THE WAR CURTAILS ALL BRITISH SPORTS ACTIVITY Soccer And Racing Try FASTEST HUMAN
Hard To Keep Going
THE WAR HAS INTRODUCED A LOT OF NEW HAZARDS TO THE GAME OF GOLF. TO BEGIN WITH, AIRCRAFT OBSTACLES— DESIGNED TO PREVENT LANDING OF ANY AXIS 'PLANES DOT THE BRITISH COURSES, WRITES A CORRESPONDENT FROM LONDON.
Many of the best layouts near London are scar-¦►◄ red and pitted by bombs. You have to play out of bomb creaters, too-no lifting.
Of eight major British sports, entrance fee to a race course with - only soccer and racing cling to out feeling 11.
Racing
any semblance of their pre-war Here's a quick outline of what glory, and a comparison of curis happening to the mujor sports: rent gate receipts with those for the Winter of 1938-39 for soccer and racing shows that total at tendance is off between 65 and 70 per cent,
Racing dwindled last Summer but reopened again late in Sep- tember Despite charges that it Participation in sports has fallen diverts money from the war effort off nearly as much despite the and laces a strain on transport, it widespread athletic programmes has been going on since. of the Aghting
more Golf, never
than one tennis, Rugby, cricket, track, row-howwever, and since the Blitz be- ing all big amateur purticipant gan, the tracks near London have) sports of the pre-war days--are been quiet. at their lowest levels since 1917-18.
services.
Bombers Are Blamed
Sport bigwigs name bomber and national service as the main
reasons.
There is meting.
Steeplechasing is in high favou at present, but the bookies report betting light. The Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree, however, will not be run this year--for the first time since its inception 104 | |years ago.
THURSDAY'S
BADMINTON POSTPONED
Hong Kong Badmin- ton Association an- nounced this morning that the entire pro- gramme of matches in the Ladies' Doubles event of the current Colony badminton championships, fixed for Thursday, hos been postponed.
with a total attendance of 48,150. This was less than a third of the average pre-war attendance for
Boxing
TRAINED IN LETTUCE SHED
THE LEADING contenders in the dashes at the famous Millrose Games have been sorely handi- capped by the weather, but no one expects slow times, for the top men are Harold Davis and Nor- wood Henry Ewell, writes a correspondent from New York.
finish.
Continuous rain forced Davis, ¦ the A.A.U. meet last summer Ewell the slight Salinas, Calif., Junior held a substantial lead at the hall- College sophomore, to train in away mark only to lose out under huge lettuce storage shed.
the pressure of Davis' termite Pennsylvania State has no in door track, so Barney Ewell, its remarkable Negro flyer, had to do The 10.3 and 20.4 were faster the best he could on outdoor than the times with which Jesse boards under unfavourable clima- Owens won the Berlin Olympics. lic conditions.
Ewell is a seasoned indoor cam- Davis, just turned 20, makes his 'paigner, but Davis's sheer speed eastern bow in his first important fonce he gets under way makes him even indoors.
the favourite iri the 300-yard event, despite his lack of experi-
The boy spurted to renown inence on boards. little more time than it takes him
The longer sprint has a real to travel 100 yards. He bagged the dark horse in Paul Cowie of La-r A.A.U. dashes at Fresno last sum- Salle Military Institute. Emer, and is out to repeat victories
over Ewell.
Feature Event
Davis' performances in the 60 and 300-yard runs will be watched as efusely as the Wanamaker Mile, the feature event.
Davis Gets Swifter
Davis was faster in every suc- cessive meet in 1940,
If he continues to improve, there is a chance he may approach his goal of bettering every one of Owens' sprint records.
"A man doesn't have time
A = in 1940. Britain will run a the inclination to play eighteen substitute Derby, the Oaks.
the i holes of golf or run cross-country | Two Thousand Guineas and the any more," said Geoffrey Sharpe St. Leger The nominations fo president of the Blackheath Han- there are urprisingly high, con- riers, Landon sports club. "Not Fadering the circumstances There; the same number of games. Many after he's worked eight hours at are 65 for the Derby, 54 for the of the top stars have joined the his office and then done 4x or Oaks. 53 for the Two Thousanti į fighting services. There has been a eight hours as a fire fighter of art Gumicas and AI for the St. Læger long tournament between teams The latter brings out Walter Little more than a year ago. air raki warden
Three top owners of the British of Norwegian, Dutch, Belgian, Mehl, Missouri's John Munski, when he enrolled at Salinas Junior The comparative expense of golf turf, Miss Dorothy Paget, Fred | French, Czech and British soldiers. Leslie MacMitchell and Chuck College to make up language cre- clubs, tennis racquets and otheDarling and J V. Rank, all bave
Fenske, who gave the Boston Gar- dits needed for college entrance, things also limits the number of entries for the Derby, but many į
den its fastest mile in history. he did almost everything wrong, participants, Jack Hobbs, ones owners have sold their horses to
Greg Rice of Notre Dame and although he had turned in some Britain's premier cricketeer. de- Irish stables or are racing in Ire The fight game is coming back Con Lash, the Indiana cop, will jamazing times as a schoolboy. clares he has not sold any large land. For the first time in eleven slowly through the medium of have it out in the two-mile. Fred His start and pick-up were par- orders of cricket equipment for years the Aga Khan's name is matinee shows and unoccupied Wolcott of Rice and Ed Dugger of ticularly bad, and he flailed his
Janissing from the list of owners of theatres. These have been draw- Tufts hook up in the hurdles. arms, ran with his head down. Expense also is a factor in the Derby nominees.
ing well with such ancients as Kid But the young sprinters will at- But Davis, who lives for pun- decline in spectator sports, which
Berg and Larry Gaines in the tract plenty of attention.
ning he runs in his sleep — likewise suffer from demands for
| leading ranks. Tommy Furr Ewell tackles the only two men quickly smoothed out most of his national service. With prices ris-
periodically challenges every who beat him-Davis outdoors and faults. ing well ahead of wages, the aver- On Saturday, Jan, 25, for in-heavyweight in the world, but asks Herbert Thompson on boards, His most pronounced remaining age man can't fork out $2 for a stance there were thirty-four pro- more than harried promoters can If both reach the final three-trouble is a slow start, but Char- prizefight seat or 75 cents for the fessional soccer games in Britain, offer.
man heat by way of talent-packed | ley Paddock didn't get off his qualifying races, Ewell should edge | marks in any great rush, and he Davis in the 60-yard dash.
did all right. Davis is a slow starter, although Coach Lloyd Winter credits he has shown steady improvement, Davis with doing the 100 in D and Ewell gets away like a thun-seconds flat from a running start. derbolt.
Davis has An unusually long stride - 9 feet. 3 inches.
months.
Soccer
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Len Harvey and Eric Boon, Bri- tain's top big and little fighters, have not yet been lured into in- door rings, but they're weakening,
Rugby
Ewell cracked a world record of This sport, greatly encouraged 25 years a year ago, when he in the army, is flourishing there covered the little-run 50 yards in and in the public schools, Oddly, five seconds flat.
It also is favourite sport of the Royal Navy, whose destroyer rews dash from deck to lield for an afternoon of sport. As in the ormy, officers play with the men and admit "we get tossed around a goud bit."
Golf
There was no amateur or open Jast Summer and there is no pros- peet for either this year. Small Tournaments sponsored by Incol at roplane funds and charities bring cut most of the stars, Henry Cot- fon performs perjodically for the Red Cross.
Tennis
Wimbledon's inner court has been scarred by bombs and there has been almost no big-lime tennis in the other important clubs. Bunny Austin was in the R.A.F. when last heard of. Most of the women stars are in various types of war work.
As in golf, there is little pros- pect for much tennis activity until the war is over. Even country house tennis, the foundation of the game in Britain, is dying because of the expense and lack of time.
Track
Sidney Wooderson; the
swift solicitor, still gallops across coun- try periodically, but there has been no big track meet in Britain since August, 1930. Wooderson
In the 100 and 200 metres ut
Regardless of how well he gets away in the Millrose Games, Har- old Davis easily may be off to the greatest sprint season on record,
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Rowing
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