All-Round Genius

Leo No.8 · July 31, 2006

Anyone read about this guy Max Woosnam - incredible fella.

He was a Wimbledon champion, Davis Cup captain, Manchester City skipper, England captain, won Olympic Gold, played golf off scratch, was a Cambridge blue, scored two centuries at Lords, made a 147 snooker break and fought in the trenches from start to finish of the first world war.

There's a book coming out about him called 'All-round genius' which I'm going to make a point of reading, apparently he was the greatest sportsman of all time but wouldn't give interviews or court the limelight as he was such a down to earth guy.

It sounds like he got up to some cracking old fashioned japes as well. When in America with the Davis Cup team they were guests of Charlie Chaplin. Apparently Chaplin expected his guests to treat him with a great deal of deference, but Woosnam was having none of that.

He thrashed him at tennis, then challenged Chaplin to a game of table tennis, and proceeded to humiliate him by beating him using a butter knife as a bat. Then later when Woosnam grew bored at the party he picked up Chaplin and threw him in his own swimming pool fully clothed. Chaplin locked himself in his bedroom and wouldn't come out until they'd left.

Brilliant!

Edited July 31, 2006 by Leo No.8

charlie clown · July 31, 2006

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