Personalities in Sport

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 653, 3 May 1929, Page 7

Personalities in Sport

Few Aucklanders have been associated as prominently with as many branches of sport as Mr. George Henning, who is at present enjoying the glare of the limelight as the “head" In the recent promotion of motorspeedway racing. From the days of bis youth, when he excelled in football. cricket. boxing, wrestling and cycling, his keynote has been enthusiasm, and even when the day came mr him to drop out of active sport retained that keen spirit which has done so much in recent years for the inhering of various pastimes. .To do full justice to George HenfUHiSrs’ career in sport and relate hinteresting reminiscences, so many of " uch would lend themselves admiral,ly to a humorous O. Henry touch H:) uld mean filling a fair-sized volume. a diminutive youngster ir shorts” (short “longs” they were ir mose days), George started off on bis strenuous sporting career while still a 1 He was a star performer at ooth cricket and Rugby, making schoo mstory in a mild form by his tine perjortnances. At the conclusion of his •Mvotting” days ho took up boxing anc "•estling, and at the age of 19 be- ;?® e champion of his club in botl: tcese branches of sport. Geerg® was regarded as a sort • an invincible in those days, and ! n ° n e of the social functions held c * u b he came out in a large T, f. ld and won the waltzing competition which, by the way, was another championship which he ®tatned for several years. GREAT CYCLING CAREER 0 . .."'as in 1893 that George took uy . n S- and in a short time was ranked ‘‘i . 10n S Auckland's quota of cract .JJ 8, *n that year he was also .long those chosen to represenl •uekland at a championship gathering '?*'•<* at Napier. lie managed a firs: JvJ second place at that meeting, anc rctu rnod to Auckland to win from J? cratch . the annual road race tun I apakura to Auckland. Thu as one °f the most gruelling event-' tne times, and George established

Prominent Auckland Sportsman Who Spa rred Wi t h Jack Johnson

a record for the distance which stood Of course, there are other things in e nee besides sport, arid in 1896 lie en- ” tered into business, importing pneuhti tie tvres for cycles and othei acC cessoi'ies. S He later introduced the - first motor-tricvcle in the North Island, il The make of this machine was a De - Dion, and George cheerfully obsened. e t s e C i, d n t t >1 d h P d k t d d

n an interview witn a, oun mu.ii, unit io used to coax a good thirty miles an tout out of it, although that was really a dangerous speed. However, :his machine’s fine performances induced him to import ten locomobile steam cArs. They were the first to jo brought to New Zealand and proved o bo most reliable, George driving one jver the Kimutakas without any trouble. In 1907 a business trip took George :o England, where he met the great negro fighter Jack Johnson. While at Johnson’s training quarters he accepted the opportunity of having a spar with the big negro. George ■dripped off and entered the ring. A ively sparring bout ensued. “I touched him on the face a fair number of times,” said George, “but I could never connect with his body; he was a wonder, far too quick on his feet for me.” “Johnson was keen to entertain, and le was great friends with many notibles in the sporting world.” Returning to New Zealand, George had a chance, while on board ship, to show his ability on the mat. when a crack wrestler, heading for Australia, issued a challenge to meet anyone on the ship. George took it up and in the bout that followed managed a victorv in two straight falls. Mr. George Henning, to be more dignified, has, however, filled many important sports executive positions, and there is little doubt that all credit is due to him for the introducing of speedway racing in Auckland and, m fact, in New Zealand.