Athletics: Moseley man was class act; ATHLETICS.

Byline: LEON HICKMAN

WALTER George, an apprentice chemist and asthma sufferer, was the 19th century equivalent of Seb Coe - and then some.

Mel Watman reminds us in his new, fact-crammed book, All-Time Greats of British Athletics (Sportsbookspounds 15), that the slender six-footer was a member of Moseley Harriers, long defunct but at the time a greater force than cross-city rivals Birchfield Harriers.

George was such a phenomenon that even Watman, a writer never given to hyperlatives, claims that he was in his time the greatest runner in the world, crossing the Atlantic in 1882 to prove it against the American hero, Lon Myers, by beating him in the mile and three-quarter mile, only just losing the half-mile.

World records dropped like falling leaves at every distance from a mile to 10 miles and in 1885, by which time he had turned professional, he drew 30,000 punters to the Lillie Bridge Grounds in London for "the mile championship of the world" against a swift Scot, William Cummings.

Having apparently climbed a ladder from a coal yard next to the stadium to reach his dressing room at the top of the grandstand, George ran a mile time trial in 4 mins10.2 secs, discovering later that the measurement was six yards too long.

George beat the tiny Scot by 60 yards and proceeded to do even better in their next match a year later.

Cummings collapsed with 60 yards to go while the Moseley man broke the tape in 4:12.75. No athlete ran a mile faster until 1915 and it remained the quickest British time for 49 years.

He claimed a year later to have run 10 miles in 49.29secs, a time that was not beaten anywhere in competition for 60 years.

There is no reason to disbelieve him and to make a monumental story even more impressive we should remember that the tracks and shoes and training were definitely vintage style.

Watman delivers a further 77 profiles of British athletes, touching on just about every yarn that ever thrilled those for whom the sport is a human and statistical passion.

Among those making an appearance are a bunch from the West Midlands, including Robbie Brightwell, Godfrey Brown, Geoff Capes, Kathy Cook, Ashia Hansen, Basil Heatley, Jack Holden, Diane Leather, Denise Lewis, Ken Matthews, Dave Moorcroft, Peter Radford, Tessa Sanderson and Ian Stewart, every last one fit for a sporting Hall of Fame.

LEON HICKMAN