Athletics and Football (extract)

234 ATHLETICS Bridge. The Amateur Athletic Club, whichstarted with great prospects and seemedeven more permanent than the L.A.C. in 1869, when it opened its ground at Lillie Bridge as the head-quarters of English amateur athletics, gradually died a natural death, and nowdoes not even exist in name. Up to 1880 the L.A.C. had an unbroken career of success, and, in fact, really becamerather overgrown. The business of a club carried on by unpaid officials naturallymust fall into the hands of one or twoenergetic men who carry it on with little inter­ ference from the rest of the committee. It can hardly be dis­ puted that the method in which the membership of the L.A.C. was for severalyears thrown open to many whoneither had any connection with nor took an interest in athletic pursuits, tended to dissipate the esprit de corps which is so vital to the well-being and success of a club. The risinggeneration of athletes began to betake themselvesto the less important paper-chasing clubs, and even when they belonged to the L.A.C. as well as to other bodies most frequently ran under the names and colours of the smaller institutions to which they belonged. Such a sign might have warned the committee of the L.A.C. that the club was ceasing to cohere as it should. However, all went pro­ sperouslyuntil about the year 1880, when that rapid popularisa­ tion of sport began which,as wehave seen before, has tended in some measureto withdrawthe support of the payingclasses from athletics to other pastimes. The business of attending to a large ground and pavilions and keeping them in order is ex­ pensive, and little assistance can now be obtained from gate- money. The result was that when the L.A.C., in the autumn of 1883, suddenly lost its managing directors there was a debt of 1,000/. to be cleared off, as well as a ground, which was acquired under very onerous conditions, to be carried on. It speaks much for the vitalityof the old club that it has stood the shock and still keeps its place at the head of the London athletic organisations. Last year, when the members subscribed a sufficient sum to clear off the greater part of the debt, the club was reorganised and registered (with leave to