Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Saturday 7 September 1935, page 29


These Days of Sport

Best Footballer . . . Lucky Number 7 . . . Boxer

as Masseur . . . Hassett a Champion

By SPECTATOR

Number 7

Watching, the great deeds ol Ken Mackie, of St. Kilda, and Bert Taylor, of Melbourne, In the match at St. Kilda last week, one was struck by the thought that several of the best players in the Leaeue to-day have number 7 on their jerseys. Taylor and Mackie, of course, carry that number. On the racecourse No. 7 is said

A. TAYLOR

to be lucky. Many punters pin their faith, and their fortune, to horses carrying the No. 7 saddle-cloth. I sup-pose it is just as cissy to win, or lose, with that system as any other. But, reverting to foot-ball, every school-boy knows that Bunton of Fitzroy, belongs to the number 7 brigade. This grand foot-baller played the

game of his life against South Melbourne on Saturday, when he was much too good in the centre for the three men whom South pitted against him. Albert Collier, vice-captain and sterling follower for Col- lingwood; L.G. Richards (South Mel-bourne), and Lowenthal, of Essendon, all have No. 7 on their Jerseys. Dr. A. H. McGregor, of Geelong, who is leaving for England is another and what about that round fellow at Richmond, who so effec-tively silenced Huxtable in the match against Carlton? Edmonds is his name Few players get rid of the ball to greater advantage than Edmonds.

Jckyll and Hyde

"Kid" Rooney, the Chinese boxer, is a Jckyll and Hyde of the boxing ring. He hurts and he heals. Ron Negus, whom he battered relentlessly at Fitzroy Stadium will admit that the hands of Rooney can hurt. The experience of Negus lasted not quite one minute, but in that time Rooney rained ii battery of rapid, pun-

"KID" ROONEY.

ishing blows which brought Negus to his knees. So much for Rooney the fighting man.

When he Is not fighting, Rooney carns his living as propietor of a physical culture school at Cairns ( Queensland), and he also uses his hands to further good purpose as a healer. He has cured by massage many persons suf-

fering from muscular and bodily ailments. A medical student for two years, Rooney was forced to relinquish his studies through a nervous breakdown. However, the knowledge gained and the keen in-terest he has always had in physical development have combined to make him a healer of note. He speaks with pride of successes he has had with stubborn cases of contracted muscles, withered limbs and malformed children.

Protecting His Hands

The methods which Rooney adopts, by the way, to protect and preserve his own hands when he is in the boxing ring will be of particular interest to students of the manly art. They are directly oppo-site to the methods used by the majority of borers. "How often," he asks, "do we see a second working the padding of the clove away from the portion which covers the knuckles, with the idea that the boxer w ill be able to score with a more punish-ing blow? This, In may opinin, ls wrong." On one occasion, added Rooney, his hand was broken In a contest, and he blamed incorrect bandaging and the way in which the gloves were "broken" before they were

placed on his hands.

His idea now is that, when lils hands have a foundation of adhesive tape and a soft bandage correctly wound around his knuckles, his flst should close comfort-ably with the tips of his fingers lying in snugly against the palm. When the gloves are placed on his hands he begins to work the padding from the Ups until lils knuckles are protected with extra pad-ding. That enables him to close the glove with case and eliminates to a minimum the possibility of injury to the hands.

One of the Hickeys

In 1899 Paddy Hickey, the Fitzroy foot-baller, was chosen by the late Donald Macdonald as the best player of the year. A few weeks ago he was chosen for the position of chairman of the Werribee Racing Club. Hickey, a brother of Con's, was a wonderful centre half-back, 5ft. 11 in height, 12st and a half in weight, and, despite his size, he made his threeyards dash like a shot. The reason why I have mentioned 1899 is that in that season Fitzroy won the premiership from South Melbourne on the St. Kilda ground. In the previous year Fitzroy won the final

from Essendon.

Old-timers still talk of the day when Paddy Hickey and Vic. Cumberland, of Melbourne, clashed at the Fitzroy Oval. It was a case of the irresistible and the immovable. Cumberland, a fine speci-men, was Melbourne's half-forward, and was noted for lils determined dashes. Ho would go to the centre and dash right through until he was stopped. The foot-ball world awaited with interest the meet-ing of these two great players. Three times Cumberland made his fine dash from the centre, and each time he was stopped by his rival. They used their weight fairly in these real crashes. On the fourth occasion Cumberland finished upon his back. Paddy's force had proved too great. The whole of the Fitzroy team yelled, and nobody who saw the game ever forgot it. It was a wonderful exhibition of pluck and fairness on both sides.

Mr. Con. Hickey, although disinclined to talk about his brother's prowess as a footballer, responded eagerly when I asked him to namo the best player whom he liad ever seen. "Ah, that's easy," he re-plied "Jack Worrall stands alone; he was tile most wonderful player I ever saw a glorious kick with either foot, very fast, a fine judge of pace, and a great mark. From 60 years out it was a cer-tain goal when Worrall had the kick, and whether he used the right or left foot depended on which side of the goal he was standing. There was an old saying -"The goal is a moral when kicked by Johnny Worrall.'"

Hassett No Bully

It is said of Lindsay Hassett, best and fairest of a section in the Amateur foot-ball competition, that he never browbeats or bullies the players whom he leads in the Geelong team. To-day Hassett will be playing his 50th game for the club, and should he chance to kick half-a-dozen goals his total tally will be 150. Cool and

LINDSDAY HASSETT

calm, he has never been known to be flustered on the Held. He is an adept at turning, twisting, and dodg-ing, and is very deadly with delib-erate shots for goal.

Hassett is a South Melbourne cricketer, a stylish batsman, and played for Victoria against Tasmania Al Geelong College ho broke several

records in his last year. He was tennis champion of the public schools, and he also won the handicap singles event at the Geelong Easter tournament once or twice. He is a golfer of no mean ability, as rivals for the trophy at Geelong have realised on numerous occasions. Harry and Dick, well known in sport, are brothers. They are a first-class sporting family.