Kersi’s excellent post on dual cricket internationals mentioned one or two people who were perhaps a little less than fully fit, and that set me thinking. There were quite a few guys in various sports who were champs in spite of an over fondness for booze, groceries or because of a natural metabolic difference.
I’ll list a couple – some I’ve seen, some gleaned from old timers – and I invite the Roarers to contribute in like kind for any sport excluding those that specialize in blimps like sumo, the NFL, throwing and lifting events, and comeback fighters.
In cricket they were afraid to weigh Ian Botham toward the end of his career but what a career it was with bat and ball. Don’t believe me? Check out his record on Cricinfo.
In Rugby League – Ken Gee, the Human Barrel from Wigan, came out to Oz in ’46 and was the nimblest fat man anyone had ever seen.
Syd Goodwin, another Santa figure, played very fine centre for Newtown in the same period. In Union, some of the recent English forwards were overweight but that seems to be changing. As for all time Union greats, the peerless Ron Jarden was decidedly tubby.
There have been some very successful golfers who weren’t exactly sylphs. The aptly named Porky Oliver (5 feet 9, 240 pounds) for one. He was beaten by a stroke or two by the great Ben Hogan in the ’46 PGA and the ’53 Masters. And a way-out-of-shape John Daley won the ’95 British Open.
In tennis, Jaroslav Drobny was another champ with a tummy winning Wimbledon in ’54 (he was literally an all-rounder having played ice hockey for Czechoslovakia in the ’48 winter Olympics).
In hold and counter-hold pro wrestling Yukon Eric could have used several dietitians but was so strong he was hard to beat.
Perhaps the two most famous fatties in sports are WG Grace and Babe Ruth.
I once read an article by an Aussie who saw them both. At age 18 he saw Grace in England, and at age 78 he saw the Babe in New York. He said they both got their power from the same place – their hips. They swung and bam! the cricket ball rattled the fence and the baseball cleared it.
But fat or thin, you still have to have that eye/hand/feet combo and a knack for the game, whatever it is.
In this day and age of gym work, supervised training and eating right, will the fat man return to sports? Maybe. There’s always room for a natural.
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
Olympic swimming legend and Australian Sports Commission boss Kieren Perkins has warned that "someone will die" if a multi-sport event that allows athletes to…
In 2015 when heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko, the fighter regarded by many as the ‘Greatest of all time’ in the sport,…
Join Australia's most vibrant online sports community and you have the chance to win $1000. The Roar is the perfect blend of sports reporting,…
Here is a review of our boxers who made a splash in the world rankings over the past year.
After intense debate at Roar HQ, we’ve selected the 23 most controversial moments for 2023.
