GENERAL NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22928, 5 January 1938, Page 18

GENERAL NEWS

THE GROWTH OF GOLF RUGBY MANAGER'S GREETINGS LADY ATHLETES COMPARED '' r —- AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM | Joe Louis will defend his world, boxing title against Nathan Mann, at Madison Square Garden on February 23. Mann, young and willing, has a formidable record in the United States.

An English writer states that Ted Broadribb, former manager or the Welsh heavy-weight boxer, Tommy Farr, is offering his services to Jim Braddock as a second for the fight against Farr Broadribb and Farr disfiolved partnership after Farr had lost to Joe Louis.

One of the most remarkable features pi: sport in the present century has been the amazing rise to popularity of golf, says a writer in a Melbourne paper. From being the game of all in Scotland and the pastime of the wealthy elsewhere until round about 1900, it has singe in a spectacular manner become the game of the masses. It has been reliably estimated that in Australia alone there are 200,000 regular players of the game.

The United States Davis Cup committee has decided, pending approval at the annual meeting of the United States Lawn Tennis Association this month, that the Davis Cup challenge tie shall be played at the Germantown Cricket Club on September 3, 4 and 5. Details of dates and locations for the inter-zone final preceding American zone ties will be arranged after the number of challenging nations is ascertained at the close of entries. The announcement that Canada will return to Davis Cup play this year after an absence of three seasons has met with commendation from officials, players and followers of the game in that Dominion. The move was prompted by the return of the famous bowl to the United States and it is expected that Davis Cup play will once again stimulate interest in the game and a tie with Germany or Australia will be a wonderful attraction for Canadian followers.

In a letter to the sports editor of the Herald, Mr. Percy Day, of Capetown, South Africa, manager of the Springbok team which had such a successful tour of Australia and New Zealand last year, sends greetings and best wishes to all his Auckland friends. Mr. Day adds:—"Our y visit to New Zealand seems to me to be now of the past but, nevertheless, the impressions I formed of the people and the country can never be forgotten. I shall always retain in my memory the happy recollections of the many friends it was my good fortune to iheet."

Bronko Nagurski, world's heavyweight wrestling champion, recently defeated Dean Detton in a title bout by two straight falls. The first came in 32 minutes 20 seconds after Detton had returned to the ring with a shoulder injury received by striking the ringside seats when he missed with a flying tackle. A body slam in lm 2s followed in the next round, and made Nagurski's win a convincing one. The winner will be called upon this- month to stave off a challenge from "Lofty" Blomfield, the New Zealand champion.

Thero is not in golf, a public of "lookers," says a Melbourne critic. When the virus of the game enters a system it dictates action, and all affected by golf play the game. While it can be so strenuous that champions who rate as th£ best of all time, such as Bobby Jones and Henry Cotton, lose as much as 141b. weight in a couple of days,/ or collapse in nerve and physically in a vital round, it can -also be such mild exercise that children of six or adults such as the late John D Rockefeller approaching the century of years, may play regularly.

By scoring 35 runs in South Australia's second innings of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at Adelaide on 'Monday, Don Bradman beat Clem Hill's record of being the greatest run-getter in Australian cricket. When Hill retired from big cricket just before the war, he had made 6274 runs in shield cricket, and with a couple of appearances after the war, he brought his aggregate in all first-class cricket to 17,210 runs. Since then Alan Kippax and Victor Richardson have exceeded 6000 in shield games, but they have not quite reached Hill's total. The only other man to exceed 5000 is W. H. Ponsford.

The reactions of a crowd at a big cricket match to the fate of scoring is usually a wonderful thing, and indicates how little some of the onlookers know about what is really going on in the centre of the ground, says a Melbourne writer. Slow scoring is a tiling that many do not seeni to understand. Their one desire is to see the batsmen hitting the bowling about, and they take no account of the quality of the attack to which the batsmen are opposed. It reminds one of the lament of Clarrie Grimmett on one occasion:— "The crowds do not come to see me get wickets; they come to see the batsmen hit fours off me." The Australian women's athletic championships were held in Melbourne recently. The following times and distances recorded make an interesting comparison with those done by New Zealanders in trials in-various centres: —100 yds, Miss D. Morgan, 11 2-ss, Miss D. Lumley (Auckland), 11 l-ss; 90yds hurdles, Miss I, Grant, 12 4-ss, Miss K. Tong (Hawke's Bay), 13s; high jump, Mrs. Carter, sft. 3in., Miss B. Forbes (Otago), sft. OJin.; broad jump, Mrs. T. Peake, 16ft. 11 Jin., Miss D. Strachan (Otago), 17ft. 7iin.; javelin throw, Miss E. Jones, * 110 ft. 2in., Miss M. Mitchell (Dargaville), 117 ft. A. R. Wilson, formerly of Whangarei, and now stationed in Wellington, had a trial run over 1450 yards in Wellington recently and he covered the distance in 3ih 20s. This was 130 yards over three-quarters of a mile * the official world's record time for wkich is 3m 0 3-ss. Wilson's effort shows him to be in great form. Unfortunately he is not eligible to represent New Zealand at the British Empire Games on account of the fact that he is a reinstated amateur. It will be remembered that Wilson ran second to Pullar in the Dominion mile contest at the Auckland Domain last March. He was beaten by a yard in a thrilling finish in 4m 14 4-ss. > It will be no easy task to select the Australian cricket team for England as there have been some complicating reversals of form, says a writer in a Melbourne paper. At the moment it would be impossible to name 16 players with any certainty that vou would be anywhere near the final selection, but the following 18 may include the fortunate ones:—D. G. Bradman (captain), C, L. Badcock, C. V. Grimmett, F. A. Ward, South Australia; S. J. McCabe (vice-captain), J. H. Fingleton, A. G. Chipperfield, V. .Tackson, W. A. Oldfield, W. J. O'Reilly, New South Wales; R. G. Gregory, K E. Rigg. A. L. Hassett, M. W. Sievers, B. A. Barnett, E. L, McCormick, L, O. B. Fleetwood-Smith, Victoria; W A./ Brown, Queensland.