the world's greatest ever sportsman?

Maxwell Woosnam was one of the greatest allround amateur sportsman of his day. He captained Winchester in 1911, his second season in the XI, at cricket and golf. In 1911, when Wisden described him as one of the School players of the year, he hit 144 and 33 not out for a Public Schools XI against MCC at Lord's. Going up to Cambridge, he did not get a Blue for cricket, though he was 12th man in the 1912 match against Oxford, but he represented the University at Association football, captaining the side in 1914, lawn tennis and real tennis. An outstanding centre-half, he played football for the Corinthians, with whom he was on tour in Brazil when the First World War broke out. After Army service, he played for three years for Manchester City, whom he captained, and in 1922 became one of the few amateurs to gain an England cap in a full International when he was chosen as captain against Wales. At lawn tennis, he and R. Lycett won the doubles at Wimbledon in 1921 when he also captained the British Davis Cup team in America. At Antwerp in 1920 he won an Olympic Gold Medal as partner to O. G. N. Turnbull in the men's doubles and a silver medal in the mixed doubles.

Posted By: SCC 26 on July 24th 2006 at 09:23:19

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