ان نے
4
THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1958.
CONTINUING OUR SERIES
Drama On The Centre Court
The Mystery Of The Two Helens
By DENNIS HART
Histories
The Clubs
STARTED AS A CRICKET TEAM-
It was devastating tennis. Winning shots slammed irresitably But Became One Of Soccer's
across the Contre Court. Eight games were won in soven minutes.
And Helen Wills won her eighth Wimbledon women's singles title to set
up a record that no one expects to be broken.
But the crowd walehed in sillled silence. The final winning shot was greeted with only polite applauIC,
"WDS
1933 Anal of the American Championships, at Forest Hills.
Then, 3-0 down in the final set, Helen Wills conceded the match and walked off court.
For on the receiving end of that tennis blitz
Helen
She later explained that be- Jacobs, a popular player, a cal-cause of a pain in her back lant player and now a lame she was playing against duetur's player,
orders she was on the edge of collapse. An x-my revented a slight displacement of a verta- bre
With the reore standing at 4-4 in a tense first set and
thrilling struggle in prospect
Miss Jacobs ruced to the net to
make a desperate, return, She sloppet cleat, ber face contori- ed with pat
The crowd was stanned with sympathy imd disuppointment.
|
The whloper went around that she had walked off because she couldn't face losing. She had not lost a set for six years. She had twisted an
never Helen Will ankle Certainly, which she had hurt the day played at Forest Hills again.
It was this sort of incident before.
spice which added colour and to the Willa-Jacobe rivalry.
Inevitably it was headline As great contemporaries they were destined to be great rivais. It had been that way since they grew up together in the same suburb of San Fran- elsen, Gossip and rumour had it that schoolgirl rivalry bod grown into a bitter feud.
Dearly Wanted Helen Jacobs had already been beaten In three Wimbledon faks by Miss Wilts. She had won the lille In 1930 when Mis Wills did not compete but she dearly wanted to beat her grení rival for the title.
At the alart of this 1938 Wim- bledon she seemed to have no chance. She had badly strained her shoulder and the authorities thought so lille of her chances that she was not seeded).
news.
The Foud
But it everyone believed that The fed existed no one knew the reason. It was said that AL had begun because of the differ- ence in social levels between them. Miss Wills father was a noted surgeon. Miss Jacobs' father was a tradesman.
But this could hardly cause
exch
lived the other
the same college, off-court as though did not exist.
For the Imperious Helen While was remate not only from Helen
from Jacobe but
the whole tennis world. At Wimbledon, for instance, where eats are laid on for the stars, aho would always travel alone in Din enormous limousine,
On court 14 seemed thot Itelen Wills' one idea of playing Tennis was to win. Her game was ample and powerful. She would seeir out an opponent's weakness, then hammer 11 mer- cllessly.
Greatest Sides
By TIM GORDON
In recent seasons, the Preston North End side has been one of the biggest attractions in top- class soccer, if only for the performances of the incredible Tom Finney-perhaps the most complete footballer of our time.
Like so many other famous clubs, Preston sprang from a religious organisation. It was origin- ally formed to play cricket,
The cricket club was born in 1882, but in 1887 there was 2 split in the membership. One section of the club continued to
Her tennis outfite were expen-play cricket on its old ground. sively plain. Her workmanliks | The other moved to the north approach was demonstrated by part of Preston and, halfway Ehrough 1987 changed its name the introduction to tennis of the
Wills" eye shade. Her lack of to North End, expression earned her the name "Little Poker Face."
This was the tennis approach of a woman of striking beauty. of course, of mang interests. Besides tennis she liked to ride.
and swim, and she was a brilli- and artist. In 1029 she had un exhibition of paintings in Lon- don.
Suffered
But Helen Wils was not the nerveless autematon everybody thought. She suffered mental and physical stress in the cause of
Helen Jacob's reply was 16 establish a recard in becoming the only imseeded player to rench a Wimbledon final without dropping a set. On the way real enmity and was described teunia. After defaulting in that she beat three seeded players by Miss Jacobs herself as "in- | 1933 American Bral she was la bcluding the great Alice Mar- | congruous.” She denied.
too, hospital for six weeks and out of ble.
had the game for nearly two years Helen Wills kept her feelings to herself.
Helen Jacobs was the
rumours that Helen Wills
End
In 1873 the North cricketers Icased A feld Deepdale (which has been the Preston soccer club's home ever since) and two years later, it was decided to form a rugby section to keep the membera
together during the winter
montha.
Preston Grashoppers, the famous Rugby Union team, hnd 100 great o hold in the area for that experiment to slicered. North End switched in the As
during the sensor 1880-01 sociallos code..
NO
In 1025, the Preston el ven
moro was relegated once
bust climbed back in 1934 to spend an unbroken nine years in the lop.clbs.
In 1922, North End had ronch- ed the final of the FA Cup bul lost to Huddersfield by a hotly disputed penalty goal. History strange repeated itself with a twist when, in the 1938 Final, It was Huddersfeld's turn to use lo Preston by a disputed Pruelty in the last minute ok extra ilme.
Two Years In Final
The 1930's, '40's and '50's have been full of exellement for Preston. After losing 3-1 to Sunderland in the 1937 Cup Final, a side which included the Wille Shankly and Beattie they fought O'Donnell brothers,
back to Wembley the following Lost 16-0
year to make the trophy Ita own. emerged In the 1940 there The cricketers-turned-soc- from Preston itself a fruil player
have who cer players could hardly been
was destined to win a No wonder that after that sirut | blackballed her in college
foot- wonders at first nor did theyballers of all time.
expected perform place with the greatest silence the crowd murmured | society,
They lost their first game 30-0, aympathetically, and was When asked for the reason
Is name, of course, is Tom Oppo to Binckburn Rovers. But it Finney-the, Preston lud who, some minutes before the noise of the "feud" both Helen Wills juife. She did not seek popular- died down and play could con- and Helen Jacobs would say, Ity. 11 came
watched was not long before the name to her naturally,
in his boyhood had tinue.
"What do you mean? We and She was
vowed a good tennis player, North End was beginning to and
emulate the quite goods friends,"
And they a good mixer and a good loser. mean something in soccer ehr- fabulous Alex James -- whom
cles. would say no more.
Of that defent in the 1938
Preston brought to England, When they act............_of__ comWimbledon tinal and the erfiles. people would wait for a word frm and ill-feeling that or sign of feeling. Dut always caused by Helen Whis seemingly Scottish player. Jack Belger, wanted to be as inside-left like there was just nothing.
taking advantage of her injured and actually PAID for his ser opponent Miss Jacobs merely suid: "Helen way quite right in rushing through the game."
Stood Aloof Throughout this, Helen Wils stood aloof at the far end of court until piny could resume.
Then she unleashed that string of sizzling drives against an almost immobile apponent to
win 0-4, 0-0,
So the curtain was rung down on the last act of the most my- sterious Wimbledon drama of bil -the rivalry of the "TWO Helena,"
The two players who bad dominated women's tennis for ten years and whose rivalry was the talk of the tennis world would never club again.
They had met.nine times. On eight of these victory went to Helen Wits. The only re Helen Jacoba won was in the
Answers To Sports Quiz
1. Douglas Jardine.
2. Wightman Cup teams.
3. Jersey Jive Walcott
won the tile at 37.
4. Motor-racing.
Ho
For the fact is that although they grew up together, learned their tennis together, went to
Was
TO CUT AND SHOOT HARRIS
IS ALREADY NEXT
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP
Cut and Shoot, a community of a few hundred inhabi- tants just below Houston, Texas, boasts a petrol station, two churches and the next heavyweight champion of the world.
on
to
In the early 1880's the Pres-then transferred to Arsenal Ion Leam Importer 1. famous Tom. # natural Teft-footer,
vicca. The news caused a Sen-
James,
The late Mr James Taylor, who was the driving force at Deepdale for 40 years, had other Ideas. He turned Finney into an outside-right
ration, but many other teams copled Preston ang paid their players. Eventually, there was 1 showdown with the FA which led to the adoption of In 1933, the club reached its professionalism in soccer,
highest position in the League In December 1883, Preston for 60 years. Only a better goal
ed in the FA Cup compeli-tverage save mighty Arsenal
fon for the Arst time. It was the championship.
the start of the "Old Invin- Again At Wembley cibles" or--tho days when Preston teams swept all be fore them.
The following year, the Pres-
ton boys won their way to the
As a result of its prowess Cup Final again only to lose Preston was one of the clubs 3-2 to West Bromwich in the which received, in March 1888. closing minutes of the game.
sug-
Mr. W. McGregor's letter
gesting the formation of the Football League,
the 1950-57 season, many people thought Preston might slip back again into the second division. "They're an nging But
Double Champions side said the know-alls.
Preston backed the proposal Preston confounded them all, and became one of the League's In his 35th year, the fantastic original 12 members. North End Finney was switched from right- finished top of the League the wing to centre-forward end, Arst year of ita formation, win- | after losing its first three ning every match it played and matches, the club climbed the dropping only four points out of table fast-oven chosing Man- 44. That same season, Preston chester United for
cham- won the Cup without conceding, plonship at one stage of the a single goal.
What a record!
BUSON.
the
North End finished the sea-
For one of those few hundred | town proclaims: "Hame of the Inhabitants is Roy Harris, due future heavyweight champlon 10 fight world heavyweight of the world." dis- champion Floyd Patterson (b)
Karrls combines fighting and Augun 18.
army service with teaching. As Aghter he has won all his 22 bouts and chalked up wins over North End took its first nose-con It had started so badly with Willie Pastrano and Bob Baker.ive Into Division Two in 1901, 5 points, the same number
but was promoted three years runners-tip Spurs. who had He is ruined by his father later. Down it went again, in belter goal average, Cut and Henry, a former bare-lunuckle 1912, but the signing of Alf Sinall wonder that
performer. and spars with Common helped the team back of the brothers Tobe and Henry,
the very next season.
5. (a) pole-vaull
8. (a)
cus, (c) Jgh-jump.
Ron
Charles Dumas,
Delany.
(c)
Owens,
7. Ben Hogan.
(b) Whether or not Harris, a 23- Jesse year-old 2nd-Leutenant in the Army reserve, does in feet beat
8. An allan works motor- speculaUon-except 10
cycle team.
D. (a) Brazil, (b) Russia.
10. Christino Truman.
THE
matter
Patterson
Is
worthy Shoot.
citizens of
A sign on the edge
GAMBOLS
the
By Barry Appleby
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