 14 in the third.

The Victorian Cricket Association, in. its annual report, shows that about 3000 of its players have responded to the Empire's call, a convincing answer to those who hare made it a practice" to decry sport in all its formsc since .the war began. ' Boxing. In the recent boxing match at the Sydney Stadium between Les Darcy and Jimmy Clabby, which the former won, Darcy was 4oz over the 'stipulated weight (list 61b) when'he entered the ring. Under the condition governing the contest, Clabby could have claimed" a forfeit of £250 on Darcy's part, but he was" sport enough to refuse to make the claim. This is well worth mentioning these'days, when a lot of people have not many good words to say for the professional boxer. Babe Picato.. a recently-arrived American, made good at the Sydney Stadium on Saturday week, when he knocked out Jimmy Hill", Australia's feather-weight boxer, in the seventh round. - __ ■'...