Athletics and Football (extract)

8o ATHLETICS in it, and that one Junker. Indeed, the opinion of Rogers was that Junker would have found a more dangerous opponent in C. L. Lockton, who was undoubtedly the best sprinter of 1879. Lockton had a very long career upon the path, having been something of an ' infant phenomenon.' When a school­ boy of fifteen he was quite able to hold his own amongst good company, and was only sixteen when he won the Long Jump championship in 1873. He soon seemed to de­ teriorate from overwork, but in 1875 again he cleared over twenty-twofeet in his school sports at Merchant Taylors', and was then almost the best sprinter and hurdler in England. Some unlucky accidents kept him from the path, and he was not reallyseen at his best until 1879, when, at one of the rival championship meetings, he won the Hundred Yards, Hurdles and Long Jump in the same day. Lockton was,w r e think, the most beautifully-proportioned runner we ever saw on the path, and would probably have been first class at any distance he chose to take up. Unfortunatelyhe left behind him, as some others have done, the reputation of beinga ' fine runner but a poor racer.' In practice his trainer timed himto do level time over a hundred yards day after day, but on more than one occa­ sion he succumbed to his inferiors, notablyin the champion­ ship of 1880, when he was beaten by a few inches by W. P. Phillips and Massey. Lockton both sprinted and hurdled in a verygraceful and taking style, and the contrast between him and Phillips when they ran together wasmostmarked, Lockton running lowand Phillips perfectly erect. For the next three years(1880, 1881 and 1882) the ChampionshipHundred Yards was won byW. P. Phillips, the best Englishamateur at a quarter- milewhom we have ever seen, whoseuntimelydeath from heart disease in 1883 came as a shock to the athletic world. Phillips, who wasover six feet, was, like Lockton, a model of manly strength, and was a splendid oar as wellas runner. From 220 yards to a quarter-mile he was unrivalled, but a hundred yards washardly long enough for him. His three championshipswere each won by a few inches, and in each case a lucky start had