The Sporty Hollow!
13 Jan 2010

Pietermaritzburg is indeed located in a hollow, but far from that setting inducing lethargy, the City can in fact lay claim to the title of a sporting capital. After all, it has given birth to two of the world's most popular and formidable feats of endurance - the Comrades and Duzi Marathons; it has produced two world motorcycle racing champions in Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold; it has in Maritzburg College a school outstanding in sporting prowess; and it has aspirations to being the basketball capital of the country.

Maritzburg College Old Boys have captained South Africa at cricket (Jackie McGlew and H. G. Deane) and rugby (Philip Nel ), and in all College has produced some ninety Springboks. Keith Oxlee captained the Natal rugby team and was vice-captain of the Springbok team, while both Darryl Bestall and Brian Edwards captained Springbok hockey teams. Brian Irvine, head prefect in 1950, went on to captain both the Natal rugby team and the Junior Springboks, and to become President of the Natal Rugby Union. Craig Jamieson, head prefect in 1979, is the current Natal rugby captain and the tradition seems sure to continue. In 1987 Maritzburg College boasted eleven South African Schools players – four each in rugby and basketball, two in cricket, and one each in squash, polocrosse and hockey. In addition, Jonty Rhodes was selected as captain of the South African Schools hockey XI and vice-captain of the corresponding cricket XI, 'Vimmy' Visser captained the South African Schools basketball team, and Brent Catterrall captained the South African Schools rugby XV, to make it a bumper and surely unequalled year for College.

The Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of Natal has also produced a significant number of Natal rugby players, coaches and administrators. Since its inception in 1912 the University rugby club has regularly produced the most exciting young players in the province, but perhaps even more importantly two of its players, Basil Medway and Peter de Villiers Booysen, made outstanding contributions to the administration of rugby in the province, and rose to become presidents of the Natal Rugby Union. Two Varsity players of the 1930s, 'Skonk' Nicholson and Izak van Heerden, became legendary coaches in this country and also helped spread the game in South America.

Although there is currently a paucity of Maritzburg cricket players in the Natal and Springbok XIs, it should be remembered that the names Jackie McGlew, Roy McLean and Vincent van der Bijl are known wherever the game is played. Perhaps the recent decline in the local production of provincial cricketers is partly due to the decline in the number of provincial matches played in the Capital. Year in and year out our schools produce the cricketing talent, and in the Oval and Jan Smuts Stadium we have two outstanding venues. Thus it would seem that the current decline is due to forces beyond the City. Basketball evolved in the USA in the 1890s and was named because peach baskets were all that was available for use as goals in a YMCA gym. Interestingly, the pioneers of the game in Maritzburg played rudimentary basketball during the gym classes run by John Stirling in the Buchanan Street YMCA in 1943–44.

In 1953 the first basketball team, the YMCA Comets, was formed by John Armitage and Albert Feinstein. The other original Comets were Ted Clarke, Mike van Rensburg, Ron Stone and Val Ashworth. Apart from one game in the City Hall in 1954, the Comets had to travel to Durban for games. Nonetheless they won the Natal League and knock-out trophies for seven consecutive years. Increasing frustration with the amount of travel, and Durban's dominance of the Natal team's management and coaching, resulted in the formation in 1963 of a new association, Northern Natal, based in Maritzburg, In order to promote the game the Comets disbanded and four new clubs were formed: Dynamoes (led by Errol Mantle and Gisbert Dittmar); Harlequins (led by Val Ashworth and Bert Bowen); Wanderers (led by Barry Harrison and Errol Todd); and Collegians (led by Ted and Billy Clarke and Mike de Klerk). Courts were marked out in the Arts and Crafts Hall of the Showgrounds; on a concrete court laid by the players themselves at the Wanderers Club; and even on a concrete slab in Hay Paddock. Since then the University Sports Union and the YMCA have provided players and spectators with ever-improving facilities. At present 36 teams, divided into three men 's and three women's leagues, compete under the auspices of Natal Midlands (the name change took place in 1983).

Natal Midlands club and representative teams have enjoyed considerable success. In 1971 Harlequins (men) won the National Club Championships, and in 1987 Natal Midlands (men) won the National Championship. The local University team won the South African Universities title (men) in 1980 and 1986. Even more impressive is the number of Midlands players who have been awarded Springbok colours: 13 men and 7 women.

Maritzburg's position as the capital of basketball is further enhanced by its dominance of the game at school level. In 1974 Alexandra High, St. Charles College and Technical High School (now Linpark) launched school basketball in the City. With Eric Frangenheim, Carl Pachonick and Darryl Smith at the helm the game grew steadily, and by the late 1970s six boys' schools had adopted the game, and Val Fowler had done much to stimulate schoolgirl basketball in the City and indeed throughout the country.

Above: A uniquely Maritzburg College tradition? On Friday nights coloured rugs and blankets are spread on the stands to reserve seating for Saturday's rugby matches.

Above: Most of the City's sports facilities are located along the banks of the Msunduze and are thus within the floodplain! This aerial view shows Collegians Club, Woodburn Rugby complex and the YMCA in the foreground, and Kershaw, Alexandra and Camps Drift Parks in the backqround.

Carl Pachonick's enthusiasm and coaching skill resulted in his school, Alexandra High, emerging as the basketball powerhouse, especially during 1978-1985. In 1985 Maritzburg College managed for the first time to defeat Alexandra High at basketball, and the bi-annual clash between these two schools is now a major event on our sporting calendar, attracting some 2 000 spectators into the indoor Sports Centre.

The enthusiasm of the basketball fraternity, and their determination to prove that Maritzburg can stand alone, surely carries a message for all sportsmen and women in the City. The success achieved by the Natal Midlands Women's Hockey Association adds further strength to the break-away argument.

Motor racing in the Capital also has a long and interesting history. Many readers will remember races at the Roy Hesketh circuit, and some will even remember those at the Alexandra Road Circuit. Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold are local riders who won world motor cycle championships, and the national successes of the Gray family have kept the tradition alive, despite the present lack of a local circuit.

There are many other sports in which Maritzburg has excelled, but space dictates the mentioning of only a few here. Cycle racing has been a favourite local pastime, and the City has produced some outstanding performers. In the field of amateur boxing the City has a long and successful history. Some will recall the skills of Laurie Backhouse (junior), the Knoessen brothers (Paul and Ricky) and Norman du Plessis (senior and junior).

Right: Edendale's Joe 'Axe Killer' Ngidi, the former (black) South African welterweight champion!

Although the story of sport in Maritzburg contains many triumphs, it is also marred by several lamentable chapters. Thus two locals, Joe 'Axe Killer' Ngidi and Leslie McKenzie, both world class boxers, were obliged to seek recognition overseas because their non-white status precluded them from competing against 'white' champions in 'white' venues. Towards the end of his career, Ngidi boxed in Britain and Australia. Similarly, to overcome the restrictions of segregated boxing, Mackenzie had to campaign overseas where he became the leading contender for the British Empire Welterweight Title. Tragically we will never know just how far either he or Ngidi could have gone had they not been denied opportunities while in their prime. In the field of weightlifting, Leslie's younger brother Precious, who also grew up in Maritzburg, was clearly the best in his division in South Africa in 1960, but, despite earlier promises, an all-white team was selected to 'represent the country' at the Rome Olympics. In frustration Precious emigrated to England and won Commonwealth Gold Medals in 1966, 1970 and 1974. The Precious McKenzie story ranks right alongside that of Basil D'Oliviera as an indictment of discrimination in sport.

Pietermaritzburg 's three Springbok cricketing Macs at a Merchiston School reun ion in 1951. Left to Right: Roy McLean, Frank Lambert (nationa l selector), Jackie MeGlew, Reg Evans (Headmaster) and Cuan McCarthy.

It can thus be concluded that: Maritzburg's sporting fraternity has excelled in those sports which make use of 'natural' facilities, such as rivers and roads, rather than expensive stadiums; Maritzburg sport can survive and prosper on its own; we should never again allow discrimination, whether it be based on race or sporting affiliation, to deny sportsmen and women the opportunity to reach their full potential; and, it is perhaps high time that Maritzburg took stock of its sports strengths and weaknesses, not so much to copy other places, but rather to further strengthen and market its assets.

SOURCE: Pietermaritzburg 1838–1988: a new portrait of an African city, edited by John Laband and Robert Haswell (Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press and Shuter & Shooter, 1988), pp. 244–5.