THE SEASON’S EVENTS

Southland Times, Issue 20014, 30 October 1926, Page 18

THE SEASON’S EVENTS

l SUMMARISED FIELD STORMS. I RUGBY. MAORI TEAM’S ITINERARY. October 30. —Harlequins. November 3.—Devon. November 6.—Cardiff. November 11. —Gloucester. November 13. —Llanelly. November 18. —East Midlands. November 20.—London County November 24.—Hampshire. November 27.—Leicester. December L—Lancashire. December s.—Bordeaux. December 9.—Limoges. December 12.—Bayonne. December 16.—Pau. December 19.—Beziers. December 26.—Paris. RESULTS TO DATE. The matches so far played have resulted as follows:

Summary.—Played 12. won 10, lost 1, drawn 1; points for, 209; points against, 76. EUGBY LEAGUE NEW ZEALAND TEAM. FIXTURES OF THE TOUR. The fixtures of the New Zealand Rugby League football team in England for the present tour are:— October 30.—v. St Helens Recreation. November 3.—v. Salford. November 6. —v Huddersfield. November 10.—v. Bramley. November 13.—v. England (second test) at Hull. November 17.—v. Wigan Highfield. November 20.—v. Batley. November 23.—vKeighley. November 27.—v. Swinton. November —v. Lancashire County. December 4. —v. Wales, at Pontypridd. December B.—v. St Helens. December 11.—v. Wigan. December —v. Yorkshire County. December 18.—v. Hunslet. December 25.—v. Pontypridd. December 27.—v. Broughton Rangers. Jangary I.—v. Hull Kingston Rovers. January 3.—v. Rochdale Hornets. January B.— v. Cumberland County. January 15.—v. England (third test), at Leeds. January 22.—v. Wakefield Trinity. January 29.— v. England, at Paris. RESULTS TO DATE. The record of the team in England so far is as follows—

Summary.—Played 14, won 10, lost 4; points for 249, against 188. CRICKET SHEFFIELD SHIELD. Sheffield Shield and other inter-State cricket matches for the coming season have been arranged as follows: — December 6,7, 8, and 9: Queensland v. New South Wales, Sydney. December 10, 11, 13, 14: Victoria v. South Australia, Adelaide. December 17, 18, 20, 21: Queensland v. Victoria, Melbourne. December 17, 18, 20, 21: New South Wales v. South Australia, Adelaide. December 24, 27, 28, 29: New South Wales v. Victoria, Melbourne. December 24, 27, 28, 29; Queensland v. South Australia, Adelaide. January 1,3, 4: New South Wales IL v. Victoria H., Sydney. January, 1,3, 4,5; or December 31, January 1,3, 4: South Australia v. Victoria, Melbourne. January 7,8, 10, 11: South Australia v. New South Wales, Sydney. January 26, 27, 28, 29: Victoria v. New South Wales, Sydney. February 5,7, 8,9: Victoria v. Queensland, Brisbane. February 12, 14, 15, 16: New South Wales v. Queensland, Brisbane. BOXING October 30—Dick Elm our v. Harry Casey, at Millerton. November 6—Tournament at Tuatapere. November 22—Charlie Purdy v. Bert McCarthy, at Wellington. December 14.—Municipal Theatre booked. ITEMS OF INTEREST " Congratulations to the Otago Rowing Four who vanquished Australia’s best at the Henley Regatta last week. The German swimmer Vierkotter, who awarn the English Channel recently, has returned to Cologne to resume his trade as a haker He is, however, determined next year to make a fresh attempt to swim the Channel in a better time. The dates for the Otago trial races in connection with the selection of a Sanders Cup candidate have been fixed by the Otago Yacht and Motor-boat Association on 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th November, and 4th and 11th December. Whilst offering congratulations to the Auckland Centre on its success in the New Zealand crose-coonrry championship, the Wellington Centre declares that the course was not a true one for a cross-country test, nd MKoed A M ■comment. The Mor.

Zealand Council in the near future will be I dealing with this matter, so that there i should be no recurrence of the trouble. The formation of a ladies’ athletic club j in Dunedin has now been accomplished, and it promises to be a very live branch of the ( sport. It was much needed, states the Otago ; Daily Times, and will ensure numerous ac- j tivities to those young ladies who desire to , take on athletics. • • • • Easily the most outstanding performance | at the Christchurch Girls’ High School ■ sports last Wednesday afternoon was that of Flossie Maxwell in carrying off the senior championship with the grand total of 30 points, savs the Sun. These she gained by winning the 100, 200, and 440yds open, the 880vds walk, the high jump, and the long jump—a great all-round performance. She equalled the record in the high jump, with a leap of 4ft ssin. In the 100yds her time of 11 2-ssec was splendid. Miss Maxwell is also woman champion of the province, having wrested that title from Miss Jean Grant last year, and she has gained quite a formidable collection of “scalps’ in competition at other athletic meetings. Undoubtedly she is one of the most promising women sprinters in the Dominion, and her performances on Wednesday augur well for a very successful season for her in women’s events. With a record of having played 144 holes between dawn and dusk for a total of 702, Adolph Frankel of Los Angeles, California, recently, put in his bid for the American national marathon golfing title. He went around an 18-holes course eight timesi and his best card was S 3, while his poorest was 92. Par is 72. He was in a state of collapse at the finish, but refused to give up as long as the light remained satisfactory. A year ago Frankel tried the dawn-to-dusk play, but his strength gave out at the 135th hole.

A new world’s speed record for motorcycles was established on the Salem speedway (USA.) recently, when Curley Fredericks, of Denver, sent his machine around the mile and a-quarter track in the time of 37 2-ssec. or an average of 120.3 miles an hour. No motor-cycle had ever before attained a speed of more than 120 miles, and on these infrequent occasions the conditions were much more favourable, as the tracks were longer and in better condition. Eight timers held watches on the race of Fredericks, and their reporta have been filed with the American Motorcycle Association.

The greatest relay race the world has ever known, a race in which young runners carried a message from the Mayor of New York to the Chief Executive of Chicago, will be repeated in 1928, if plans of Cleveland (Ohio) promoters now in the making are carried through. The first event of the sort was held 18 years ago this month, and 1200 boys covered the distance in 116 hours 50 minutes and 30 seconds from one city hall to the other. The promoters will start a two-years’ training course, designed to round out the greatest group of young athletes ever to participate in a single event. Twelve thousand applications will be received and 4000 boys will be chosen from associations along the route, one runner to each quarter mile. Only boys between the ages of 13 and 18 will be accepted. Grit: Hubert Opperman, from Victoria, romped away with South Australia’s longest push-bike race. It was from Kapunda to Adelaide, but by a round-about way that made up 106 miles. Hubert gave an hour’s start to the limit man, and had to ride mostly alone, Beasley, on the same mark, having had hopelessly bad luck with punctures. The weather was horrible, but Opperman plugged through a big field and finished a winner by about 5 miles in 5 hours 36 minutes 13 seconds. An old trick works and wins: Mike Yokel (12et 7JIb) and Martin Ludecke (13st) were the wrestlers at Melbourne Stadium recently. The swarthy Swiss gave Mike a stormy time during the early rounds, but his impetuosity lost him the match. Mike, having suffered many of the Swiss grappled “1000 holts” with fortitude, was trussed up in the “splits” in the seventh round when he suddenly slapped Martin on the back, the ruse which tricked the : elephantine Zbysko. Thinking it a sign of I surrender, the Swiss let go. He lost his head on discovering he had been duped—and . within 57sec was gazing up at the lights while the fateful 3 sec were ticked off. i • • * • Thank heaven this sort of football is not I indulged in in New Zealand. —“The recent Essendon-Melbourae match (Australian , rules ) drew 49,319 persons and a “gate” | of £2410 10/3, but the scrambling game ' wasn’t worth the money, says a Sydney writer. The few players who used their heads were chiefly Melburnians; the ’Dons did most of the attacking, but without svstem or anything but plain bogging-in. The Red Legs were popularly supposed to lack determination and force, but on Saturday they showed they can mix it with the best—or worst —of them. Dirty lefts on both sides found solid resting-places; Corbett, Melbourne’s centre, acquired a broken jaw. In the last quarter only 8 points were scored altogether, the Red Legs having 3 to the good when the bell rang— Melbourne, 42 points; Essendon, 39.” • • • • The division of the season’s profits by the New South Wales Rugby League shows that there is a fair amount of cash still coming for a game which has deteriorated considerably in playing standard in the last two seasons, says Sydney Bulletin. The premiers, South Sydney, pouched £2183, University £1320, Glebe £1133, Eastern Suburbs £1073, Western Suburbs £862, Balmain £844; Newtown £745, North £697 and St. George £617. With the exception of University, which does not divide cash among its members, a big proportion of the above sums goes to the players, though the rate of allotment varies with different clubs. A senior player with a leading club draws quite a decent little wad in the course of a season’s “play” to add to his remuneration for working. • • • • Lord Hawke, one of the outstanding figures in the cricket world, reached his sixty-sixth year on August 16. As the Hon. M. B. Hawke he played in the Eton Xl.’s of 1878 and ’79, for Cambridge at Lord’s in 1882, ’B3, and ’B5, when captain. His association with the Yorkshire county team lasted from 1881 to 1911, and he was its captain from 1883 onward. He succeeded his father, the sixth baron, in 1887, became president of the Yorkshire County C.C. in 1899, and still holds office, whilst after several periods of service on the M.C.C. Committee, he became its president in 1914, and remained so until after the close of the war. He is one of its trustees, also of the Cricketers’ Fund. Although he scored over thirteen thousand runs for his county, including ten three—figure innings, the greatest service Lord Hawke has rendered to cricket is probably as a cricket missionary. He was on a visit to Australia when news of his father’s death reached him, and he also visited South Africa, India, and Ceylon, the West Indies, United States, Canada, and Argentina, whilst he would have captained a team that he had got

| together to visit New Zealand in 1902-3 I but for the serious illness of his mother. ! The great advance made by Germany ■ m athletics was demonstrated at the international meet at Basle, Switzerland, on I August 22, between representatives of Ger--1 many, France and Switzerland. Germany ■ won eleven events, Switzerland two and j France one, and Germany and France tied lin the pole vault, the points scored being. I Germany 127 j, France 89j, Switzerland 68. • The big event of the meeting was the 1500 metres, in which Pele (France) was expected to give Peltzer (Germany) the holder of the half-mile world’s record, a great race. The anticipation, however, was not realised for Peltzer won easily, and Pele could only get third place. The time was 3min 59 4—ssec. Three days later, Baraton, the French middle distance runner who won the English mile championship in 4min 17sec, was credited with running 1500 metres in Paris in 3min 50 2-ssec, which is 2 l-ssec better than Nurmi’s world’s record. Baraton was not a competitor at the Basle match at which Lewden (France) won the high jump with 6ft 2sin, Doberniau (Germany) the long jump with 23ft 14in, and Breckmache (Germany) the shot put with 46ft. • * • • In its annual report just issued the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association states that in the Wanganui centre there were instances of three outstanding performances. John Campbell, aged 13 years, swam 2| miles; Mifawny Meredith, a girl of nine years, who was only a learner at the beginning of the season, swam one mile at the end of the season; and M. E. Nairn, aged 10 years, also swam a mile. In commenting upon the foregoing, a Dunedin writer says reference may be made to the outstanding performances of a little girl, Nancy Olds, the eight-year-old daughter of the custodian of the Municipal BatJhs. At the age of six years she earned a certificate for swimming half a mile, and the mile at seven. She is now eight, and has covered 2J miles on a six-beat crawl, is able to sprint at any distance, and has been spoken of by competent judges as having times that have not been bettered by any girl of her age in the world. • • • • Swimming the Channel is an expensive business; the one who attempts it must have both money and leisure (says a London paper). Miss Ederle had neither, but they were found for her last year, when, as an amateur, she was financed by the Women’s Swimming Association of America, and failed. The association declined this year to advance the necessary money, but an American gentleman came to the rescue with a loan of £lOOO on condition that Miss Ederle would repay him out of the profits of the theatrical and other engagements which were bound to follow upon a successful swim. There is, of course, nothing in this that is new to this generation. This is an age of commercialism—in athletics as in other things—in which the words “sport” and “amateur” have become two of the worst-abused in the English language, and amateurism has been made the footstool of professionalism in its least acceptable form. Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish runner, will train at the Drake University Stadium and field house at Des Moines (U.S.A.), for his second American tour, Ossie Stolem, athletic director at Drake, announced recently. Nurmi will arrive in Des Moines about November 15 and remain continuously until December 18. He is to give two exhibitions in the indoor Drake track, one on December 11 and the other on December 18.

There seems to be a little doubt about the exact amount Jack Dempsey received for his fight with Gene Tunney last month, but whatever the amount was we may take it to be substantial. It is three years since Dempsey defeated Tom Gibbons and Luis Firpo in September, 1923. He beat Gibbons on points and knocked Firpo out in two rounds. For these two rounds against Firpo the then champion received £lOO,OOO, and Firpo was handed £40,000. When he beat Carpentier at New Jersey, Dempsey got £60,000 and Carpentier £40,000, the biggest purse the Frenchman ever had the pleasure of handling. For his two fights against Firpo and Carpentier no less than £160,000 was paid to Dempsey, and this sum does not include royalties derived from the filming of the contests. America’s annual golf bill is £93,000,000. More than 2,000,000 people play the royal and ancient game in the States. The demand for golf courses is taxing the ingenuity of engineers. In Jersey a 200-acre forest was felled to form a course. There is a similar boom in Canada, which has just opened its greatest golf season with well over 100,000 players. ♦ » • • Despite the falling off in attendances at Rugby League matches in Sydney, the past season showed a handsome profit from gates. The amount distributed amongst the nine clubs was £9474. With the exception of University, which does not divide cash among its members, a big proportion of the above sums goes to players, though the rate of allotment varies with different clubs. A senior player with a leading club draws quite a decent little wad in the course of a season’s “play” to add to his remuneration for working (says a Sydney paper).

The Western Suburbs Rugby Club,, in Sydney, had a fine record last season, especially as the team comprised so many colts, says an exchange. Syd. King made representative history for the Blacks, and his many friends will not soon forget his exhibitions of pluck and cleverness against the powerful New Zealanders. The club is likely to secure the services of a Southland (N.Z.) forward, who is taking up residence in Sydney. Only a youth, 6ft in height, yet scaling 16st, he comes with fine credentials from no less a source than All Black A. (“Sonny”) White, of Invercargill, a member of the famous 1924 team. —This apparently refers to Jock Fraser. * * * * The greatest secondary school in New Zealand to-day, from the point of view of Rugby, is the New Plymouth Boys’ High School (says a northern contemporary). In five years the school has played 19 school games, of which it has won 15, drawn one and lost three. In the season just passing New Plymouth beat Wanganui Technical College by 20 points to 19, Te Aute College (holder of the Moascar Cup) by 16 points to nil, and Auckland Grammar School by 22 points to 6. New Plymouth has retired from the Moascar Cup competition, after holding the trophy for three years, but an indication of the quality of this year’s team njay be obtained when it is remembered that Wanganui College, which won the intercollegiate tourney in Christchurch this year, was soundly beaten by Te Aute.

Those who know the international swimming laws concerning out-of-pocket expenses for travelling must be amazed at the travels of Arne Borg, the Swedish champion, during the past few years (says a London paper). Following an extensive tour in Australia, he went on to America, and returned home in time to compete in the Paris Olympic Games. Then followed a record-breaking tour in Sweden, after which he suddenly appeared in this country on his way to America. The next heard of him was that he had taken out American

naturalisation papers, and joined the Chicago Illinois A.C. He competed for them in July in the American championships, getting into trouble with the officials for easing up, to allow Weissmuller to win one of the events. Later, Arae Borg competed in the European Championships at Budapest, once again as a Swedish representative. Surely, if he became an American citizen it is up to the Swedish Association to take action! I greatly doubt if any other swimming governing body would have sanctioned Borg’s trip to Florida, and it is difficult to understand how such things can be accomplished without violating the amateur laws.

The craving for cheap notoriety is at the back of many of the so-called attempts to swim the Channel (says London Sporting Life). The swimmers who can hope to accomplish this object are few and far between, and certainly not so numerically strong as is suggested by the long queues of those waiting to make the effort. Americans are in the majority, in fact, and there would appear to be all the leading lady distance swimmers of the States gathered on the heights of Cape Gris Nez waiting until the conditions are favourable to make the great adventure. The party includes an Eskimo, one Ichy Guch, who has surely hit upon the most original excuse for delaying his start? Mr Ichy Guch says the water is too warm, which, considering that the majority of the unsuccessful attempts have been attributed to the low temperature of the water, is inexpressibly comic. Few of the present aspirants can be taken seriously; but then we are about to enter the silly season, so it is, perhaps,fitting there should be a few clowns about.

The Canadian tour of English Association footballers which recently concluded, was the fourth tour undertaken to the colonies by the Football Association, the others having been to South Africa in 1910 and 1920, and to Australia in 1925. In the four tours, 82 matches were played, all of which were won. These are records of which England may well be proud (says a London paper), but so rapidly is the game developing in the colonies that future tours are not likely to reveal such an overwhelming superiority for the England teams. That these tours do an incalculable amount of good in more firmly cementing the links of Empire is certain, and the money that has been spent on them by the Football Association is a fine investment.

It is time that Manawhenua propaganda received a counterblast (says the New Zealand Times). That draw with Hawke’s Bay seems to have gone to their heads in this wee district, and their defeats of Taranaki and Wanganui have added to local conceit. Now comes a victory over Wellington representative team, and a pompous pronouncement that, however, “the Wellington team was not fully representative, as several leading players were unable to accept places.” This phrase “several leading players” must be subject to a liberal interpretation, since of the fifteen fielded against Manawhenua only two players, Mulheron (full-back) and Arthur Thomas (forward) were chosen among the 20 Wellington men to make the southern tour. In other words, the Wellington selectors are giving the boys a chance at last.

Swansea Town, the old home of Rugby Union football, is under the soccer wave and this season’s team is likely to improve upon last season’s triumphs. Big improvements are being made to the ground, which is being terraced with concrete and there has been an unusually heavy demand for season tickets.

Last season a New South Wales junior Rugby footballer was sent out of the game for life. It appears he “donged” the referee. Not content with this, he also “outed” a park-ranger who interfered. He appealed against his sentence, but the ap peal was quashed. This season he appealed again. It costs 10s to appeal, and the appeal was again dismissed. The player in question visited the training quarters of the district club through which he had appealed, and demanded the return of his “ten bob.” It was returned. “I get this back, do I?” he said. And then, after a few minutes’ silence, just as he was moving off: “No objection to a man riding on the trams, have they?”

Thirty-one years ago, on August 25, 1895, to be exact, Tommy Conneff, representing the New York Athletic Club, ran threequarters of a mile m 3min 2 4-ssec. Many crack athletes have tried to lower that record, but have failed in the attempt, the runner to come closest to the time being Lloyd Hahn, who, at an indoor meeting in New York on March 9, 1925, recorded a performance of 3min 3 2-ssec. The athlete who is considered to be the only one capable of registering new figures is the German, Dr Peltzer. He is yards faster than Conneff ever was for half a mile, and the extra quarter-mile is not regarded as being beyond his powers of endurance.

Another women’s world swimming record has been broken by Miss Edith Mayne, of Torquay. Last August she swam 880 yards in 13min 1 l-ssec (English women’s record), and 1000 yards in 14min 47sec (women’s world record). The other day Miss Mayne swam a mile in 24 minutes, beating the previous women’s record by twelve seconds, and incidentally broke the 1639 yards (1500 metres) record by 65 2-ssecs.

Major Goodsell, champion sculler of the world, who is at present in California, has stated that he is willing to row Pat Hannan, of New Zealand, on the Parramatta.

Mercedes Gleitze should be given a trophy with an inscription declaring her the best “stayer” among the world’s swimmers. She is only 17, but she has attempted three times to swim the Channel, and the last time she got to within two miles of England. “When she was obviously weakening,” says a writer, “her friends exhorted her to give up, but when informed that she had only two miles to go she absolutely refused to leave, though she was even then semi-conscious, and at times she appeared to be sleeping. While she was feebly swimming, owing to the danger that she might collapse and disappear in the darkness, one of her friends lasooed her arms with a rope as she was about to make a stroke, and the others then lifted her, semi-frozen, into the boat, which was then rushed to Dover.”

It is stated that the Sydney University Cricket Club’s first eleven is to be in need of some new bowlers, consequent upon the loss of Otto Nothlmg, Jim Garner and others. Jim Hogg, the young right-handed batsman from the King’s School, evidently hopes to render askance, since he has practised bowling with both left and right hands. On a recent Saturday, against his old school, at Callan Park, the University stylist sent down a few overs, bowling lefthand, and round the wicket, without success. He thereupon informed the umpire of his intention t'o change over to righthanders, and bowled with the same effect-

“Tiger” Flowers, negro middleweight boxing champion of the world, narrowly escaped esrious injury in a crash of motorcars at Newton, New Jersey, recently. The car in which the boxer was riding met head on with a taxi-cab and of the eight passengers in the two vehicles six were injured, Flowers and Henry Marsh, a fight promoter, alone escaping with minor scratches. Two persons were removed to the Newton hospital in serious condition.

Points Against. Result. For. Against. Burgundy . • Won 27 3 Alpes • Won 34 6 Grenoble . . . Won 29 8 Lyonnaise . • Won 26 9 Languedoc . . W r on 8 5 Basques . Won 11 8 Central France . Won 16 3 Paris . . Lost 9 11 Somerset . * « W’on 21 8 Newport • . . Drawn 0 0 Swansea • Won 11 6 Yorkshire . . Won 17 9

Points Againsf. Result. For. Against. Dewsbury » 9 Won 13 9 Leigh . . » Won 28 16 Halifax . • Lost 13 19 Rochdale * • Won 11 9 Barrow t • Won 19 16 Widnes • « Won 15 5 First Test . . Lost 20 28 York • • Won 19 11 Warrington • Lost 5 17 Bramley • • Won 35 12 Hull . . . Won 15 13 Bradford Northern Won 38 17 Oldham ... Lost 15 10 Leeds . . • Won 13 11