Clive Williams recalls what was happening in Welsh athletics around this time 51 years ago.
This past weekend 51 years ago, newly-formed Cardiff AAC headed to the very first fixture of the new British Athletics League – or National League as it was called then – in Twickenham on 10th May 1969, confident of making a good impression amongst Britain’s top clubs.
The club, formed from the amalgamation of the two Cardiff clubs Roath and Birchgrove Harriers the previous November, were a powerful force. They could call on Olympic and Commonwealth medallists and numerous Welsh title holders and were expected to challenge for the division one league title in the three match series that year.
Cardiff had taken its place in the top division after a pilot league in 1968 in which prior to the amalgamation, Birchgrove Harriers had performed creditably. But the three divisions comprising of six clubs each of the new league had been decided on the performances of the two leading athletes in each event in each club in 1968. And it was on this basis that the Welsh club took their place amongst the elite of British clubs in the top division.
But alarm bells began to ring after that first match on a cold blustery and dismal day in Twickenham – now called The Stoop, the home of Harlequins RFC – as they could only finish 4th of the six teams. Birchfield Harriers, then as now, one of the giants of UK club athletics, won narrowly from hosts, Polytechnic Harriers with Brighton & Hove third.
However, there were some fine individual performances from Cardiff as the Welsh club’s athletes won five A events and two B events in the face of very stiff competition from the countless British international athletes competing for their clubs.
Cardiff’s star man was the late John Walters who took both the shot and discus events with 15.32m and 45.40m. He was closely followed in a starring role by the 1964 Olympic long jump champion Lynn Davies who took the 200m in a slow 22.6 on the loose cinder track, also adding a second in the 100m in 11.3secs behind the winner, Polytechnic’s European indoor 60m silver medallist, Bob Frith.
Lynn also ran an excellent leg in the sprint relay to help secure the runners-up spot for his team. There was disaster though for the previous year’s AAA youths (15-17) 100 yards champion Adrian Thomas in the B 100m – he false started twice and was disqualified. Said Thomas, the current non-executive director of Welsh Athletics:
“I really learned a lesson that day and never false started again. I was a bit overawed having an Olympic champion as a teammate”
he continued. Unlike today when it’s one false start and you are out, in those days you were allowed two.
Cardiff’s long jump strength was such that they won both the A & B long jump competitions without their Olympic champion Lynn as former Welsh Athletics non-executive director Gwyn Williams took the A event with 7.08m and Russell Church the B with 6.53m.
Cardiff’s other A string winner was Welsh record holder Dave Lease in the pole vault with 4.25m. Dave who became the Scottish National Coach after retiring would be a dominating competitor for Cardiff in their halcyon years including when the club won the league for three successive years between 1972 and 1974, as was John Walters. Future Welsh marathon record holder and current Welsh Athletics non-executive director Bernie Plain won the B 1,500m with 3:54.6.
So all-in-all not a disaster for Cardiff, but great disappointment that they were not able to finish closer to the top of the table. Said team manager, the late Dave Williams at the time:
“with a full team and a bit more luck we could have finished second, but we were not overawed by the strength of the competition.”
Other Welsh athletes competing for their clubs that day were reigning Welsh 880 yards champion Bob Adams who won his speciality for Polytechnic (1:51.1) and Welsh hammer record holder Laurie Hall, the winner of a record 10 Welsh titles at the time, who won his event with 64.76m.
Team placings after first match:
1, Birchfield 239 pts: 2, Polytechnic 229: 3, Brighton and Hove 221; 4, Cardiff 194: 5, Thames Valley 190; 6, Blackheath 177.
In future On This Day articles, we will see how Cardiff recovered to go into the final match of the 1969 season at home at Maindy Stadium poised to take the division one crown, only to be thwarted by a bit of skulduggery!
Welsh athletes played prominent parts for their clubs in division two and division three matches on May 10th. Welsh international steeplechase Gareth Bryan-Jones of Edinburgh Southern Harriers won both the 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase in the division two match at Sale and Bob Roberts took the 800m for Bristol in the division three match at the West London Stadium.
