English Heroes
E N G LI S H S P O R T
RUGBY FOOTBALL
A game of rugby football developed from a version of football played at Rugby School and was originally one of several different versions of football played at English public schools during the 19th century.
The game of football that was played at Rugby School between 1750 and 1859 permitted handling of the ball, but no one was allowed to run with it in their hands towards the opposition's goal.
There was no fixed limit to the number of players per side and sometimes there were hundreds taking part in a kind of enormous rolling maul.
This sport caused major injury at times.
The innovation of running with the ball was introduced sometime between 1859 and 1865.
The popular myth of the sport's origin states that Rugby pupil William Webb Ellis broke the local rules by running forward with the ball in his hands in a game in 1823.
Rugby School produced the first written rules for their version of the sport in 1845.
Rugby School
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REAL TENNIS
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis (usually simply called tennis), is descended. It is also known as court tennis in the United States,formerly royal tennis in Australia, now real tennis, and courte-paume in France (a reference to the older, racquetless game of jeu de paume, the ancestor of modern handball and raquet games; many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs).
The term "real" was first used by journalists in the middle of the 20th century to distinguish the ancient game from modern "lawn" tennis (even though that sport is seldom contested on lawns these days outside the few social-club-managed estates such as Wimbledon).
The term "real" was first used by journalists in the middle of the 20th century to distinguish the ancient game from modern "lawn" tennis (even though that sport is seldom contested on lawns these days outside the few social-club-managed estates such as Wimbledon).
Real tennis players often call the game "tennis", while continuing to refer to its more widely played offshoot as "lawn tennis".
Real tennis is still played by enthusiasts or "realists" on 47 to 49 existing courts in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and France.
Real tennis is still played by enthusiasts or "realists" on 47 to 49 existing courts in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and France.
Despite a documented history of courts existing in the German states from the 17th century, the sport evidently died out there during or after the World War II reconstruction.
The sport is supported and governed by various organizations around the world.
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FRED PERRY
Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams.
Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row.
Perry also became the last British player to win the men's Wimbledon championship in 1936.
Perry was the first player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles (though not all in the same year) and completed this "Career Grand Slam" at the age of 26.
Perry was the first player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles (though not all in the same year) and completed this "Career Grand Slam" at the age of 26.
Although Perry began his tennis career aged 18, he was also a Table Tennis World Champion in 1929.
In 1933, Perry helped lead the Great Britain team to victory over France in the Davis Cup; the team's first success since 1912, followed by wins over the United States in 1934, 1935, and a fourth consecutive title with victory over Australia in 1936.
Perry was acclaimed across the tennis world, but was not universally admired in his homeland, and was widely ostracised by the tennis establishment for turning professional after completing a hat-trick of Wimbledon singles triumphs.
In 1933, Perry helped lead the Great Britain team to victory over France in the Davis Cup; the team's first success since 1912, followed by wins over the United States in 1934, 1935, and a fourth consecutive title with victory over Australia in 1936.
Perry was acclaimed across the tennis world, but was not universally admired in his homeland, and was widely ostracised by the tennis establishment for turning professional after completing a hat-trick of Wimbledon singles triumphs.
Despite his unprecedented contribution to British tennis, Perry was not accorded full recognition by tennis authorities until his twilight years.
In 1984, a statue of Perry was unveiled at Wimbledon, and in the same year Perry became the only tennis player listed in a survey of 2,000 Britons to find the ‘Best of the Best’ British sportsmen of the 20th century.
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FOOTBALL
English "public" schools (known as private schools in other countries) are widely credited with four key achievements in the creation of modern football codes.
First of all, the evidence suggests that they were important in taking football away from its "mob" form and turning it into an organised team sport.
Second, many early descriptions of football and references to it were recorded by people who had studied at these schools.
Third, it was teachers, students and former students from these schools who first codified football games, to enable matches to be played between schools.
Finally, it was at English public schools that the division between "kicking" and "running" (or "carrying") games first became clear.
The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English public schools — mainly attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes — comes from the Vulgaria by William Herman in 1519.
The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English public schools — mainly attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes — comes from the Vulgaria by William Herman in 1519.
Herman had been headmaster at Eton and Winchester colleges and his Latin textbook includes a translation exercise with the phrase "We wyll playe with a ball full of wynde".
English public schools were the first to codify football games.
English public schools were the first to codify football games.
In particular, they devised the first offside rules, during the late 18th century.
The first known codes — in the sense of a set of rules — were those of Eton in 1815 and Aldenham in 1825.
During the early 19th century, most working class people in Britain had to work six days a week, often for over twelve hours a day.
During the early 19th century, most working class people in Britain had to work six days a week, often for over twelve hours a day.
They had neither the time nor the inclination to engage in sport for recreation and, at the time, many children were part of the labour force.
Public school boys, who enjoyed some freedom from work, became the inventors of organised football games with formal codes of rules.
Football was adopted by a number of public schools as a way of encouraging competitiveness and keeping youths fit.
Football was adopted by a number of public schools as a way of encouraging competitiveness and keeping youths fit.
Each school drafted its own rules, which varied widely between different schools and were changed over time with each new intake of pupils. Two schools of thought developed regarding rules. Some schools favoured a game in which the ball could be carried (as at Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham), while others preferred a game where kicking and dribbling the ball was promoted (as at Eton, Harrow, Westminster and Charterhouse). The division into these two camps was partly the result of circumstances in which the games were played. For example, Charterhouse and Westminster at the time had restricted playing areas; the boys were confined to playing their ball game within the school cloisters, making it difficult for them to adopt rough and tumble running games.
The modern rules of many football codes were formulated during the mid- or late- 19th century. This also applies to other sports such as lawn bowls, and lawn tennis.
The major impetus for this was the patenting of the world's first lawnmower in 1830.
This allowed for the preparation of modern ovals, playing fields, pitches, and grass courts.
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. Matthews' nicknames included 'The Wizard of the Dribble' and 'The Magician'.
A near-vegetarian teetotaller, he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old. He was also the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division and the oldest player ever to represent the country.
Harrow Football Team - 1800s
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SIR STANLEY MATTHEWS
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. Matthews' nicknames included 'The Wizard of the Dribble' and 'The Magician'.
A near-vegetarian teetotaller, he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old. He was also the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division and the oldest player ever to represent the country.
He played his final competitive game in 1985, at the age of 70.
Matthews was also an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 to honour his contribution to the English game.
He spent nineteen years with Stoke City, playing for the Potters from 1932 to 1947, and again from 1961 to 1965.
He spent nineteen years with Stoke City, playing for the Potters from 1932 to 1947, and again from 1961 to 1965.
He helped Stoke to the Second Division title in 1932–33 and 1962–63.
In between his two spells at Stoke he spent fourteen years with Blackpool; where he became an FA Cup winner in 1953 (known as the Matthews Final), after he was on the losing side in the 1948 and 1951 finals.
Between 1937 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the FIFA World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nineBritish Home Championship titles.
Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs.
Matthews died on 23 February 2000, aged 85, after falling ill while on holiday in Tenerife.Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs.
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MOTOR SPORT
SIR STIRLING MOSS
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE (Fellow of the Institute of Engineers) (born 17 September 1929 in London) is a former racing driver from England.
His success in a variety of categories placed him among the world's elite—he is often called "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship".
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TRACK
Sir Christopher John Chataway
When Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile, his close friend Chataway was one of his pacemakers.
Sir Christopher John Chataway PC (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician.
Born in Chelsea, London, Chataway was educated at Sherborne School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a philosophy, politics and economics degree, but his studies were overshadowed by his success on the athletics track as a long-distance runner.
Chataway had a short but distinguished athletics career.
At the Helsinki Olympic Games of 1952, in the 5000 metres final, after being passed on the last bend by the Czech long distance runner, Emil Zátopek, France's Alain Mimoun, and West Germany's Herbert Schade, Chataway's foot brushed the curb and he crashed headlong to the ground. Chataway managed to finish the race in fifth place.
On leaving university he took an executive job with Guinness.
When Sir Hugh Beaver of Guinness came up with the idea for the Guinness Book of Records, it was Chataway who suggested his old university friends Norris and Ross McWhirter as editors, knowing of their liking for facts.
Chataway continued with his running.
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| Chataway (right) and Chris Brasher (left) Roger Bannister |
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| BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
He finished in second place in the 5000 metres at the European Athletics Championship of 1954, 12.2 seconds behind the winner Vladimir Kuts, but two weeks later turned the tables at a London v. Moscow athletics competition at White City, setting a world record time of 13 minutes 51.6 seconds.
The contest was televised via the Eurovision network and made Chataway a sporting celebrity; that December he won the first BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
After competing in the 1956 Olympics, Chataway retired from international athletics, though he continued to race for Thames Hare and Hounds.
SEBASTIAN COE
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, KBE (born 29 September 1956), often known as Seb Coe,[1] is an English former athlete and politician.
As a middle distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and set eight outdoor and three indoor world records in middle distance track events (and also participated in a world record relay).
His rivalries with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.
Following his retirement from athletics he served as a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1992–97, and became a life peer in 2000.
He was the head of the London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and, after the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to London, became the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.
In 2007, he was also elected a vice-president of theInternational Association of Athletics Federations.
On 25 August 2011, he was re-elected for another four year term.
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DIVING
DIVING
TOM DALEY
Thomas Robert "Tom" Daley (born 21 May 1994) is an English diver who specialises in the 10 metre platform event and was the 2009 FINA World Champion in the individual event at the age of 15.
He started diving at the age of seven and is a member of Plymouth Diving Club.
He has made an impact in national and international competitions from age 9.
He represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics where he was Britain's youngest competitor, the youngest competitor of any nationality outside the sport of swimming, and the youngest to participate in a final.
In the first post-Rome 2009 World Championships edition of the FINA World Diving Rankings for the ten-metre platform, Daley reached a new career best ranking of number one.
He won two gold medals for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in the 10 metre synchro diving (with Max Brick) and the 10 m Individual Platform competition.
He won two gold medals for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in the 10 metre synchro diving (with Max Brick) and the 10 m Individual Platform competition.
TOM DALEY
London Olympic Games 2012
Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals
Olympic Rings and Cauldron
© Peter Crawford 2012
London Olympic Games 2012
Olympic Stadium
London Olympic Games 2012
Olympic Bell
London Olympic Games 2012
Royal Barge 'Gloriana' bearing the Olympic Flame
London Olympic Games 2012
David Beckham brings the Olympic Flame to the Opening Ceremony
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Olympic Rings
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Olympic Rings
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Olympic Rings
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Olympic Cauldron
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Olympic Cauldron
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield
London Olympic Games 2012
Opening Ceremony - Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield
London Olympic Games 2012
Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals
Tom Daley - Team GB
Olympic Aquatic Centre - London
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