Athletic

Sports as old as Homer. Greeks who met at the great Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games were as a rule trained profe ionals.' There was little ‘ form ’ or ‘science,’ except in foot-racing, and the prizes were generally wreaths of bay or olive, but winners were kept for the rest their lives at the public expense. Famous cla ical ‘profe ionals' were Euthyinus, Milo, and Hip post nenes, who seem to have over-eaten terribly famous ‘amateurs' were Plato, Pythagoras, and Cleanthes,; who certainly were not equally gluttonous. Olympian Games, after interval of more than 1500 years, were revived in 1896. The chief items in these old games were jumping, running, throwing the weight, wrestling, and boxing. Old English sports were almost universal, and were greatly encouraged by several kings, especially by Henry VIII. They included mainly archery, running, jumping, quarter-staff, etc. London, Cumber land, West more land, and Somersets hire were famous centres. Modern sports began with this century. School sports were started Eton, Harrow, Rugby, and Shrews bury in 1840, Oxford and Cambridge in 1855, for Amateur Athletic Championship in 1866. Largest A. club is the London one, with grounds at Stamford Bridge. Chief A. meetings are the Oxford and Cambridge at Lillie Bridge, the Amateur Championship, the Civil Service, the London Athletic Club, and the United Hospitals, the Glasgow Queen’s Park, and various Highland games at Braemar, Inverne , etc. The " Records” Running.—100 for various “ Events” are as follows: Stamford Bridge, 120 yards in 4-stli sec. by Phillips at Stamford Bridge, 120 yards (hurdles) in 16 sec. by Jackson at Oxford, i mile in 48^ sec. by Tindall Stamford Bridge, £ mile in 1 min. 54 3 -5 th sec. by Cro at Oxford, 1 mile in 4 min. 18 2-5th sec. by George at Birmingham, 10 miles in 51 min. 20 sec. by George at.— Stamford Bridge. Stamford, 2 miles in 14 min. 21 2*5th sec. by Meek Stamford, 5 miles by Webster in 37 min. 22 sec. Lillie Bridge, 10 miles by Clarke in 1 hr. 19 min. 50 sec. at Richmond, 20 miles by Griffith in 2 hr. 47 min. 52 sec. at Lillie Bridge, 50 miles by Sinclair in 8 hr. 25 min. 25^ sec. at Lillie Bridge, 100 miles by Sinclair in 19 hr. 41 min. 50 sec. at Lillie Bridge..23 ft. 2 in. long by Davies at Port arlington. 130 ft. by Barry at Stamford Bridge. Tom Griffith’s for the 20-mile walk, which was done 1870; the latest is H. C. Tindall's for the 4-mile running, which wa$ done in 1889. Some of these were said to have been broken in U.S.A.