Athletics and Football (extract)

ATHLETICS upon grass courseseither at the Christchurch cricket ground at Oxford or at Fenner's cricket ground at Cambridge. In 1867, however, the Universities moved up to London to the cinder track at the old Beaufort House at WalhamGreen, upon which the championshipmeeting of the previousyear had taken place. The Beaufort House track wascertainly not a good one, being loose and ill-drained, nor wasits oval shape well suited for fair racing; however, it sufficed for championship and Inter-Uni­ versity meetingsuntil 1869, when both meetings wereshifted to the newly opened ground of the A.A.C. at Lillie Bridge. After it was got into working order the Lillie Bridge ground wascertainly a very good one, perhaps as good and as fair a track as has ever been made. Like most other good paths, it wasa third of a mile in circumference, but its chief merit in our opinion lay in the fact that the turns were well graduated. Although the corners were apparently sharp, by making the path slope downwards to the corner, the runners were prevented from running wide, and were givenfour straight stretches, one on each side of the ground. This, wethink, is the right shape of path for everyrace under a mile,and especiallyfor handicap races. The Cambridgeground at Fenner's is also constructed on this principle, there being no long gentle curves as there are at both ends of the ground at Oxford and at Stamford Bridge. Until 1876 the London Athletic Club used Lillie Bridge for their meetings, but the followingyear they took pos­ session of their own private ground at Stamford Bridge. After that the Lillie Bridge track was undoubtedly left neglected,and of late years the old outer track has not been good, the gravel underneath having worked up. In many places also the path is treacherous, the new cinders which have been placed at the top giving way under the feet of the runners. The Stamford Bridge track is, we think, about as badlyshaped as a ground can be for any short races, but the track itself underfoot is almost as good as possible. The path is only a quarter of a mile in circumference, the lap consisting of two straight stretches of 120yards each at the sides and twogradual curves