Athletics of To-Day 1929

16 Athletics of To-day to Ireland, which defeated the home side by nine events to four. Of the L.A.C. members in that year Sir Montague Shearman (now President of the A.A.A.) won the roo yards Flat Cham– pionship, ]. H. A. Reay was second in the rzo yards Hurdles, and ]. H. Douglas and H. Davenport won the Middle-Weight Boxing and a Swimming Championship respectively. The income of the L.A.C. in r876 was £r,zzr zs. rod., and in 1877 they moved into their own ground at Stamford Bridge, which is still the home of the famous club. At that time two very astute brothers, J ames and William Waddell, :filled the posts respectively of Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Secretary to the L.A.C. A sum of £z,8gg rrs. rod. was required to secure the lease of the Stamford Bridge ground, and that sum was raised by means of £z,ooo in subscriptions, a certain amount in debentures, and the rest loaned temporarily by the enthusiastic brothers. That year members of the L.A.C. carried off no fewer than eight of the twelve English Champion– ship titles. The question of a suitable home for the L.A.C. settled, the brothers Waddell turned their attention to a matter of even greater importance and took the lead in a strong agitation for a summer championship meeting. Protracted negotiat]ons followed, but proved fruitless, and in the end the L.A.C. members to a man agreed to boycott the spring championships of 1879 at Lillie Bridge and to hold an opposition championship meeting at tamford Bridge in the summer. In cons quence of this action the spring championships were confined almost entirely to University m n and a few provincials, while the summ r fixture, which was supported by th Midlands, but not by the North, was rather a frost, despite the popularity of W. G. George, who competed in and won both the one and five mil s rac s. The reason for the holding aloof from both meetings of the North of England must be xplained. In r 79 the Northern Counties Athletic Association, comprising some sixteen strong clubs, had been formed, and, incidentally, is, therefore, ]n the anomalous position of being senior to its present governing