Inside Track: Curiosity Corner

KNOW YOUR INITIALS

This week: GF

1: He got rumbled in the jungle

2: An English Derby winner ridden by Pat Eddery for Vincent O’Brien

3: It’s waved by an umpire and Limerick supporters

4: A politician, he never professed to be a sportsman, but was often seen at Croke Park

5: It fell in an Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse, and because of its name gave rise to an oft-asked question

6: This tennis player will always be remembered

7: It’s been flogged to death in this paper: He’s Louth’s best-ever goalkeeper

8: A London soccer ranger who captained the England team......

9: It’s on The Ramparts

10: It can be the cause of matches being called off in wintertime

HE SAID

“He was a very heavy foal, but he was beautifully put together. He was always a very nice foal, he was trouble-free, never sick a day in his life. He was just a very easy horse in every way. He was always a very easy mover, a good, good temperament.”

John Clarke, manager of the Irish National Stud, would not have been surprised when Sea The Stars proved himself one of the great Flat horses of the past two decades.

Trained by John Oxx on The Curragh, Sea The Stars won the English 2,000 Guineas and Derby before coming home first in the 2009 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, only the fourth Irish-trained horse at the time to win win the Paris feature.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

When Everton played Manchester City in the 1933 FA Cup final, it was the first time players wore numbers on their jerseys. But not as we know it today. Everton were numbered 1 to 11, while City had 12 to 22. It was done to help with radio commentary.

However, it wasn’t until the 1946/’47 season that the practice was officially adopted by the League Management Committee, and it was later still, 1954, that FIFA insisted on squad members wearing numbers, in the 1954 World Cup.

Cuba lies second to the US in the table for the most Golds won in boxing at the Olympics. Teofilo Stevenson was the island nation’s most prolific scorer, winning Heavyweight three, in 1972, ‘76 and ’70. Along with Scotland’s Dick McTaggart, Stevenson stands tall among the game’s great amateurs.

Goalkeeper Charlie Nelligan won All-Ireland medals in senior, under-21 and minor in the one year, 1975. He was a sub on the senior side, with Paud O’Mahony wearing the No 1 jersey.

Those who regularly look up the attendance figures for matches in the Scottish League’s lower divisions would be aware that crowds in the low hundreds are the norm.

It’s unlikely, however, if the number that turned up for a game in 1999 will be lowered. Clydebank were playing East Sterling on the opening day of the season, and if the stiles clicked, it was only sporadically. Only 29 paid in.

When Limerick-born John Flanagan, representing USA, threw the hammer further than anyone else at the 1908 London Olympics, he became the oldest to win Gold in an athletic event. He was 187 days over 40, and his record still holds.

Laytown is the only track in Europe to still stage a race meeting on the strand, its first going ahead in 1868. Prior to that, in 1854, Blackrock raced when the tide was out for the first time and continued until 1903. Another Co Louth seaside venue, at Termonfeckin, had racing from 1873 to 1900.

BBC’s Match of the Day was first shown in 1964. Liverpool played Arsenal and won 3-2. Kenneth “They think it’s all over” Wolstenholme introduced the programme, which was shown on BBC 2.

ANSWERS

Know Your Initials: 1 George Foreman, 2 Golden Fleece, 3 Green Flag, 4 Garret Fitzgerald, 5 Good Friday, 6 Guy Forget, 7 Gerry Farrell, 8 Gerry Francis, 9 Gaels’ Field, 10 Ground Frost.