Athletics of To-Day 1929

Throwing the Hammer 299 to reach treble figures was Henry Leeke, the elder, who in r869 won the event for Cambridge at 103 ft. rr ins., W. A. Burgess, O.U.A.C., a few days later taking the English title at roz ft. 3 ins. From r868 to r872 Leeke and Burgess were English Champions in alternate years, Leeke raising the record to rrr ft. 7 ins. with his last win, while in r873 S. S. C' Hammer ") Brown, O.U.A.C., so called to distinguish him from numerous other athletic Browns, won against Cambridge at rzz ft. 6 ins., and, although he took the English title in the next year, again beating rzo ft., a new star had arisen at Cambridge in G. H. Hales, who threw rz6 ft. 9 ins., against Oxford. In r875, Burgess became English Champion for the fourth time at 103 ft. 9 ins., but Hales further raised the Inter-University record to 127 ft. Up to that year nothing, except the weight of the hammer, i.e., r6 lb., had been standardized. A man might have as long a handle as he fancied, run as far as he felt inclined, and throw from any spot that suited him. Two judges were needed-one to mark the position of the thrower's foot when he let the hammer fly, and the other to mark where the hammer fell. These points having been det rmined, the throw was measured in a straight line from the toe of the thrower's foot to the point of impact. In r875 the total length of the hammer was cut down to 3 ft. 6 ins. and the throwing space was limited to a 7 ft. circle, without follow. The Universities, however, did not accept these rules until r88r and the effect upon Hales's form was very pronounced. In the restricted style he won two English Championships, r876, 96 ft. 3 ins., and r877, rro ft., but in the same years and unhampered by rules except as to the weight of the missile, h reached 138 ft. 3 ins. and 138 ft. in the Oxford and Cambridge Sports. Hales, I have heard, stood nearly 61ft. in height, and gave more attention to hammer throwing than any other man, until the late A. E. Flaxman (Plate 53, et seq.) made his appear– ance early in the present century. Hales used a leaden-headed hammer with a long handle to match his great stature and, unlike his contemporaries, could get direction into the throw