Sporting and Athletic Review

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17729, 26 December 1925, Page 24 (Supplement)

Sporting and Athletic Review

The late A. N. Hornby, who captained the Lancashire eleven for nearly twenty seasons, and whose death at the age of seventy-eight was announced last week, was known by the name of “Monkey.” When he first plaj r ed for Harrow in the Eton-Harrow match, he was such a remarkably small cricketer that some inquisitive person had him weighed just as he was about to go to the wickets. Weighted by bat, legguards and batting gloves he scaled six stone. His light weight and great agility* gained for him the name of “Monkey,” which stuck to him. Air Hornby was a member of Lord Harris’s team which toured Australia in 1879-80, and he found time at the conclusion of the tour, with two or three other members of the team, to make a short visit to New Zealand. Christchurch was one of the places visited and Hornby took part in a match at Hagley Park. The sobriquet he acquired in his school days was certainly not applicable to him then, for he was a stalwart, powerful athlete in the prime of life. A recent cable * stated that Major Goodsell had approached Ernest Barry for a match with his nephew 11. Barry, on the Thames or the Parramatta for the single sculling championship of the world. Some weeks ago Goodsell was challenged by Tom Saul, also of New South Wales, and a deposit for a race for £2OO aside was put up b>* the challenger. Goodsell replied that he was agreeable to a match, but that it must be on a date he named. To this Saul refused to agree, saying that the date selected (December 19) was not suitable to him, but that he would agree to any date after January 28 next. Saul maintains that, as his is the only challenge in, Goodsell must accept it. ## A correspondent in the London “Daily Afail” refers to what he regards as “Rugby snobbishness.” He writes: —Last year, during the visit of the All Blacks, and again this year, the Rugby officials announced that tickets admitting the public to the big matches at Twickenham could be obtained only from Rugby clubs and players. By thus shutting out the great sporting public they are introducing caste and snobbishness into our national game. Probably this attitude of mind is largely responsible for the unfortunate deterioration of British sporting prowess in Rugby, lawn tennis, and even cricket. A suggestion that is finding favour is that the famous Stawell Athletic Club of Victoria, should promote a world's sprint championship at Easter time. Just now Australia is the home of professional running and it is considered in view of that fact that some well established sports body should take in hand the promotion of a sprint championship and carry it through. Australia has a cricket Board of Control, but it has neither power nor finance and, consequently it can only make recommendations to the State Associations. True, it functions as regards visits of teams from abroad, but there its activities practically end. The absurd position of each State Association having the right to make its own decision in respect to any matters which may be of interest throughout the Commonwealth, is being made the subject of articles by the regular , cricket writers* and their unanimity of opinion may, and possibly will, lesult in the formation of a body endowed with all the powers necessary , to control cricket in Australia. 55 55 X A. E. Porritt appears to be finding some speed, as he won the 150 yds 1 handicap for Blues at the Cambridge Freshmen’s sports (writes a London correspondent). The New Zealand athlete was on the scratch mark, and, running well, he got past all his rivals to score in losec. “ Even ” time at this period of the year is high-class sprinting, and Porritt may possibly surpass all his past efforts next summer, particularly should the weather be hot and dryThe following appears in “The Southlandian,” the Southland Boys’ High School magazineWe see that a northern school claims the public schools long jump record of New Zealand with a jump of 20ft 9in. In recent years R. C. Morgan, of our own school, j temped 21ft, and even this effort fell a foot short of the record established by* Alillard in 190 S. It is likely that this record will stand unbeaten far many 3'ears. ’ Alillard s jump was actually* 22ft 2in. At Melbourne on December S F. Keefe put up a new professional unpaced cycling record by covering 23 miles 543 yards in an hour. The old record was 22 miles 1322 yards. The Australian amateur record is 24 miles 544 \*ards, done by N. AELeod on the Melbourne Exhibition track in Alarch of this year. In the pre-war days six-day cycle races were held in Sydney by J. D. Williams on the Sydney Cricket Ground and were witnessed by thousands —in fact on the final clay and night of one of the contests as many as 50.000 people attended. Two years ago an attempt was made to revive this class of racing, but owing to wet weather the promoter, Mr J. Campbell sustained a heavy loss. Recently arrangements were made to promote a six days’ race, commencing on Decernber 27, the total prize money being £IOOO. Flushed with the triumphs of its athletic team in Europe, the Illinois Athletic Club appears to be making a bid for premier position in the United States. The “New York Tribune” states that Loren Murchison has applied for the transfer of his ticket from the Metropolitan A.A.U. to the Central Union, and after the necessary qualifying period of four months will rejoin the active contingent of the Illinois

A.C., of which he was made a life member after winning many races in the club colours in 1921-2. Then, having already in its ranks Johnny Weismuller,. holder of all the world's swimming records up to the 500yds, the Illinois Club will shorty annex the rest, as Arne Borg will be eligible to represent the club next Februar}-. L. O’Connor, the captain of the Queensland eleven, who made 103 against the New Zealand team, is a Victorian by birth. Like Vic. Richardson in-South Australia, he has had the honour of captaining Queensland both in cricket and football. He has developed into a wonderfully good batsman, and is also his State’s wicketkeeper (says an Australian paper). And a very good one he is, too—so good that the Queenslanders consider that he ought to be the second ’keeper in the Australian Eleven. And there are many outside Queensland who hold the same opinion. We have several good wicketkeepers in Australia who are also good batsmen—Oldfield, Love and Ratcliffe, to name only three—but it is doubtful if any of them is a better batsman than O’Connor. In all representative matches against Australian and English bowling he has an average of well over 40 an innings, with a good four-figure aggregate of runs. A remarkable wicket-keeping feat was performed by him in the match between. an Australian Eleven and the 1921 English team, at Brisbane, when in the English innings of 522, there was not a bye, the only extras being two leg-byes. Queenslanders have started the season in great st}-lc with their heavy scoring in the matches against New South Wales and New Zealand. Their score of 506 for nine wickets against New South Wales is by. far the. largest ever compiled by the Queenslanders in a first-class match. In fact, only twice previously* have they* reached 400, the first occasion being when they made 404 against South Australia at Adelaide in December, 1923, and the second when they made 406 against New South Wales at Sydney last season. On only seven other occasions have they got beyond 300 against New South Wales, while they have, done so only once against Victoria. That was when they* made 330 at Brisbane in January, 1913. Their score against New Zealand was 413 for seven wickets, declared. Sydney's motor-racing speedway* at Afaroubra was opened on December 5. The programme of events, which included motor-car and motor-cycle racing and a- motor push-ball match, com-

menced at 11 a.m. before an attendance of 40,000, which was nearly doubled in the early afternoon. “ Seekers after thrills,” ' says an Australian paper, “ came for excitement. They were not only enthralled, but were conquered for future occasions. They had their appetites whetted, and the next meeting at Alaroubra will attract an even larger attendance.” One of the motorcvcle events was the Alaroubra Golden Helmet, a ten-mile scratch race, carrying a prize of £3O, and £lO a week until the winner is defeated. This was won by C. Brown, an American. Amongst the competitors in the motor-cycle races was S. Stratton, of New Zealand, who won the five miles scratch race and the five miles handicap. He had bad luck in t.he Golden Helmet race. When nearly* a lap ahead of the field his petrol pipe burst, but he kept going, holding it together with his fingers. Then his chain broke and he was forced to retire. Australia has to look to the younger cricketers for most of the breeziness in the field and daring at the wickets (says the Sydney "Referee”). Thus in the Test trial V. Y. Richardson, the South Australian captain, was one of the most spectacular batsmen, getting his runs breezily, with a good proportion of 4's. He was. likewise, veryalert in the field, quicker off the mark than he had been a year ago in the matches with England. He has mastered the cover-point position much better now, and is a fine fielder there or anywhere else. All going well, he promises to become one of the men Australia will rely on a few years hence, when some of the. stars now nearing their waning seasons in international cricket, drop out of the big games. In his last two matches, against New South Wales, Victor Richardson made three centuries, the scores being 135, 67, 100, and 125. Altogether, he has made six centuries in the Sheffield Shield, three also against Victoria. A first-class footballer, he has the physical bounce that should make him one of the brightest men of Australia in tests for some \*ears. 55 55 3 On the Sydney* Cricket Ground pavilion walls are a number of tablets erected to the memory of noted cricketers. On Saturday afternoon (says the Sydney “ Referee ” of December 9) Mr A. W. Green, vice-presi-dent of the association, unveiled one to the of E. J. and D. W. Gregory, the brothers who took part in the first test match between England and Australia. Ned Gregory, who played against the first English team in 1862, father of Sydney and Charles, was curator of the Sydney Cricket

Ground for many years. Dave Gregory was captain of the first Australian Eleven, and a very fine worker for the game as hon. secretary of the association in the early ’eighties. Mr Green referred to the splendid cricketing powers of these men. and of the family generally, riot forgetting the daughters of Ned, also to the sterling personal characters of the old players, who were universally admired for their honesty and manliness. Mr Charles Gregory, brother of the two represented by the tablet, and father of Jack Gregory, asked to speak, said a few words in appreciation of the action of the association in perpetuating the memory of his brothers, of whose names the family was so proud. Mr Green said that the Gregories were the greatest cricketing family in New South Wales, and unsurpassed throughout the world. Mr Albert Gregory, another brother, besides sons and daughters of the Gregory brothers, were also present. Each year Jack Hobbs devotes one day in September to a cricket match at Wimbledon, between an eleven of the Surrc3 r Club and a team of “locals.” The proceeds of the match go in equal parts to the Wimbledon and Merton hospitals. This year disaster threatened the collection on account of the heavy rain. Cricket was out of the question, so a story-telling competition took place, and money rolled in as a result. Hobbs (according to the “Manchester Guardian”) contributed this one: “A match was arranged at Lord s between two teams of clergymen, but a start was impossible because of a heavy downpour. Two of the clergy noticed that there was a solitary spectator in the stand, and one of them declared his intention of going across to congratulate him on his enthusiasm for the game. He did so ‘You must be. very keen on cricket,” he said, ‘to come on a wet day like this to watch parsons play.” “ ‘Don't you kid yourself,” came the reply; 'this is the only place I know where they have an all-day license.” ”

THE CRAZE FOR SPORT.

AMERICA'S RULING PASSION. The public interest in everything pertaining to sport has been accelerated in a marked degree during the past generation (says a New York paper). In the United States, particularly, it has come in the course of our evolution from the early da}*s of the foundation of the Republic when the chief inter- j est of the citizenry was politics. Educa- j

tion and religion had their years in the public interest, while money and health held the greatest degree of attention during the closing years of the nineteenth and the opening years of the twentieth centuries. The most recent evidences of the sport complex in the United States are to be found in the amazing manner in which the public has absorbed stories of the squared circle which have been served up to them. A life of John L. Sullivan has sold as fast as it could be delivered from the presses; James J. Corbett’s narrative of his own ring career is among the best sellers, while a story of Bob Fitzsimmons, the freckled Cornishman. by Bob Davis, is acting as a great circulation builder for a popular weekly magazine. The change in public sentiment towards the prize ring and every line of sport has been gradual. The daily newspapers in those old days devoted less than a page to sports, some editors giving it grudgingly. To-day they can’t get enough sport news for their readers. Racing news was not published in the dailies, the sports section having been almost entirely devoted to professional baseball scores and to college football during its short season. During the world war the part played by sports in the life of the country was exemplified by the establishment of gymnasiums as a necessary part of every military and naval outfit. Boxing gloves and baseball paraphernalia were as effective in keeping up the morale of the fighting men as was the * food they ate or the clothing provided for their comfort. [ The invention and development of the automobile, the submarine and flying machines have had their share in ; turning the minds of the young to ath- ; letic prowess. There w-as never a time i in the world’s history- when a sound l mind in a sound body was as necessary . in the battle of life as it is to-day. The - world delivers hard knocks to the ► physically unfit in every line of human endeavour, while it holds out great rewards for the well-balanced of both I sexes. t John D. Rockefeller amazed everyj body when he retired from active busif ness life twenty years ago to devote 5 himself to golf. Thomas Alva Edison. Henry Ford and Henry Firestone be- „ come vagabonds for .several weeks . every year, stimulating their bodies for renewed business effort by getting as , far as possible from the busy throng. ' and whipping mountain streams for the elusive trout. John Jones and Tom Brown reach their offices these days shouldering their golf sticks more often than they carry brief cases. It’s the newest dispensation in our onward march to better things. Sport has become America’s ruling passion.