How many times was Johnny Leach the world table tennis champion?
F. Dally, Halifax.
THE
JUDGE: Leach, who perfected the game while serving in the RAF, was
champion in 1949 and 1951. He was the last Englishman to win the title
before the start of the monopoly by the Chinese with their new-style
bats, pen-holder grips and deadly spin.
Is it true that leading greyhound trainer George Curtis prepared more than 10,000 winners?
Keith Ross, Ipswich
THE
JUDGE: George Curtis, who was affectionately known as the Grand Old Man
of greyhound racing, took out a trainer's licence in 1945 and for more
than 40 years averaged more than 250 winners a year. His final tally
topped 10,000.
Did the wonderful Jayne Torvill win ice skating titles with any partner other than Christopher Dean?
Fiona Hamilton, Swindon
THE
JUDGE: Jayne won a British junior and senior title with Michael
Hutchison before pairing up with Christopher Dean in 1975. They won the
first of a record six successive British titles three years later, and
went on to capture four consecutive world titles and the Olympic crown
in 1984, when they scored a record nine perfect sixes for their Balero
routine. They had an unprecedented total of 12 sixes for their overall
performance. Their Olympics comeback in 1994 (when they took the
bronze) drew a then British record television audience of 23,950,000
viewers.
Why is the game of lacrosse called lacrosse, and where was it first played?
Christopher Lamb, Scarborough
THE
JUDGE: North American Indians were first to play a primitive form of
the game in the early seventeenh century. It was then called
'baggataway'. French set tlers in Canada gave the name 'La Crosse' to
the stick used by the Indians because of its resemblance to a bishop's
crosier. French Canadians took up the game and formed the Montreal
Lacrosse Club in 1839. It was first introduced into Britain by a
travelling party of Caughnawaga Indians in 1867.
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