Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

competition was more strictly organised. There were regulations on how the competitors should be dressed and the amount of flesh that could be revealed, for example. The standard of the athletics improved. The competitions of the leading clubs attracted large crowds and much local publicity and became an important source of club revenue. Betting on the results was an added attraction for many spectators. Despite the efforts of the authorities, at some venues the events featuring professional athletes were a high spot of the entertainment. As elsewhere in the country, in Victorian Sheffield the athletic competitions were an important part of the town’s social scene. Annual sports days and athletic competitions in Sheffield and other towns were organised into the 1880s. On 17 May 1883, for example, according to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph , ‘an enormous concourse’ of 20,000 people assembled at Hallam’s ground at Sandygate for the football club’s twentieth Annual Athletic Sports with one event (not identified) attracting as many as 77 entries. Serious athletics competitions were also held at Sheffield schools. A press cutting of 1876, when Frank Sugg was probably still a pupil, describes the great excitement and interest shown in the Grammar School sports days of the time with 4,000 people attending the ninth annual sports that year, despite bad weather. There can be little doubt that both Frank and Walter took part in some of these competitions. There is no record of their performances but keen competition would have honed their skills in events involving running, jumping and throwing. Cycling was also a popular pastime in Sheffield, with many cycling clubs established by the end of the century. After the enlargement of Bramall Lane in 1875, a cycle track was installed at the ground. Major cycling competitions were held there; for example in 1886 a Sheffield Cyclists’ charity tournament attracted some 15,000 spectators to the ground. The facilities were also available for use by the general public in the evening for a fee of one penny. During cricket matches, a water cart would often traverse the cycle track to lay the dust thrown up by the cyclists. 27 Frank Sugg was a keen cyclist. He very probably made use of the track at Bramall Lane and he may well have participated in cycling competitions and events in the town. He continued to enjoy his cycling after his move to Lancashire. There is a nice story of him startling horses by the 26 Sporting Beginnings 27 David Hey, A History of Sheffield, Carnegie Publishing, 1998, p 200.