OUT DOOR SPORTS

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 142, 2 June 1883, Page 174

OUT DOOR SPORTS

NOTICES. Secretaries of all kinds of Clubs for the promotion of out-door sports will confer a favour by communi- , eating any items of interest connected with., their sport, game, or pastime; more especially withrespect to coming events. ' ■• Short sketches of sporting or pleasure excursions will be welcome, and questions on all matters connected ■ with sports will be gladly answered. All communications must be addressed to The Editor.

—The Parnell yachtsmen were busy hauling up their craft for the season last Saturday. — Ivens, of Auckland police and cricket fame, is playing football in Dunedin with a club called the Pirates.

—Sydney is making strenuous efforts to have the Kugby Uxrien football game played all over Australia, in preference to the association. —In Dunediri iron heel-plates on football boots have been forbidden, and playere wearing , them will in future be ordered off the ground.

—Tom Whiteside has deserted his Club, the Ponsonby, tempted no doubt by the bait of captaincy of a junior club, the Young- Colonials. —Keep, a new man, showed some good play on Saturday in the match, Hardware v. Softgoods, (ICeep,)ing well on the ball. —The offer of the Football Association of £10 for the use of the cricket ground during the season, has, I understand, been accepted by the trustees of the ground. —Pickering was out on the Domain on Saturday doing a little steady •work. He appears very fit, and will make his opponents travel at Avondale tomorrow

=lt IS to be feared that Davy's duties will cause his absence from Auckland during the first Club match or two. If so, Ponsonby will feel his absence from his position aa half-back to a terrible extent. —" Darby " Hyan, who was so much injured as to render it impossible that he should play football this year (so his doctor said, at all events), is not only playing, but doing , remarkably well at it too. So Grafton still has its crack back to depend on.

—Honorary members' tickets for the Auckland Football Association are now in the hands of the hon. sec, Mr Bindon, who will be happy to receive applications for them. The ticket itself is quite a work of art—aesthetic art—being a drab shade with gold lettering, and handsome gold border. —Two matches will be played in the Domain Hollow on Saturday—True Blues v. Union, and Albert v. Young Colonials. The following will represent the Albert:—Bruce, Done, Cosson, Gellespie, Goodacre, Hardwick, Lecky (captain), Miller, Mackie, McDeruiott, Pritchard, Stewart (two), Smart, Snodgrass, Somerfield, and Brett. —Yeale, a new-chum in Sargood's, and who has joined Grafton I hear, showod sterling forward play in tbe warehouse match, on Saturday. I understand his place is bnck. He has one great fault in forward play, viz., falling on the ball very frequently. Putting that aside, however, he will be an acquisition to any club he plays with. .—The Albert played the North Shore 2nd Fifteen on the Recreation Ground at North Shore on Saturday, and won by six points—two touchdowns to nil. The Albert played four men short. J. McDermott and A. Pritchard got a touch each for the Albert, but no goals were kicked. This match was the only one that was played among the junior clubs on Saturday.

—Jim Wood, " our" flying man, has been giving the Wellingtouians a shock at football. In a match between a team from tlio clubs and one from the Government Buildings recently be dropped two goals • from the field, one being tbe wind up of a grand run, and played a splendid all-round game. He and Ned Davy are the half backs of tbe Athletic Association Fpotball Club. —They are discussing in Sydney the advisability of scoring at football by points, as is done hero. A writer, after eight years' experience of the " goal scoring'" is decidedly in favour of the points, as rewarding fair Lard play bettor. At the same time he wants a goal kicked from, the field to count as much as one from a try ; the idea being to encourage dropkicking. Very good suggestion to our Association. I am inclined to agree with the plan on the same good grounds. " i —The sports at the Whau did not come off on the 2-ith, owing to the fact that the course was a lako, and more suitable for swimming than pedestrisn eon--1 tests. Tbe mile race only was " waded," and resulted lin a win by 150 yards or so, for the ridiculously handicapped Stewart. Tbe scratch man, Goodman, could ' only slither in fourth. The balance of the programme • will be run off on Saturday (to-morrow). Monnock, who was not fit, will by this means have a better chance in the big handicap, and I should not be surprised to see him or Whiteside returned the winner, especially as I hear that Mettam is not taking any trouble to train.

—Pickering comes of a running family. His father was a crack in his day, and his three brothers are allrioted. tor extraordinary speed. • "Without α-doubt Jackie the most like a runner to look at of any'l,ever saw strip. -Not even Hewitt, Ted Ellis or Manning could show such symmetrically-rounded thighs and tapering limb's, : while his body is as round ,as ( 'a' cask, and his action grace itself, whether slow or.-tearing along like a horse. King. Hedley, who ran.' : iere in "Ellis' year," was a grandly-shaped raan.but was ashnde too tall for my idea of a ped. Arthur Lewin. Chow Manning's chum, was the nearest approach .to Pickering I cdii think of, and he was a bit, flat in hisjbody and chest. , . " : ' '.

—The., great and much-looked-forward-to glove contest between Professor Miller and Larry Foley, took place in Sydney on the 28th (Monday). Avaeagre'eablegrain informs us that the -match was declared a draw, after two honfs sparring, on account of Foley.'s frjends rushing the ring. This action on the par,t of-/the Foley crowd speaks volumes as what wonld'h'ave'bfe'e'n the probable result had the fight been finished. Jff had.a show, his party would' scarcely "have' eutitfand spoilt ;t. Anyhow, that's the'way it read's,' if you , ask mc.- And yet people in Auckland were .very; anxious to put up three to two, and back Larry to whip, the giant. -•-Mi , Charles Hulston, o£ Ctn'istchurch, sends us the following letter :— Sir, —By the "enclosed cutting from the Canterbury' Times of. May'l2th,"it.appears that Pickering informs you, of, his willingness to. run. mc in Auckland for £50 :—" I issued a challenge, last December ; to run any man.in JfewS Zealand 10,0, 120, ,6rr150 yards, for £100 or £200 a-side an&xhe ohampiqnship ot\ ITew;. Zealand, and-give or take expenses.! Sqon'/aflerwards'it heard that. Pickering'could' .be backed- ,tp.run rne,,but,wheu I sent lip' to' hiinabout it I'could ribfrreceiv'e any. reply. I am not a "professional,' an<l. Ip would not .pay rae.to go to Auqklarid,to\mn for £50.alpine,; but I am .willing to run ;Mr Pickering or any Auckr land for any part" of and will give, or take i£2s'expenses'." .'.'•'. ' ,' ', '. '.''.' ' '■' • —The football..seaspVi; 'of 1883 can now be' said to " : ve -fairly commenced, on 'Saturday the first in. ■ j of the Association programme, Light versus t y "\\' eights, being played on.the Domain Ground ; oho v.unf time a good hard game being fought out .ivstiri; Softgoods and Hardware teams. Besides l->,S'-., there v-ore several Junior Club matches going on in She cuui) D<-irmin. Under the aunpices of the new A&socfq.+.ion ie iji.'.vbo confidently'expected that the annaJ;j bf\.our lou.-.i inotball will be even more interesting during t\\i.% youi , ifian in former years. With more organisation, smoro encouragement to individual exertion and regnfhrii'-y m attendance, a brilliant season lies before us; ai-.'V 1 -,-.; the nine the Club matches commence I trust, tti'S'"■••'<n Club members will have got themselves into a "~ v' training calculated to e»able them to do honour tix Jieiuaels-ja and their Qlribs. The terrible; state of '"pi-...}?" shown by inany-in both matches on v'iie urgent necessity exists for men to take a bit'v; c cure with'themselves, and get their :wind and inuscyT'ia denoiihorder before Saturday /week, , When the *CluV>i"'.'. !> et- ; i:or the first of their'list of matches , ',. It is that now the Association' is' 4 an v accomplished"•fa'6tjS.;*'-.vShaiT /see , ' the ibonororyj lisf ;£Hing{ ujfc f^afelv 1 .;--? subscriptions from lwin^'to'a<%reatyextrat>'. ,r bat.,. tb.».

Asßopifttiqn' '•'will \tiav.e" to, rely Ton 1 ' for'f '• f for Jlie^ucoessfal , carrying out ofrlte v objects. ■" "-'-.' ' ,'' ;-.-.;..■ . '["'.'■ '■ . ; ■ —-The match on Saturday between Lights land'" Heavies wa3 an altogether one-sided affair. , , Lights were, over-matched 'from the start, the heavy-weights winning with the greatest ease. Goals were numerous, Whiteside, O'Connor and others getting tries, and Ryan kicking goals offsome of them.. The two Claytons, Arniel, Macky, White and Biggs showed good form." —Softgooda yersus Hardware proved a most interesting game on Saturday, the sides being , very, evenly matched, and there being, very few mistakes or breaches of rules, despite the' fact that, some of "the players had little previous knowledge of the game , Mr H. If. Davy captained the " calico," 'while Mr P. Moginie a.oted in the same capacity for " tin tacks." The game was fast and bitterly contested from first to last, and at the finish two points each was all the score —Davy on one occasion getting the ball through the backs at the south goal-line, and Brown securing a try, which Eeid failed to convert into a goal; and in the last'term, Cranch, holding the ball in a scrimmage, instead of putting it down, broke out and passed to anethor player, who ran in almost unopposed, as the playere naturally thought that the umpires would order the ball back again. However, as neither saw the act, they allowed the try, which Clayton made a good attempt to convert into a goal, but failed, by only about six; feet however, the ball dropping that much short of the bar. No further scoring was done, and the game thus ended in a draw. The men ■of iron were greatly assisted by the back-play of Cooke and Moginie, the former stopping several dangerous rushes on the part oi Softgooda runners, and taking the ball ffequently out of danger. Jack Clayton worked like a horse forward, and tackled splendidly, as usual; while Stewart aud Lees were always on the alert at half-back. 3?or the Softgoods, Davy made two or three splendid runs, bui was always stopped before he could score, chiefly owing to his bad form preventing any speed by the time he arrived at the backs. W. Skeen, Arthur Burgess, Binney, Armitage, and G. Eeid also played a good sterling garno—in fact no one seemed out of place; but the play altogether showed tbnt from the two fifteens an excellent team could be picked to do battle with the united banks or any other assorted crowd.