The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

CHAMPION SCOTTISH ATHLETES—1850-1890. G. Davidson, he performedfor some time at the Royal Aquarium, London, where the two challenged the world to perform their feats with dumb-bells. When at his best Dinnie had no rival. The only athleteswho ever made a good show against him at hammer, stone, and caber, were William Tait, G.David­ son, and K. M'Rae,and the first-named was off the field before Dinnie was at his best, and the last two did not come to the front till he waspast his best. Davidson andM'Rae were better men than W. Tait at hammer and caber, andas good at the stone. Yet the last summer Dinnie was in Scotland, and after he had entered on his 45th year, his put with light stone at Aboyne has never been reached by Davidson nor M'Rae, nor any athlete who has competed there excepthimself. That an athlete enteredon the 45thyear of his age and the 29thyear of his career as prize-winner against all-comers,should at hat time be able to make throws asyet unbeaten by the best putters, after himself, of modern times with the same stone on the same ground proves incontestably that Donald Dinnie stands by him­ self the best athlete Scotland has produced, and the best the world has seen at the feats of strength practised at Scottish athletic sports. Dinnie stands almost 6 feet and half an inch in height, is 46I inchesround the chest;thigh 26J inches. GEORGE DAVIDSON. — Still, taking hammer, stone, caber, throwing 56 lb. weight, and wrestling, as the test feats of athletic supremacy at Scottish games, Dinnie's successor as champion athlete of Scotland was George Davidson, also a Deeside athlete. He was born in the parish of Kincardine-O'Neil, which marches with Aboyne, in the year Dinnie began his athletic career—place appropriate, time oppor­ tune, one may say. Davidson began competing at local games before he was 20, but did not come to the front until he was about 23. Following the lead of Dinnie and Fleming, after a few years' successful work as an athlete at home, he went to America in 1879. Notwithstanding the disadvantagea Scottish athlete laboursunder who goes to America, only just in time to