LONDON SPORT LETTER

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1931, Page 15

LONDON SPORT LETTER

ROTR CUP GOLF RIVALRY. • QUALIEECATION OF PLAYERS. (Special to News.) London, December 4. The 'British professional golfers have come to a surprising decision in regard to the match with their American rivals for the (Ryder Cup. In future' contests players, to be eligible to take part in it, must live at home. Under these conditions neither Aubrey Boomer nor Percy Alliss will be available for the match which is to be played in America next summer. Why they should have deliberately handicapped themselves in this way is puzzling.. It is true that the Americans restrict their selection of players to what are called “homebreds,” and do not call on British players who are resident in* the country, 'but the British professionals have gone beyond this. ■Boomer was born in Jersey, and is the son of an Englishman who is the head Of the chief school in the island. He has, however, been stationed at the St. Cloud Club, for ten years. Still, he has always been regarded as a British golfer, and not only is he. a member of the Professionals’ Association, but he has taken part in their tournaments as well as-in previous Ryder Cup matches. Alliss is a Ybrkshireman who went to Berlin about four years ago, and he would have played against the Americans in the last match except for illness. Under the conditions which have hitherto obtained, there is no doubt that both he and Boomer would have been picked, and they are bound to be disappointed that a ban should now have been put on them. From a competitive point of view, too, they will be required, for it is known that Mitchell does not want to go to America, where the climate has never suited him, and that, if he can possibly get out of the match, he. will do so. He is, however, private professional to Mr. Samuel Ryder, who presented the cup, and it is expected that the latter will want Mitchell to help to defend it. LAWN TENNIS FINANCES; BUILDING UP A BALANCE. The Lawn Tennis Association is be-' coming a very rich organisation through the wonderful success of the championship tournaments in recent years. It takes only a percentage of the receipts at Wimbledon, of course, the All England Club, which stag-manages the events and provides the ground, claiming a considerable share. But the Association obtained nearly £9OOO from Wimbledon last season, and the final reckoning'" of receipts and expenses leaves it with a’ balance of £2605. In addition, .it . has. £25,000 invested.. The authorities, however,, are keenly, eriticised for what is declared to be a de-, liberate -policy to hoard their money. • They ought to spend it liberally,, it. is said, in'the interests of the game, and especially in assisting in the development of young players. They support a coaching system, but it is carried out on niggardly lines. For instance, last, season, despite their huge resources they spent only £l3OO on this work. As a matter of fact, the expenses of running the county championship cost almost as much. The association has repeatedly -been urged to launch oqt on a big coaching scheme, and, when, the prices o'f seats for the. championship were raised last summer it was thought this was the intention. Apparently, however, all that the Association has done has been to add the extra revenue to the bank balance. I understand that another attempt is to. be made to broaden the government of the, game. It is run almost' ' entirely on the same lines as twenty years ago, without the players having direct, representation, and, owing to the constitution of the association, it is exceedingly difficult to introduce.. reforms, which are so urgently necessary .in the interests of the young player. JOHNNY TYLDESLEY. (FAMOUS CRICKETER’S DEATH. Another great cricketer, Johnny Tyldesley, has died' tragically. He was about to sit down to breakfast with his family when he suddenly collapsed and passed instantly away. A true man of Lancashire, Tyldesley was, of course, i world figure in cricket. He retired eleven years ago at the age of. forty-five and there are many enthusiasts who never saw him at the crease, but to all he is something more than a happy memory. ■ What George Hirst was to Yorkshire cricket, Tyldesley -was to the game in Lancashire. He played in the county side for twenty-four years, including the period of the war, and scored”3B,ooo runs. Those are prodigious 'figures, but they do not represent his full worth, for out in the field he must have saved almost as many, there have been few better fieldsmen at third man, and, out on the edge of the boundary, Tyldesley was, of course, an England player of the highest class. He had a total of nearly 1400 runs against the Australians, and in all his Test matches he claimed an average of oyer 30. His average was 42 for Lancashire. Illness induced him to retire when he was still a great batsman.. In his last season he played an innings of 272 against Warwickshire, which was only twenty-three behind his record, which he had set up thirteen years before. Brilliant under all conditions, Tyldesley excelled on -a bad pitch. He could score freely when other batsmen were helpless in dealing with a fast turning ball. Success at these times was due to his wonderful perfection of footwork. He was a short, sparely-built man, but he overcame his lack of reach by his quickness of movement. On his retirement Tyldesley became coach to the county -side, and there is little doubt that his work greatly contributed to the success which has 'been achieve* recent years. VARSITY RUGBY ENIGMA. GREAT VARIATION IN FORM. All the rugger experts are nonplussed bv the University teams. At the start Cambridge, with an embarrassment of old blues, entirely failed to impress, whereas Oxford began by beating the undefeated Newport. Later Oxford was murdered by a not very strong Edinburgh University side, whilst Cambridge ran away with a strong Dublin University side. The Light Blues seem to have pulled themselves together, and the Dark Blues to have petered out a little. Yet more baffling was Cambridge form last week-end, when the cognoscenti gathered to see it against Old Merchant Tailors. All the first half Cambridge was ’orrid; all the second quite brilliant. It is impossible, therefore. to make head or tail of “form. ’

My own feeling is that Oxford's stronger forwards will just about turn the scale.

BOXING AND BOXERS. CARNERA A WORLD4BEATER. After Camera’s victory over Paolino at Barcelona (writes Eugene Corri) we may have to revise our estimate of the Italian. Moss de Yong, who was referee, has told us that he is quite decided Camera has it in him to beat the world. And you may take it from me that de Yong is a particularly sound judge, not given to mistaking geese for swans. America, I gather, professes to be amused that much capital has been made out of the latest conquest of the Italian, but that was to be expected. I am not going to pretend that Camera achieved a mighty triumph at Barcelona. Strong, courageous, indifferent to punishment is Paolino. I doubt whether there is a man in the ring capable of absorbing so much punishment. But, when that is said, it is about all that may be urged in favour of the Basque. He is not clever, and never will be clever, and, after the trouncings he has suffered in America, it may be doubted whether he is as formidable as he was twelve months ago. But it is none the less to Camera s credit that he was so definitely. the superior .to Paolino that even in Spain it is allowed the Italian was fully entitled to- the verdict. Leon See, Paul Journee, and Moss de Youg —indeed, everyone with a knowledge of boxing are quite sure that, if Camera had been equipped with gloves that did no more than just fit him, he must have come near to slaughtering Paolino. I have the strongest possible evidence that Camera was tremendously handicapped by the gloves he was obliged to wear. Indeed, it was incredible that he was able to deliver a really good and effective blow with them; But .what was mostly in favour of Camera is that he was unaffected by having to fight befoie a crowd, who,' to a man, “rooted” fo> Paolino. There would have been every excuse had he taken fright, for I know the Latin boxing fan. He is not true to pattern if he does not decide upon the winner before a . fight has begun. My experience has been that only the knocking out of their champion is proof of his defeat; and no one knows this to be a fact better than Leon Sea. STROKE OF GENIUS. The selection of Moss de Yong as referee was a stroke of genius. He fears no one nor any circumstance, and the agreement that the fight was especially clean may 'be attributed to the fact that Moss de Yong was in the chair. My opinion of Camera has undergone • a change, which is all to the credit of the big fellow, in that he gave a boxing lesson to Paolino, and not once in. any of the rounds was he'mentally disturbed. That is the nest possible proof that he lias a flair for fighting. You, who have not seen Paolino in the ring, can have no conception of the type of man he is. So long as he is on his feet, he is not ohly the very soul of aggression, but also the. limit of the most .unexpected angles, and has awkwardness. He does his hitting from little or ho re’gard fdr ceremony. I have known few fighters so rough and ready. Remembering that Camera, in point of experience -at least, is a novice, it is remarkable that he not only 'kept the Basque at bay by ah extraordinarily well-arranged defence, but attacked always with 'great purpose. Whether Camera has now got closer to a fight for the championship, may only be conjectured. It is possible, now he has accounted for Paolino, that he will find it more difficult than ever to fight for the title. It is not his hugeness that will cause the rest of the heavy brigade to be shy of him. Bulk should not scare any man away, but, added to the fact that Camera is the biggest and perhaps the strongest man in the ring, is his speed of foot and the readiness with which he has mastered his - lessons. - GIANT .WHO KNOWS HOW. He can. box, which a great many heavy-weights cannot do. When I last saw him his right hand was no considerable weapon, but he has a great left . hand, which he has been taught and has learned to employ with every straightness and power. At the moment it is difficult to see where his next opponent will come from. There is a suggestion that Camera and Paolino should., have a return match in Italy. Unless Paolino is an entirely unusual fellow, he will not answer the call of Italy after his experience at Barcelona. But there, is this to remember. Jeff Dickson is behind the scenes, and it will be agreed, after his successful staging of the match at Barcelona against stupendous odds, that nothing would seem to 'be impossible for him to do. And, besides, there is such a load of money in Camera that I am sure it. will not be long before we again see him in the ring. Camera, not unnaturally, is consumed with an ambition to meet Schmeling, blit I fear, the German has no relish for such a fight. The position of Schmeling to old ’uns like myself is an extraordinary one. His best performance is represented by a victory over Sharkey on a foul, and yet no surprise, apparently, is felt that he considers he is worth £lOO,OOO to fight Camera. I should very much like to talk with him, and find exact'y by what process he has arrived at his value as a fighter and as a public attraction.

During the past few days Jack Kearns has written me to say that he can produce the 400.000 dollars guarantee asked, for by J : oe Jacobs, Schmeling’s manager, for a match w’ith Mickey Walker, at Soldiers Field, Chicago, next May. If that is so —and I am not doubting the word of Kearns —Carnera might just as well whistle for a match with the German, for it seems to me pretty clear that Kearns, than whom I know no shrewder fellow, has got everything cut and dried. Kearns, as a matter of fact, advertises May 31 as the day when Walker and Schmeling will go to war. Judging by the tone of his communication, Kearns is in high feather. He, of course, has not the least doubt that Walker can knock out Schmeling, and I, too, am of that way of thinking. Walker knows too much for Schmeling. CARRIES THE PUNCH. He is a better boxer by far, and is a heavier puncher. It docs not matter in the least that it seems but the other day Walker fought Tommy Milligan as a middle-weight, and that in the matter of poundage he will never bo more than an average cruiser. If and When they meet, Walker beats fechmeling, the' probability is that Kearns would put him' up .against Stribling, if only 'to keep the .title in America. Kearns having now shown his hand, it must ’be taken absolutely as definite that Walker Jias'given up the idea of defending the. middle-weight championship. .In which case, if I were Den Harvey, I would make every haste to go to America. Now Jack Hood and Dave Shade have had their second fight I am all keenness to know the immediate plans of Jeff Dickson. I shall be disappointed if he does not again attempt something out of the ordinary. I suspect that he would very much like to put Carnera on in London, but, so far as I can see, Europe is pretty well barren of an opponent for the Italian. Maybe Dickson will exploit Carnera in Italy. The Italians are just crazy to see him.

ENGLISH GRAND NATIONAL. RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS. (By “Centaur". —Special to News.) London, December 4. , My friends will remember how I have so persistently argued that the conditions of the Grand National steeplechase required amending, and at last this has come to pass. Many people seem to think that the revised conditions have 'been brought about owing to the ‘big sweepstake craze, but J can say with authority that such is not the case. The conditions governing the Grand National were to have 'been-re-vised this year, whatever the circumstances, and it is pure chance that the mammoth Irish eweeps are going strong at the .same moment. It can be seen at once that the amended rules of entry embody no terms which can in any way affect sweepstakes to a great extent. I set them out as they appear in the “Racing Calendar”: — “The Grand National Steeplechase (Handicap), of £lO each, £s'o extra if left in after January 27, with an additional £4O if left in after March 17, with £5,000 (including a trophy, value £200) added; .second 'to receive £BOO, third £>soo, and the fourth £2OO from the stakes; for six-year-olds and upwards, which 'by March 17, 1931, have been placed first, second or third (by the judge) in steeplechases of three miles and upwards, or the equivalent in foreign distances or in steeplechases of any distance at Aintrce, liverpool; or the winner of any steeplechase value £5OO (selling races in every case excepted). Weights published January 22 at noon; the highest weight not more than I'2-st. 71b., and the lowest weight not less than JOst. 71b. Grand National course, about 4 miles and 8'56 yards. To be run Friday, March 27.” I am sure these conditions will have the right effect and considerably limit the field' at Aintree. That dreadful travesty of' a race when 66 horses went to the post is still fresh in the minds of all of us. Before I close my references to the “National” let me mention that no new star has arisen as a prospective winner. ■So far as we know at this moment the issue will again revolve around veterans of the chase such as Shaun Goilin, -Grakle, Sir Lindsay and so on; in other words, the horses which have run well at Liverpool in previous years. That being the case I should, if called upon at this moment, select the North country mare Melleray’s Belle or iSir Lindsay to win. ' - i