Athletics and Football (extract)

JUMPING, WEIGHT-PUTTING, ETC. 161 should say, and practised hammer throwing more assiduously probablythan any one has ever done beforeor since. For some yearshe wascontinuallymaking records and then eclipsing them withbetter ones, his finalperformance being 138 ft. 3 in. in 1876. He used a handle of very great length with a leaden head, and certainlywas a magnificent exponent of the science, spinning round many times with great rapidity, and being able on nearlyevery occasion to throw the hammer where he wished, which was not the case with some of the preceding champions, who threwvery erratically. Under the rule of the A.A.A. the thrower has only room for a couple of turns in his circle, and is bound to keep him­ self and his weapon under proper control, as if he ' follow' his hammer outside the circle he loses his throw. The last Englishman who won the championship under these condi­ tions was the old Cantab, the Rev. E. Baddeley, who was the champion of 1882. In 1881 the Irishman M. Davin was the winner,in 1883 a Scotchman, J. Gruer, and for the next three years the event was won by Irishmen. The champion of 1885, W. J. M. Barry, is credited with the record under these rules, having thrown 119 feet, a magnificent perform­ ance. The best distance ever reached with a standing throw is 96 ft. 10 in., which was thrown by F. L. Lambrecht at New York. Another pastimewhich is very popular in Scotland, but has never found favour in England, is that of 1 tossing the caber.' It is an interesting sport which combines both strength and skill. The caber is a beam or small tree, or trunk of a tree, heavier at one end than the other. The athlete holds this perpendicularly, with the small end downwards, balancingit in his hands against his chest. He then ' tosses' it so as to make it fall on the big end. The usual performanceat showmeet­ ings is to bring out a caber so big that none of the competitors can toss it clean over. A piece is then sawn off, and another round is tried. If more than one of the men toss it clean over, the farthest toss and the straightest fall mark the winner. M