ROWING CLUBS.
The formation of a 'club' for the pursuit of any branch of sport gives a
local stimulus at once to the game, and lends facilities for the
acquisition of merit in the performance. This is peculiarly the case
with rowing, and for more than one reason. Theoretically a man might, by
unaided scientific study, elaborate for himself the most improved system
or principle of oarsmanship. Practically he will do nothing of the sort,
and if left to teach himself will develop all sorts of faults of style,
which tend to the outlay of a maximum of exertion for a minimum of
progress. The tiro in oarsmanship requires instruction from the outset;
the sooner he is taught, the more likely is he to become proficient. If
he begins to teach himself, he will certainly acquire faulty action,
which will settle to habit. If later on he has recourse to a mentor, the
labours of both pupil and tutor will be more arduous than if the pupil
were a complete beginner; the pupil will require first to be _un_taught
from his bad style before he is adapted for instruction in good action
of limbs and body.
Moreover, all rowing becomes so mechanical that the polished oarsman is
almost as unconscious of merit in his style (save from what others may
tell him of himself) as the duffer is of his various inelegancies. The
very best oarsman is liable insidiously to develop faults in his own
style which he himself, or a less scientific performer, would readily
notice in another person.
Hence, where men row together in a club, each can be of service to the
other, in pointing out faults, of which the performer is unconscious. So
that half-a-dozen oarsmen or scullers of equal class, if they will thus
mutually assist each other, can attain between them a higher standard
than if each had rowed like a hermit. Still more is the standard of
oarsmanship raised among juniors when the older hands of a club take
them in charge and coach them.
In addition to this system of reciprocal education, a club fosters
rivalry, and organises club races; and, in like manner, a plurality of
clubs stimulates competition between clubs, and produces open racing
between members of the rival institutions.
College clubs seem to be the oldest on record. Some of them go back as
early as the concluding years of George the Third. The rise of British
oarsmanship has been traced in a preceding chapter. The oldest 'open'
rowing club is the 'Leander.' When it originated seems to be uncertain,
but it was considered relatively to be an 'old' club in 1837.
Mr. G. D. Rowe, Hon. Secretary of the Club, has kindly extracted the
following memoranda from the Club's history of its records:--
It would seem that the earliest known metropolitan rowing clubs
were 'The Star' and 'The Arrow,' which existed at the end of the
last century, and expired somewhere about 1820. Out of the ruins
sprang the Leander Club, which is still a flourishing
institution, and which includes amongst its members most of the
great University oarsmen of the last thirty years or so. So far
as can be ascertained, the Leander Club did not exist in 1820,
but it was in full swing in 1825, and in 1830 was looked upon as
a well-known and long-established boat club.
In 1837, 1838, and 1841 Leander rowed races against Cambridge,
losing the first and winning the last, whilst in 1838 the race
was declared a draw owing to fouling.
In all three the course was from Westminster to Putney.
In 1839 Leander was beaten for the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley
by the Oxford Etonians; but in 1840 the Leander crew won the
Cup, whilst in 1841 they came in first, but were disqualified on
a foul. In consequence of this Leander did not again compete for
the G.C.C. till 1858,[12] as the Club considered the ruling of
the Umpire unfair.
[12] The Leander entry at Henley, 1858, arose thus. A mixed team of
old Blues of _both_ colours got up an eight, and qualified by
rowing under the Leander flag.
Meanwhile, however, in 1843, -4, and -5 Leander won the
Challenge Cup at the Thames Regatta, and between 1845 and 1855
Leander won the Presentation Cup at Erith for Four-oars, several
times.
Leander, however, was as much a social association as a
competing rowing club. Up till 1856 the number of members was
limited to twenty-five men, who used to meet at Westminster once
or twice a week, and row to Putney or Greenwich, and take dinner
together. Sometimes they would go to the Albert Docks, and dine
on board a ship, at the expense of one of their members, who was
a large shipowner.
After 1856 the number of members was increased to thirty-five,
and in 1862 the Club was put on a more modern footing after the
example of the London Rowing Club, and no limit was put on the
number of members.
The Club quarters were moved to Putney, where a small piece of
ground was rented on which a tent was erected for housing boats.
This piece of ground was acquired by the London Rowing Club in
1864, and on it was built the present L.R.C. boat-house.
Leander, however, were able to get a lease of a piece of land
adjoining, and in 1866 built a boat-house, which still exists,
though the Club has of late thought of departing from Putney and
establishing themselves on one of the upper reaches of the
Thames.
The rowing successes of Leander of late years have not been very
great, though a Leander crew is always formidable 'on paper'
and comprises a good selection of 'Varsity oars. Want of
practice and of combination usually outweighs individual skill.
In 1875 and 1880 the Grand Challenge Cup was won by Leander
under the leadership of Goldie and Edwardes-Moss respectively,
but since 1880 all attempts to carry off the much-coveted prize
have proved futile.
It must have been a curious sight in old days to see a Leander
crew rowing in front of the 'Varsity race in their 'cutter'
steered by Jim Parish, their waterman coxswain. The crew used to
wear the orthodox top-hats on their heads, whilst the coxswain
was arrayed in all the glories of 'green plush kneebreeches,
silk stockings, "Brummagem" coat, and tall white silk hat.'
The match between Oxford and Leander in 1831 had ended in the defeat of
Oxford, and when, six years later, Cambridge challenged Leander, it was
thought by the London division to be a rash venture on the part of the
Cantabs. But we read in the Brasenose B.C. records that in the opinion
of some experts the Leander oarsmanship was observed to have rather
fallen off of late, and that there were not wanting good judges who were
prepared for the Cantab victory in which the match resulted. This casual
remark seems to show that Leander was a club of some years' standing at
the time of this match. There seems to have been a 'scullers' club,
hailing from Wandsworth, even earlier than this. But if it had a name,
the title is lost. There must have been a fair amount of sculling among
amateurs prior to 1830, in order to induce Mr. Lewis Wingfield in 1830
to present the silver challenge sculls which still bear his name, and
which to this day carry with them the title of Amateur Championship. The
University clubs, when once founded, rapidly developed strength; new
college clubs were founded, and eights were manned by colleges and halls
which hitherto had not entered for the annual bumping races. But London
oarsmanship gradually deteriorated between 1835 and 1855. The cause of
this decay is intelligible. The tideway was churned up by steamers,
rowing from Westminster was no longer the pleasant sport which it had
been, and railway facilities for suburban rowing had hardly developed.
Leander made one show at Henley after its foundation and failed to
score a win. After that Leander crews absented themselves from the
scene until the days of their modern revival. There was a club called
the 'St. George's' which put on a good four-oar or two in the 'forties'
at Henley; and after them came a 'Thames' club, which lasted some
seasons, and chiefly distinguished itself by winning thrice running the
'Gold Cup' of the old Thames Regatta of the 'forties.' The Thames Club
also won the Grand at Henley; but they died out, and a lot of local
small-fry clubs dismembered the rowing talent of the metropolis for the
next few years. Of these, the most distinguished were the 'Argonauts,'
between 1853 and 1856. They were not numerically strong, but they made
up in quality for quantity. They were not enough to man an eight, and
the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley was farmed for several seasons by the
Universities. The Chester men came and went like a meteor in 1856. Their
performances will be found under the description of the first keelless
eight. In that year the London Rowing Club was founded, and in 1857,
being then a year old, it made its _debut_ at Henley, and won the Grand
Challenge, Mr. Wood in the Oxford crew breaking an oar in the last two
hundred yards of the race. The foundation of the London Club did more to
raise the standard of amateur rowing than anything in modern times. It
created a third great factor in eight-oared rowing, and served to keep
the Universities up to the mark. It also encouraged other clubs.
Kingston soon followed suit, first with a four and afterwards with an
eight. After them the new (modern) Thames Club also made its appearance
at Henley, beginning like Kingston with fours before aspiring to eights.
In these days Thames are rivals with London for the pick of the rowing
talent of the tideway, and each acts as a stimulus to the other. It is
no exaggeration to say that at an average Henley Regatta, during the
present decade, four or five eights may often be seen, any one of which
would, _ceteris paribus_ (and sliding seats barred), have been
considered a good winner of the Grand Challenge a quarter of a century
ago, so great has been the advance in the standard of amateur rowing.
The Leander Club has been a practical reality once more for nearly
twenty years; it has competed periodically for the Grand Challenge and
Stewards' Cups, and has twice won the Grand, but its composition is now
widely different from what it was in the palmy 'Brilliant' days of fifty
years ago. In those times it represented the rowing talent of the
metropolitan element; it filled the same position that the London and
Thames Clubs now jointly occupy. In these days it is almost entirely
composed of University men, past and present. Having vacated its old
functions, it has in turn filled those formerly performed by the
'Subscription Rooms' of the Universities, which in the 'forties' used to
hail from Stangate. There is but little junior rowing done or taught in
Leander; most of its recruits are already more or less proficient before
they join it. It is not a nursery of oarsmanship, but a colony, to which
rowing men from the Universities resort. It is of value in promoting
sport and competition, but it does not, from the very nature of its
elements, fill the same sort of position that the London and Thames
Clubs hold in the rowing world--as nurseries of junior talent on the
tideway. On the upper Thames, Kingston holds a position of much the same
nature as London and Thames. Twickenham are an old club, but it is only
of late years that they have aspired to Grand Challenge form; they owe
this aspiration to a reinforcement from Hertford College, Oxon. Besides
these leading clubs there are sundry smaller bodies, which content
themselves chiefly with junior rowing. Such are the 'West London' and
'Grove Park,'[13] the 'East Sheen,' and others of this class.
Five-and-thirty years ago it was a rarity to see even a scratch amateur
eight on the tideway, so much had London rowing gone downhill. In the
present day, on a June or July evening, especially on Saturday,
half-a-dozen or more may be seen between Wandsworth and Richmond.
[13] Since the above was written, West London and Grove Park Clubs
have become extinct.
Provincial oarsmanship has made considerable advance during the last
thirty years. The Chester Club was the first to make a great mark, as
mentioned elsewhere. The Eastern Counties are the most behindhand in the
science, although they have good rivers in the Orwell and Yare.
Newcastle produces strong local clubs, and once a champion, Mr. Fawcus,
came from the Tyne. Mr. Wallace, a high-class sculler, also came south,
but without absolute success, some years before Mr. Fawcus. Durham, what
with its school, its University, and its town, shows plenty of sport on
the Wear. Lancashire sent a fair 'Mersey' four to Henley in 1862, and in
1870 the 'John o' Gaunt' men from the same river made a decided hit at
Henley, although they failed to win. Bath has produced some good men
before now, chiefly under the tuition of Mr. C. Herbert, a London
oarsman. The Severn has woke up considerably. In 1850 we doubt whether
four men could have been found on the whole river who could sit in an
outrigger; but during the last fifteen years amateur rowing has made
great advances at Worcester, Bewdley, Bridgnorth, and other towns.
Tewkesbury started a regatta about a quarter of a century ago, and other
towns on the Severn have followed suit. At present the Severn clubs
confine their rowing very much to contests among themselves, and do not
try their luck on the Thames in the leading regattas. The time may come
when they will acquire sufficient talent to enable them to make a
creditable display against the greater clubs of the Thames. The Trent,
though one of the finest of our English rivers, does very little for
oarsmanship. Some very second-class rowing is now and then seen at
Nottingham, and also at Burton-on-Trent. The latter, many years ago,
sent a pair-oar to Henley Regatta; but, so far as we can recall, the
men, or one of them, was a Cantab (Mr. Nadin), and we may surmise that
he owed his oarsmanship to the Cam rather than to the Trent. One curious
feature in provincial rowing is, and has been, the absence of any
professional talent. The Tyne alone has really rivalled the Thames in
respect of producing leading professionals. A good four once or twice
came from Glasgow to the Thames Regatta about sixteen years ago, and
now and then a fair second-class sculler (such as Strong, of
Barrow-in-Furness) has appeared from the provinces, but in other
respects great apathy seems to prevail as regards professional
oarsmanship on all our rivers except Thames and Tyne. The later
decadence of professional talent on these once famous rivers will be
treated in another chapter.
Mr. Brickwood, in his book on 'Boat-racing,' gives some admirable
suggestions for the formation of rowing clubs, which should be read by
all who aspire to found such institutions. For the benefit of those who
may hereafter take the lead in establishing new boat clubs, or in
remodelling old ones, he propounds a 'draft' code of general rules; it
would be presumptuous to attempt to improve upon them, and we take the
liberty of giving them _in extenso_, as sketched by this eminent
authority.
DRAFT RULES.
1. This club shall be called the ---- Rowing (or Boat) Club; and
the colours shall be ----.
2. The object of this club shall be the encouragement of rowing
on the river ---- amongst gentlemen amateurs.
3. Any gentleman desirous of becoming a member shall cause a
notice in writing, containing his name, occupation, and address,
together with the names of his proposer and seconder (both of
whom must be members of the club, and personally acquainted with
him, and one of whom must be present at the ballot), to be
forwarded to the secretary fourteen days prior to the general
meeting at which the candidate shall be balloted for; one black
ball in five shall exclude. In the case of neither the proposer
nor seconder being able to attend the ballot for a new member,
the committee may institute such inquiries as they may deem
requisite, and on the receipt of satisfactory replies in writing
from both proposer and seconder such attendance may be waived,
and the election may proceed in the usual manner.
4. The annual subscription shall be ----, due and payable on
February 1 in each year.
5. Subscriptions becoming due on February 1 shall be paid by
April 1, and subscriptions becoming due after February 1 be paid
within two months; or, in default, the names of the members
whose subscriptions are in arrears may be placed conspicuously
in the club-room, with a notice that they are not entitled to
the benefits of the club.
6. The name of any member whose subscriptions shall be in
arrear twelve months shall be posted in the club-room as a
defaulter, and published in the circular next issued.
7. The proposer of any candidate shall (upon his election) be
responsible to the club for the entrance-fee and first annual
subscription of such candidate.
8. Members wishing to resign shall tender their resignation in
writing to the secretary before February 1, otherwise they will
be liable for the year's subscription; the receipt of such
resignation shall be acknowledged by the secretary.
9. The officers of the club shall consist of a president,
vice-president, captain, and secretary, to be elected by ballot
at the first general meeting in February in each year; the same
to be _ex-officio_ members of the committee.
10. The captain shall be at liberty, from time to time, to
appoint a member of the club to act as his deputy, such
appointment to be notified in the club-room.
11. The general management of the club shall be entrusted to a
committee of ---- members, and ---- shall form a quorum; such
committee to be chosen by ballot at the first general meeting in
February in each year.
12. A general meeting shall be held in every month, in the
club-room, during the rowing season, and at such time and place
during the winter as may be selected by the committee.
13. A notice containing the names of candidates for election at
the general meeting shall be sent to every member of the club.
14. Any member who shall wilfully or by gross negligence damage
any property belonging the club shall immediately have the same
repaired at his own expense. The question of the damage being or
not being accidental shall be decided by the committee from such
evidence as they may be able to obtain.
15. A general meeting shall have power to expel any member from
the club who has made himself generally obnoxious; but no ballot
shall be taken until fourteen days' notice shall have been
given; one black ball to three white to expel such member. This
rule shall not be enforced except in extraordinary cases, and
until the member complained of shall have been requested by the
committee to resign.
16. No crew shall contend for any public prize, under the name
of the club, without the sanction of the committee. All races
for money are strictly prohibited.
17. The committee shall have the management of all club
matches.
18. The rules and by-laws of the club shall be printed, and
posted in the club-room, and the copy sent to every member; and
any member who shall wilfully persist in the infraction of any
such rules or by-laws shall be liable to be expelled.
19. Any member wishing to propose any alteration in the rules of
the club shall give notice in writing to the secretary, two
weeks prior to the question being discussed, when, if the notice
be seconded, a ballot shall be taken, and to carry the proposed
alteration the majority in favour must be two to one.
20. The committee shall have power to make, alter, and repeal
by-laws.
_By-Laws._
1. The boats of the club shall be for the general use of the
members on all days during the season (Sundays excepted),
subject to the following by-laws.
2. That no visitor be permitted to row in a club boat to the
exclusion of a member of the club.
3. That the club day be ---- in each week during the season, and
the hour of meeting ----.
4. That on club days members be selected by the captain (or in
his absence by his deputy) to form crews; the members present at
the hour of meeting to have priority of claim. Should the
decision of the captain or his deputy be considered
unsatisfactory by the majority of members present, the matter in
dispute shall be settled by lot.
5. All boats shall be returned to the boathouse by ten o'clock
at night, except on club days, when club boats taken out before
the usual hour must be returned half an hour before the time
fixed for meeting. Any expense incurred by the club through an
infringement of this by-law shall be paid by the member
offending.
6. Any dispute as regards rowing in any particular boat or boats
shall be settled by lot, this provision having reference more
particularly to club days.
7. In the event of there being more members present than can be
accommodated in the club boats, it shall be at the discretion of
the captain or his deputy, or of such members of the committee
as may be present, to hire extra boats at the expense of the
club.
8. The committee shall from time to time appoint one of their
number to superintend the management of the boathouse, and to
make all necessary arrangements for keeping the boats of the
club in a thorough state of repair and cleanliness.
9. All crews sent by the club to contend at a public regatta
shall be formed by the captain and two other experienced members
to be named by the committee, such crews when formed to be
subject to the approval of the committee.
10. In the event of a crew being chosen to contend in any public
race or match, such crew shall be provided by the club with a
boat for their exclusive use during their time of training, and
shall have their entrance-fees paid by the club.
11. The expense of conveying boats to public regattas at which
crews of the club contend shall be paid by the crews, but the
committee shall have power to repay the whole or any part of
such expenses out of the club funds.
12. The committee, on the occasion of a club race or other
special event, shall appoint a member of the club to take charge
of and conduct all arrangements connected with the same.
13. The member pulling the stroke-oar in any club boat shall
have command of the crew.
14. Upon the arrival of a crew at the place appointed for
stopping, the captain of the boat shall (if required) fix the
time for returning; and, if any member be absent at the
appointed time, the crew shall be at liberty to hire a
substitute at the expense of the absentee.
15. Every member, on landing from a club boat, shall be bound to
assist in housing such boat, and in doing so shall follow the
direction of the captain or other officer.
16. Any member using a private boat without the consent of its
owner shall thereby render himself liable to a vote of censure,
and, if need be, expulsion.
Clubs are often but ephemeral. Some leading spirit founds one, and, when
his influence vanishes with himself, the club wanes; perhaps it pales
before a rival, perhaps it amalgamates with another. From various causes
many minor clubs have risen and set on the Thames within the writer's
memory during the last two decades; others which were in full swing when
he was at school or college have ceased to exist. In the summer of 1886
this question of extinction of small clubs became a subject of
correspondence in the aquatic columns of the 'Field.' Subsequently the
writer of this chapter discussed the question in the following leading
article, published in the 'Field' on July 17, 1886, and now reproduced
by the courtesy of the proprietors. It is given _in extenso_ for the
sake of the history and reminiscences embodied in it.
_The Extinction of Small Rowing Clubs._
We published a fortnight ago a letter of complaint on this
subject from a correspondent who signed himself 'Senior
Oarsman.' We quite admit the fact that the tendency of the great
rowing clubs of the Thames has been to absorb the numerous petty
clubs which at one time abounded on the tideway, but we entirely
fail to agree with his view that this consummation is to be
deprecated, either in the interests of oarsmanship or of
regattas. Our own opinion is, that four or five strong clubs
raise the standard of rowing and the prestige of regattas to a
far greater extent than if these same societies were split up
into a dozen or more minor associations. We can remember when
there were a large number of petty clubs of that description,
many of them hailing from Putney. The ground-floor doors of the
annexe to the 'Star and Garter' at Putney still commemorate the
names of some of them, though the clubs have been extinct for
ages. 'Nautilus' and 'Star' are among the titles which are still
painted on the doors. Prior to the founding of the London Rowing
Club in 1856, the rowing talent of the Thames was split up into
many such small sections. None of them, save the 'Argonauts,'
were fit to man one decent four between them. The L.R.C.
consolidated these small societies for the time being; but there
are always to be found oarsmen who prefer to pose as leaders of
small-fry clubs rather than play second or third fiddle in
first-class clubs. Hence, no sooner had the L.R.C. consolidated
one batch of small clubs than others sprang into existence. At
the date of the founding of the Metropolitan Regatta in 1866
there were once more a host of these minor societies on the
Thames, and one of the causes of weakness in the executive of
that regatta arose from the recognition of these small clubs by
the L.R.C. as factors to be consulted in its organisation. These
petty clubs had no chance of winning the open prizes, but they
were keen to distinguish themselves and have a hand in the
gathering, and accordingly the 'metropolitan' eights and pairs
for local second-raters had to be established, in order to
induce the small clubs to join the undertaking. The result of
this policy was, that before long the L.R.C. provided by far the
larger proportion of the funds for the regatta, and yet had to
defer to the majority of votes of the small clubs in the matter
of executive. At that date Kingston was the only other club
(except those of the U.B.C's.) which was up to Grand Challenge
form, like the L.R.C. Since that date there has been an
expansion of other strong clubs, and, as a necessary corollary,
a gradual decay of minor ones. Thames has grown to be a worthy
rival of London, and has done much to raise the standard of
oarsmanship. Leander has been revived, and Twickenham, which at
one time (in the sixties) was quite a small local club, now
comes out also in Grand Challenge form. This club have not yet
actually landed the great prize, but they have more than once
been good enough to win it, had they been fortunate enough to
draw the best station. Besides these clubs, there has been the
Molesey Club, which in 1875 and 1876 was capable of making the
best crews gallop at Henley, and won the Senior fours at sundry
minor Thames regattas later in the season. Its later absence
from Henley is due to the retirement from active oarsmanship of
Mr. H. Chinnery and others, whose personal energies alone
sufficed to combat the difficulty of distance from London.
Meantime, clubs like the Ariel, Corsair West London, Ino, and
others have become 'fine by degrees and beautifully less,' until
they expired of inanition. There are, and always will be, sundry
ambitious second-class oarsmen who regret the extinction of
societies of this sort, and who recall with regret the
pot-hunting for junior prizes which sometimes fell in their way.
But when we recollect that clubs of this stamp were
conspicuously absent from the winning roll, and usually even
from the competition in senior races in minor Thames regattas,
we fail to see wherein rowing science suffers by their
absorption. Junior oarsmen obtain far better instruction in the
ranks of the crack clubs than they could hope to find in the
small-fry institutions, and they have found this out. When men
have matriculated as oarsmen in weak clubs, they constantly
contract insidious faults of style, the result of being put to
race in light boats before they have mastered the first
principles of oarsmanship. If such men subsequently aspire to
join the better clubs, they have a worse chance of attaining a
seat in a first or even a second crew than if they had joined
the big club at the outset, and had been carefully taught in
tubs till they were fairly proficient. They have to be
'untaught' from a bad style before they can be moulded in a good
one. The Thames cup eights at Henley are of a higher order now
than they were seven or eight years ago, and we are inclined to
ascribe this fact to the 'absorption' system, which not only
strengthens the large clubs, but also provides better
instruction for the rising generation than was the case when
talent was more split up. Oarsmen of good standard who are
really desirous of distinguishing themselves, and are not too
proud to serve in the ranks of a big club after having held
office in a smaller one, freely gravitate from minor to leading
clubs. The juniors of their clubs follow their leaders, and so
the minor clubs become gradually depleted.
We do not consider that regatta entries are practically injured
by the development of the large clubs at the expense of the
smaller ones. We have already said that these small clubs are of
little or no use for senior races, whereas their ingredients,
consolidated in larger bodies, create one or two more strong
clubs which are good enough to produce competent senior crews,
and so swell senior entries. We admit that to some extent junior
entries may fall off in numbers, in consequence of the breaking
up of petty clubs; but, even allowing this, we hold that the
quality of junior entries increases in proportion as those
juniors hail from a good club endowed with scientific coaching.
Clubs whose powers are limited to the production of junior crews
do not contribute much to the standard of oarsmanship, and at
the same time they divert material which in good hands might
attain a good standard. The many petty clubs of fifteen or
twenty years ago used to labour, each by itself, through a whole
season to produce just one junior crew; and this possibly won a
race at last, on a sort of tontine principle, through the
gradual victories of former opponents in junior races, which on
each occasion removed a rival from the field of the future. The
modern strong and first class clubs turn out one junior crew
after another in the season; so that batch after batch of
juniors are thus taken in hand, and competently coached during
the season. Besides regatta rowing, there are club contests, and
these are to be found in even greater abundance and variety
under the management of the leading clubs, and afford more scope
for rising oarsmen, than ever was the case in the expiring and
expired minor clubs. We gave publicity to our correspondent's
complaint, as a matter of fair play in a subject that might be
of interest to many; but, all things considered, we come to the
conclusion that his deductions break down in every respect, and
that rowing and regattas alike benefit rather than lose by
consolidation of material in the first-class clubs of the day.
[Illustration: EARLY AMATEURS.]