An Athletics Compendium

British Isles ~ General 7 1 - 7 4 government, the events in detail (with much information about nineteenth century athletes), and an appendix of best performances on record. An article on cross-country running is contributed byWalter Rye. The work is fully illustrated by photographs and photo­ engravings. The 1(396' and subsequent editions list British and USA records. Amateur Championship winners and Inter-Varsity champions, in addition, Charles Sherrill, pioneer of the crouch start, contributes a chapter on American athletics: 'Mitchell's performance was never eclipsed until M. J. Brooks, a freshman from Rugby, came up to Oxford. Brooks in his firstyear jumped 5ft10in at the Inter-Varsity sports, and a few days later eclipsed this bya performance o5f ft 11inat the championship meeting. He was a tall, cleanly built, and rather thin man, with a good deal of strength awsell as spring, and his manner of jumping was very striking, although not verygraceful when he got overgreat heights. He took very little run, and in fact almwoalskted up to the bar, springing straight overwiitth his legs tuckedup high and well infront of him, and invariably looked, when his legs were once over, as if his body would fall crashing onto the bar; but nheearly always managed to jerkhis body forward again and to alighut pon his toes.... In 1fi>76 Brooks disposed of his own and Glazebrook's record by jumping 6ft at the University sports at Oxford. For so many years it had been considered an impossible featto jump6ft that the excitement athe performance was very great, and the Honorary Treasureorf the OUAC, thenas now an enthusiastic admiroefr"records", threwhis hat into the air, oblivious of the factthat thoeld Marston Ground was coveredwith puddles, inone of which the hat alighted.' This is a marvellous work, thoughShearman is clearly unaware of the strength of rural sports and pedestrianism, then at their peak in Scotland and Northern England. ^ Subsequent ed. A73 1 Gymnastics / Rawdon Crawley. London: 1890. 'Captain Rawdon Crawley' wasa pseudonym for George Frederick Pardon Despite its title,this isa most interesting book on nineteenth century athletiDcse.scriptions argeiven of many professional performances, such as the famous dead-heat in1665 of Lang and Richards ina mile in4 mins lY'A sees. Crawley also highlights the achievements otfhe greatlittle professional walker, Perkins, who walked thefirst mile of a three mile race in 1674 in6 mins 23 sees, finishing in 20 mins 47 sees. Perkins was almost certainly the first athlete to accomplish eight miles in an hour, a feat which he performed severaltimes. 72 Athletics /Harry Hewitt Griffin.London: Bell, 1891. vi, 119p; illus (The all England series) BL: 7908.df.23 A secondedition is thought to have beenpublished in 1893, and a further edition in 1898, but neither have beentraced. Includes chapters aotnhletics histo(rybased largely on Wilkinson's 1666 work), on the promotion and management aotfhletics and on the technique of the various events. Illustrated by photographs. Contributors include: J. Kibblewhite, W. Pollock-Hill, E. H. Pelling, T. Ray and S. Thomas. 'The first AAC Championships werheeld at Beaufort House on Friday, 23rdMarch, 1666. The track was a gravel pathof about 600yards ttohe lap. The sports were (and for thirteeonr fourteen years continued to be) arranged to follow the Varsity so as tosecure the cream of the "Blue" talent. Thus of sixty-one competitors, thirty-threweere from the Universities and Public Schools, foufrrom the CivilService, seven from the Army, so that outside clubs were poorly represented. The only notable performance was the high jump, wherein T. J. Little and J. H. 5. Roupel, both Cambridge, tied at S5ifnts -best onrecord. 73 Athletics and footbal/l Montague Shearman, with a contribution on paper-chasing by W. Rye and an introduction by Sir Richard Webster, wniutmh erous engravings after Stanley Berkeley and instantaneous photographs by G. Mitchell. 4th ed. London: Longmans, Green, 1894. xxiv, 464p; illus; index (The Badminton Libraroyf sports and pastimes) 2nd and 3rd editions were straight reprints of the 1887 edition BL: 7913.pp.l/6a ^ Previous ed. A70 74 A sporting pilgrimage: riding to hounds, golf, rowing, football, club and universitaythletics: studies in English sport, past and presen/t Caspar W. Whitney. London: Osgood, 1894. xii, 397p; illus BL: 07905.1.30 An American account of British sport, with a substantial section on athletics. There are many excellent photographs. 'I was amused by the pistol of the Oxford starter, which is a muzzle-loading affair, rivalling the college buildings inantiquity, and when exploded sounded like a high cannon fire-cracker. Tmhen as arule adopt the standing start. Ithink I observed only one who started from his hands and knees, and he did not get the advantage (steadinestsh)at siuspposed to belong to that style of getting off the mark. [ 7 ]