J.J.Williams! 

So you are a rugby fan Will

Quote from: mad lemmey on 29 October 2020, 11:34:00 AM
J.J.Williams! 

Wales and British Lion.  One of the greats of the 1970s Welsh team.  Almost unbelievable.

 

Cheers - Phil

Only 72

As long as JPR Williams is safe, the universe will continue

And Bobby Ball, only 76. 

Quote from: mollinary on 29 October 2020, 07:28:02 PM
And Bobby Ball, only 76. 

Was watching the news when they announced this. I'm sure the presenter said "Bobby Ball, one half of the " (slight pause) " popular comedy duo".

It was almost as if he was putting air-quotes around the word popular.

Quote from: Raider4 on 29 October 2020, 07:44:00 PM
Was watching the news when they announced this. I'm sure the presenter said "Bobby Ball, one half of the " (slight pause) " popular comedy duo".

It was almost as if he was putting air-quotes around the word popular.

At their peak they were incredibly popular.
Nice chaps too by all accounts.

The JJ Williams thing (72 - no age these days) illustrates a pattern I've noticed recently.

There's a worrying number of Sport's people falling before the median age.
While sport and exercise is such a positive in our deskbound society, you'd expect the opposite.

A look back at sport in the late '60s and the '70s shows some events were quite brutal, and physically demanding.
Combine with poorly understood training regimes (steak, chips and a woodbine), poorly spent downtime (Best, Baxter, Gasgoigne), and some extremely questionable therapies.
The result was often an industry that took fit young men and produced middle aged invalids.

My Father was a prodigy at Football and Cricket, played for his local non-league team at 16, had trials for big clubs in both sports, captained his school and college at both then joined the army where he captained the Sergeant's teams at a very large (National service era) training establishment.
He enjoyed his army time, frequently being released to play sports.
The training establishment had a large number of NS man cycled through, and the Colonel keenly scanned the intake lists for any proper footballers he could draft.
Over his enlistment, Dad claims to have captained most of the contemporary Scotland team, a few who went on to play for England and a huge number of youth prospects who went on to professional careers.

When home visiting, we would often walk up the high street together, and somebody would stop of to chat with Dad.
Some were later cricketing friends, but occasionally he'd explain "That's XXXX Scotland and Tottenham".
I was usually taken aback by how aged the former professionals were - men in their late '50s wakjing with sticks or walking frames.
This was the age of miracle cures and no substitutes, the  magic sponge, run it off and a shot of Cortizone at half time.

Football has become a gentler game, excepting the odd atrocity, through more demanding on acceleration and stamina.
What scares me now is to look at the ferocity of tackling by huge men in Rugby.
I wonder what future difficulties the players of today might suffer.

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 30 October 2020, 09:30:29 AM
At their peak they were incredibly popular.

I'm sure they were, but not to everyone's taste. Certainly not mine. Maybe my prejudice means I'm reading too much into it.

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 30 October 2020, 09:49:38 AM
What scares me now is to look at the ferocity of tackling by huge men in Rugby.

Agreed. I grew up idolising people like JJ Williams and Phil Bennett. Who looked just like ordinary blokes. They just happened to be good at rugby. Looking at the giants who play the game now, you do wonder what players like Billy Vunipola are going to be like when they get to 50. I blame the substitutes system. Some players only now have to be fit enough to last for 30-60 minutes.

Nobby Stiles.

Cheers - Phil

Yes - just heard on Radio 4 News

Another one far too young .

Noooo what a legend that man was.