Library of Wales: Sport – Library of Wales Anthology

Sport is one of our consuming passions, and its literature is rich and extensive. This original and enjoyable anthology brings together for the very first time the finest writing on Welsh sport by some of our most acclaimed authors - novelists, short-story writers, journalists, historians and poets. Its wide-ranging selection of fiction, non-fiction and verse reminds us that sport, like literature, is not only about itself but also about life, and sometimes death, and the human meaning of both. Featuring writing by Richard Burton, Dylan Thomas, Dannie Abse, Richard Llewellyn, Carolyn Hitt, Leslie Thomas, Sheenagh Pugh, Alexander Cordell, Lewis Davies, Max Boyce, John Arlott, Eddie Butler, John Toshack, Rupert Moon, Gerald Davies and many more -- Publisher: Parthian Books
In his foreword to this book, Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister for Wales, says of Wales and Welshness that ‘we may not have the conventional signs of life or the institutional trappings of nationhood, but boy could we produce runners and footballers and swimmers and fighters we could all look up to.’ (Strangely ‘rugby players’ don’t feature in that introduction, but the book more than makes up for that omission.) As the title suggests, we are looking at an anthology of poems, anecdotes, essays, newspaper articles, reports, commentaries and stories encompassing some 490 pages, 108 articles contained in eleven chapters partitioning the various sports. The articles cover all sports (no matter how obscure and ancient) going back centuries, but the editor’s selection more than successfully spans the centuries to produce a very satisfactory end result. There are contributions by some very well-known and knowledgeable figures from both within and outside the sporting world including, amongst others, Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton. There are well-established commentators and observers such as Peter Corrigan, John Arlott, Danny Abse, Max Boyce, and Gerald Davies as well as sportsmen and women themselves. In fact, there is so much to this book that only a few examples can be illustrated here. An early and amusing commentary (‘The Perfidious Welshman’, 1910) makes the early connection between Welsh sport and beer, and suggests that these two things go hand in hand through the ages. There is an article on ‘cnapan’, a game played with a wooden ball between villages which is hurled towards the player’s county or country. There is a quote of ‘one thousand to fifteen hundred naked men’ playing this game (George Owen, 1600). This item is interestingly placed under the ‘Early Football’ section. Another well-known ancient game is described in ‘Song Of the Margam Bando Boys’ by Sally Roberts Jones, a long poem about a game which preceded rugby and is described as ‘a sort of combined hockey and football’. We are told that the best team in Wales came from Margam, and the poem describes the exploits of this team. Peter Corrigan provides an article on Welsh International Billy Meredith, who played for Manchester City and Manchester United at the turn of the century. Another article entitled ‘A Special Correspondent – Stirring moments at Wembley in 1927’ is a short account of the year Cardiff famously won the FA Cup and defeated Arsenal (the first and only time the FA Cup has ever left England). Of course, music is never far removed from sport, and ‘Cwm Rhondda’, ‘Sosban Fach’ and ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ are a recurring theme throughout the book, as the songs that accompanied these sporting events were in many ways as important as the event itself (appearing to underline the common national identity, whatever the sport and/or team you supported). Sports as diverse as pigeon racing and local hunts are in here, as well as reference to historic figures such as Guto Nyth Brân (who could outrun his flock of sheep) and Dic Penderyn. Who could ever forget Lyn Davies (or ‘Lyn the Leap’) for his Gold Medal in the long jump at the 1962 Tokyo Olympics? Parry Thomas and his car, Babs, are surely the stuff of legends, as the account of his ill-fated second run whilst trying to attain the world land speed record at Pendine Sands in 1927 shows. Inevitably we come to rugby, and there are some wonderful accounts of the two Wales versus New Zealand games of 1905 and 1953 (both won by Wales) and Llanelli beating the All Blacks in 1972. Max Boyce’s unforgettable humorous poem about how ‘me and Dai’ were left outside the ground on that famous day still makes me smile after all these years – the poem is simply called ‘9–3’, reflecting the score line on the day. Add into the melting pot Carwyn James, Phil Bennett, Cliff Morgan and rugby is more than amply represented. As to the format of the book itself, it is an easy and enjoyable read. You can dip in and out of this, and it must be a perfect present for any sports fan. The temptation is to list all the great stories and poems contained in this book, but that would be impossible. If you are a lover of Welsh sport, then the simple answer is that you really must buy this book! -- Ken Jones @ www.gwales.com