Evening star., 1939-06-09
Bowling and Rugby
Favored Pastimes
OF George VI
British Monarch ExceIs
As Swimmer, but Cares
Little for Golf
BY LAWRENCE PERRY,
Special Correspondent of The Stal


NEW YORK, June. 9.-In every
thing that has been written about
King George WIS athletic career,
vague mention has been made of
the fact that his favorite sport was
lawn tennis, in which his proficien-
cy upon one occasion landed him in
the all-England championships at
Wimbledon. He played, so 1t has
been said. In doubles, and that Is
all that has been said.
Inquiry of sources where exact
information should have been OBJ
tained-the British consulate here,
correspondents of London neWspa-
perS. national lawn tennis authori-
ties-produced results equally vague
He undoubtedly was an excellent
hand with tennis racket-left
hand, if you care to know-and he
did, it seemed, play at Wimbledon
But with whom and against whom,
all deponents professed ignorance
Trounced at Wimbledon.
Thus conviction grew in this de-
partment that the Wimbledon mat
ter was one of those legends, lack
ing tangible evidence of fact, that
accrue to the regulations of dis
tinguished persons. Not, however,
content to dismiss the story thus
easily, this writer's investigations
were carried to England, with the
very satisfactory result of informa-
ton confirming all shadowy refer
ences to the Kings proficiency with
a tennis racket.
Facts are that, in the Wimbledon
week of 1926, the present King, then
Duke of York, appeared on the IA
nous center court, with Wing
Comdr. F. H. Greig as partner. and
took on those famous International
lists, H. Roper Barrett and A. w.
Gore, who proceeded forthwith to
show their indifference to royalty by
trouncing the Duke of York -Greig
combination, as, of course, they fig
ured to do.
Previously, however, the duke and
the aviator had won the champion
ship in the Royal Air Force doubles
match, an achievement sufficiently
satisfactory no doubt, for any Eng
lish player.
Good Swimmer, Bowler.
After 1926, the royal racket-wield-
er dropped out of the big time,
and in recent years his indulgence
has been casual.
AS golfer, he is neither so en-
thusiastic nor so proficient as his
older brother. the Duke of Windsor
his handicap is 10-but he is a
much better swimmer, fancy and
distance. than Edward
Also, he is the best bowler of
the royal family and his feat in
family game at Windsor Castle
in bowling against his father,
George v, his brother, then Prince
of Wales, and Prince Arthur of
Connaught, is memorahzed by the
enshrining of the ball he used in
the athletic trophy room of the
cadets naval school at Dartmouth.
Nor was he negligible as a rugger
player. He was. in his navy days,
a member of the fifteen Of the
battleship CollingWood.
Knocked Out in Rugby.
The story still is told in the navy
OF his seizure in the course of a
service contest by two brawny
stokers of an opposing team, who
hurled him to earth so forcefully
that, for few minutes, the young
i
was royal scion or just a young
chap named Joe.
He used to hunt, but does so no
more, not caring particularly about
sailing over bitches and five-rail
fences in pursuit of silly fox.
He shot his first stag at Balmoral
in 1910, and later, in Uganda, real
lied the dream of every good Eng
lishman by bagging a lion.