Sporting Icons - who’s yours ?

[RailwayRowdy]

Whilst walking around Altrincham today I saw and spoke to a face from the past. That unchanged face belonged to Viv Anderson !

 

Viv was of course the first black player to play for the full International England side, something that at the time seemed highly improbable.

 

The “Three Degree’s” get all the recognition where racial issues are concerned. But Viv’s very appearance against Czechoslovakia paved the way for black players of the future.

 

Now there’s an icon. But who is your sporting icon and why.

[TheSage]

Muhammad Ali - or Cassuis Clay as he was.

I'd never seen a boxer or indeed too many sportsmen/women at that time who had the charisma, charm and personality to deal with people and the media in the way in which he did. A breath of fresh air. A black man. And he refused to fight in Vietnam which always struck me as a noble thing to do, resulting in his losing his title and ending up in prison.

Sadly his powers waned towards the end but what an amazing individual.

I'd go as far as to say that he was probably the most famous man in the world when he was alive.

[Essex Vale]

I remember David Hemery winning the Olympic Gold at 400 hurdles in Mexico in 1968. He smashed the world record and destroyed the field that day. I was an aspiring athlete and was in awe of his achievement. He did not get the recognition that he deserved from his total donation at the time.

[ClntonBoulton]

My Dad...keeping wicket for Burslem and then Sneyd in the 60's in NSSC League. Every Saturday going with him to spend the afternoon either playing wherever was available or watching him. Taught me all my values about sport as I grew, played and watched rugby, football and cricket and became a PE teacher.

The pros? I'd have to agree with Sage Cassius Clay was awesome......looking back over his clips I still think I probably didn't realise how good he was.

[Howjy04]

My Dad...keeping wicket for Burslem and then Sneyd in the 60's in NSSC League. Every Saturday going with him to spend the afternoon either playing wherever was available or watching him. Taught me all my values about sport as I grew, played and watched rugby, football and cricket and became a PE teacher.

The pros? I'd have to agree with Sage Cassius Clay was awesome......looking back over his clips I still think I probably didn't realise how good he was.

 

Vince Lindo there at Sneyd ,at that time CB?

Ali was the greatest sportsman ever,IMO.We also missed out,due to his illness,on the great statesman he may have been.

[ClntonBoulton]

Yeah Vince was...what a character! I played against him years later, God knows how old he was. I was keeping wicket and he obviously didn't recognise me from when I was a nipper. When I spoke to him he looked at me and it took a while before he said in his brilliant accent, "Man, he's even wearing Ernie's glasses....." before bursting into laughter and shaking my hand. Had a drink afterwards with him when my Dad turned up and they were like schoolboys discussing all the characters from that era....Jess Hall, Terry Harrison, Brian James etc etc

[Howjy04]

We had some marvellous cricketers around S-O-T at that time,Sobers,Hall etc.

[ClntonBoulton]

Agree....all the pros were great for the game and some of the local lads were good cricketers. ....people often forget Nasim ul Ghani at Longton. I played in the old fashioned Kidsgrove League teams when it was U18 only and you sank or swam if you were young, I was 12/13! Andy Brassington and Phil Bainbridge were in the team at Sneyd and went on to be good pros for Gloucester. My Old Fella used to tell the story about Tom Dewdney's Testimonial game at the old Burslem ground. Tom's team had Sobers, Collie Smith, Tom and all kinds of WI internationals with my dad keeping wicket for them. As they came down the pavilion steps to a full ground some wag shouted "Bloody Hell Ernie you look like a spot on a domino...":laugh:

[man in the pub]

Bobby Moore for me, not the fastest or tallest defender but a great reader of the game. Also acted with great dignity , an ideal role model if values like that are still relevant to todays players.

[TheSage]

A good interesting thread - for us old 'uns! Unlike today there were some splendid role model footballers back then. Moore, Charlton, Eusebio.

 

Going back to the cricket and slightly off tangent (sorry), Laker played in the N Staffs league around 1960 and was hopeless. So too did the fastest bowler I've ever seen - the fiery, short-tempered, foul mouthed, menacing Roy Gilchrist, but I doubt anyone can remember him. CB? Howjy? He really was very intimidating and later on I think got banned because he bowled deliberate beamers at anyone who dared get bat on ball.

[CambridgeDon]

My Dad...keeping wicket for Burslem and then Sneyd in the 60's in NSSC League. Every Saturday going with him to spend the afternoon either playing wherever was available or watching him. Taught me all my values about sport as I grew, played and watched rugby, football and cricket and became a PE teacher.

The pros? I'd have to agree with Sage Cassius Clay was awesome......looking back over his clips I still think I probably didn't realise how good he was.

 

Your Dad, bless him, was a great keeper and a smashing bloke. My memory of that era was watching the WI pro's at Boslem and what fantastic cricketers they were. I once recall Roy Gichrist smashing a six past the pavilion and into the car park, where I think it resulted in an insurance claim. Think he was playing for Chell at the time but I was only about 8, so connor be sure. Always wondered how he managed to bowl so quick for a small guy!

 

There's a great piece about Roy with some comments by former members of Chell CC (including Hanley High former pupils from when it was at Chell) here on Cricket Web:

 

http://www.cricketweb.net/roy-gilchrist/

 

The other thing I remember was Wes Hall - huge bloke with amazing pace - how did anyone manage to survive!

 

On the pro's side, I always admire Cloughie. Great forward whose career was cut short by injury and what an amazing job he did in transforming Forest from a mid-table side at best into European champions. Outspoken too, always told it like it was

[SourceOfTheTrent]

There's lots to choose from and it's hard to select just one but if I have to pick one it can only be Muhammad Ali, brilliant at what he did and a man of principle who was not frightened to stand up for what was right irrespective of the cost. Fabulously entertaining too and how many sports 'stars' of today would pop round a kids sports club out of the blue in somewhere like Salford and just join in their sport with random ordinary kids? He was just a great human being.

[ClntonBoulton]

A good interesting thread - for us old 'uns! Unlike today there were some splendid role model footballers back then. Moore, Charlton, Eusebio.

 

Going back to the cricket and slightly off tangent (sorry), Laker played in the N Staffs league around 1960 and was hopeless. So too did the fastest bowler I've ever seen - the fiery, short-tempered, foul mouthed, menacing Roy Gilchrist, but I doubt anyone can remember him. CB? Howjy? He really was very intimidating and later on I think got banned because he bowled deliberate beamers at anyone who dared get bat on ball.

 

No don't remember Gilchrist but remember watching, and feeling scared for the Old Fella, facing Wes Hall at Chell! Sneyd beat Norton at Sneyd one season with both Sobers brothers, Gary and Gerry, playing. When they went up Norton for the return fixture me Dad went into bat 4 - 6 on an absolute green top specially prepared. Him and Terry Briggs took it to 45 before me Dad was out and then they were all out for 48. Game finished by 4. Years later we met Sobers in a pub, think it was Blackpool, and he remembered me dad and I was gob smacked standing watching Ernst talking to the mythcal Sobers! Gerry Sobers wasn't a bad player either!

[ClntonBoulton]

Your Dad, bless him, was a great keeper and a smashing bloke. My memory of that era was watching the WI pro's at Boslem and what fantastic cricketers they were. I once recall Roy Gichrist smashing a six past the pavilion and into the car park, where I think it resulted in an insurance claim. Think he was playing for Chell at the time but I was only about 8, so connor be sure. Always wondered how he managed to bowl so quick for a small guy!

 

There's a great piece about Roy with some comments by former members of Chell CC (including Hanley High former pupils from when it was at Chell) here on Cricket Web:

 

http://www.cricketweb.net/roy-gilchrist/

 

The other thing I remember was Wes Hall - huge bloke with amazing pace - how did anyone manage to survive!

 

On the pro's side, I always admire Cloughie. Great forward whose career was cut short by injury and what an amazing job he did in transforming Forest from a mid-table side at best into European champions. Outspoken too, always told it like it was

 

God bless you CB! He always enjoyed your Mum and Dad's company and you and your bruv of course! Basil D'Olivera did the same as Gilchrist at Burslem and hit the Lord Mayors car which had been strategically parked behind the pavilion at the top of the hill to keep it safe!! No body laughed.....much

[Essex Vale]

Some interesting memories of the local cricket scene. Great Chell was my local club so I spent a lot of time watching there. Of course, I went to Norton as well to see the great Garfield Sobers. Roy Gilchrist played for Chell, and yes he was pretty moody and not entirely effective. Trevor Goddard, the South African Vice Captain credited his season with Chell for making him a much better all round cricketer. He broke the league record for runs, scoring over 1,000 at an average of 94. He took over 60 wickets at an average of 12.

 

Wes Hall did not come anywhere close to Goddard's success. I remember the wicket keeper, John Bailey, stood so far back to Hall that he was closer to the boundary than the stumps. I also remember a local batsman facing Hall and he drove him straight back over his head for 6, hitting a huge water tank located outside the ground. Wes was not happy at all. I remember asking him for his autograph which he gave me, somewhat unwillingly, complaining to me that I should be watching the game. I was 9 years of age! So not great memories of him, but certainly terrific memories of Trevor Goddard.