SPORTS GATHERINGS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 275, 15 July 1932, Page 2

SPORTS GATHERINGS

THE PLAYING FIELDS. NOTES FROM HERE AND TIIERE. All-round Sport. It is probably not generally known that T. C. Lowry, ihe New Zealand cricket captain, v as, wh.le at Cambridge University, a fine Rugby forv/ard, a good lawn tennis player with a tremendous service, and a .centrehalf for his college at hockey. He had , a, great lcnack for spotting winner s, and his was a weli-known figure on the racecourse. On one occasion he won £80. Unfortunately the bookie "welshed." * "Comebacks" Popular. "Comebacks" in sport are the fashion just now. We have Jack Denrpsey, Georges "Carpentier, Hehry Leonard, once lightweight champ'ion, and numerous others trying to persuade themselves and the publie that they have not lost their sting. And now there is Joe Beckett, England's famous "horizontal" boxing .champion, who is returning to the ring, not,. however, as a boxer, but as a wrestler. * * * No Disputc. When Heeney defeated Hans Birkie ' at Oakland, New York fans knew that he had won for, as they srid, if Birkie was beaten at Oakland, tuen he was beaten by several miles. ' Pi-imitive Football. "The Englishmen play surprisingly primitive football," says a German paper. Adverse eriticism has been levelled against British touring teanis on the Continent. It is openly stated that the players make no attempt to produce scientific football aud to show that England is still the premier Soccer nation. The players are being criticised for their unfair methods, and being- unfavourably compared in this respect with the British amateur teams which have been seen on the Continent. The prestige of professional football in England has been fall- i ing right away. It is suggested that I in future English teams be not invited to tour Europe. H: * * =l: Still Going Strong. J. Merchant, the field events expert, who was a member of the American athletic team which toured New Zea,- , land during the 1922-23 season, is still throwing the hammer prodigious distances. Competing for the Olympic Club, San Francisco, at a recent meeting, he got the implement out to 159ft 7|in. Merchant is regarded as the greatest hammer-thrower for his inches ever developed. He holds the Dominion record of 169ft 9§in. Cost of Fame. It costs about £200 to reach the , Wimbledon centre court according to j leading tennis players. H. W. Austin, tbe British Davis Cup player, estimates that the annual expenses of a ] Wimbledon aspirant are £795. This j is rnade up as follows: — Loss of earn- j ings, £400; court and club fees, £35; I travelling expenses, £150; training j £40; other expenses, £170. Miss Betty j Nuthall spent thousands during her J training. Suzanne Lenglen spent more ! than £1000 a year, and became a pro- ' xesssional because amaterism had al- j most ruined her. Many potential British champions are unknown because j of the lack of financial backing. On the other hand, the United States is j quick to recognise and finance talent, and eonsequently has no lack of stars. Onlooker Reported. It is not often that a referee reports j an onlooker, but in a recent Rugby match in Gisborne such a course had ' to be taken. A spectator eneroached on the field to encourage his team, and ridiculed deeisions in such a manner as to incite rough and unfair tactics. Despite the remonstrances of j his club-mates and in defiance of the i referee's own direct instructions, the I snectator did not desist. As tbe re-

feree considered that type of conduct undermined his authority, he reported the offender. * =!= * Pure Romance. Some Australian writers have been drawing upon their imagination with regard to facts concerning the New Zealand Rugby team at present in JSfew South Wales. In making a comparison between the average weight of the All Blacks and the New South Wales team, one writer had it that the Dominion backs would average little, if anything, under 14 stone. This is pure romance, as the average is slightly less than 12 stone. In the forwards it was considered that the All Blacks would have an advantage of a stone in weight per man, but actually the advantage was one of about 81b. i]z * * Good Coaching. Mark Nicholls is at present in Westport, and as the Buller representative team has two important fixtures against West Coast and Marlborough during his stay, he has been persuaded to coach the Buller representatives for tfiese fixtures. G. T. Alley Returns. G. T. Alley, the ex-All Black forward, is seadily regaining his form after a fairly long absence. It seems probable that h'e will return to the Canterbury representative team. * * * Changed His Mind. Robert Kiesel, the great Californian sprinter, who is regarded as a certain

choice for the American Olympic team, and who has deelared that he would not run at Los Angeles if selected (he P'laced his career first) has apparently changed his mind. His defeat of Frank Wykoff, holder of the unofficial world's. record of 9 2-5sec. for the 100 yards, has, no doubt, played an important part in Kiesel's decision.