Max Schmeling

Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling in 1936
Statistics
Real name	Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling
Nickname(s)	Black Uhlan of the Rhine
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Reach	193 cm (76 in)
Nationality	German
Born	September 28, 1905
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	70
Wins	56
Wins by KO	40
Losses	10
Draws	4
No contests	0

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (September 28, 1905 – February 2, 2005) was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations. He was ranked 55 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
While Schmeling cooperated with the German government's efforts to play down the increasingly negative international world view of its domestic policies during the 1930s he was not a member of the Nazi party. In fact, it became known long after the Second World War that Schmeling had risked his own life to save the lives of two Jewish children in 1938.
During World War II Schmeling served with the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) as an elite paratrooper (Fallschirmjäger)

Biography

In the USA, he was routinely cast by promoters as the cold-hearted, villainous invader, a puppet of Hitler and a hater of Jews. In Germany, Nazi propagandists portrayed him as a heroic symbol of German destiny and Aryan supremacy. In no way was Max Schmeling any of these things. He was a quality prizefighter with respectable boxing technique, a solid right hand punch, and a keen intellect. The clash of politics, ideals, and countries that often symbolically accompanied his biggest fights only took place within the perceptions of the audience; they had nothing to do with what happened in the ring. Instead of being respected for his multiple accomplishments in the ring, he spent much of his life derided in the USA as a Nazi and dismissed in Germany as a disappointment. It was only in his later life that his status as a fighter, apart from his cultural symbolism, could be clearly analyzed.

Early Years

Schmeling first became acquainted with boxing as a teenager, when his father took him to watch film of the heavyweight championship match between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier. Impressed with Dempsey's performance in that fight, young Schmeling became determined to imitate his new hero. He began boxing in amateur competitions and, by 1924, won Germany's national amateur title in the light heavyweight division. Shortly thereafter he turned professional. Ironically, though he idolized the raging, brawling Dempsey, Schmeling developed a careful, scientific style of fighting that lent itself more to counterpunching. Using this style, he got off to an impressive - though hardly sensational - start by winning seventeen of his first twenty-three bouts, thirteen by knockout. In 1925 he had the thrill of getting into the ring with Dempsey himself, who was then still heavyweight champion of the world and was touring Europe. Dempsey boxed for two rounds with the then unknown German and, according to a story later told by Schmeling, was greatly impressed. He proved Dempsey's praises correct on August 24, 1926, when picking up the German light heavyweight championship with a first round knockout of rival Max Diekmann, who had previously beaten Schmeling. The next year, Schmeling won the European championship by stopping Fernand Delarge in the first boxing match broadcast live in Germany. After defending both titles against Hein Domgoergen the same year and, in 1928, the European Title with a first round knockout of Michele Bonaglia, he secured the German heavyweight championship with a point victory against Franz Diener, and decided to chase bigger fights and bigger purses in the United States.
Arriving in New York City for the first time in 1928, Schmeling was hardly noticed by the American fight circles. Considered a stiff European fighter who had padded his record against German and European unknowns, he was given few opportunities to prove himself until he hooked up with American manager Joe Jacobs, a man with the proper talents and connections to move Schmeling's career along a positive path. Schmeling's debut in America took place at Madison Square Garden with an eighth round knockout of Joe Monte, who was not a top flight heavyweight but nonetheless a young American who had been in with some tough competition. Two more victories led to a fight with Johnny Risko, one of the biggest names in the division, though somewhat beyond his prime. On February 1, 1929, Schmeling floored Risko four times with his right hand before the referee halted the contest in the ninth round to save Risko from further punishment. The surprised crowd in attendance roared with appreciation and The Ring magazine subsequently recognized the win as its 'Fight of the Year.'

The "Low Blow Champion"

Boxing pundits were quickly changing their opinions of the German. When he defeated the highly-regarded Spaniard Paulino Uzcudun via a fifteen-round decision at Yankee Stadium later that year, Schmeling was suddenly regarded as the foremost young contender in the division. With the Heavyweight World Champion Gene Tunney having recently retired, promoters arranged a matchup between the German and veteran contender Jack Sharkey to fill the vacancy. On June 12, 1930, at Yankee Stadium, in a fight billed as the 'Battle of the Continents,' Schmeling, known as a slow starter, fell slightly behind on points going into the fourth round. Schmeling was trying to corner his opponent when Sharkey let loose with a blow to the body which strayed below the belt line. He immediately clutched his groin and fell to the canvas, claiming to have been fouled. When manager Jacobs ran into the ring, prompting all kinds of chaos, the confused referee disqualified Sharkey and declared Schmeling the victor and the first (and only) man to win the heavyweight championship on a foul. The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), reviewing the call, agreed.
The first European-born boxer to win the heavyweight championship in thirty-three years, Schmeling was also the first from Germany to hold the distinction. Still, the way in which he won the title proved an embarrassment. Called the 'low blow champion,' he was disparaged in both America and Europe as an unproven titleholder. When he initially refused to face Sharkey in a rematch, the NYSAC officially stripped him of their recognition as world champion, but he remained recognized by both the National Boxing Association (NBA) and The Ring magazine. Most of the criticism faded after Schmeling's first defense, an impressive fifteen round TKO over Young Stribling, a future hall-of-famer with 239 wins to his credit by 1931. In order to solidify his title as undisputed, Schmeling signed a contract to face the "Boston Gob" once more. On June 21, 1932, the championship picture became even more muddled when Sharkey won a highly controversial split decision, taking the championship. Many in attendance, including Gene Tunney and the mayor of New York, felt that Schmeling had proven himself the better man and was robbed. In losing the championship, the German had managed to elevate his reputation in the minds of boxing fans.

Walker and Baer

When Schmeling faced Mickey Walker, the future hall-of-famer who had recently held Sharkey to a draw that many felt Walker deserved, it was thought that this fight was for the real heavyweight championship. Walker, a former welterweight, was a popular slugger who had won championships in two divisions but was at a considerable size disadvantage against the European. Though Walker fought bravely and took the lead on points early in the fight, Schmeling showed both boxing ability and punching power in dealing out a terrific beating as the fight progressed. After eight exciting rounds, Walker's corner threw in the towel, confirming Schmeling's status as the leading heavyweight in the world.
With the coming of 1933, however, Schmeling's image in America began to take a decided turn. In 1932, the Nazi Party became the most powerful political force in Germany, and its ideologies, voiced by party leader Adolf Hitler, overflowed with anti-Semitic tendencies. Major American cities such as New York had large Jewish populations, who worried over what the party could mean for people of their religion in the future. Schmeling, because he was German, was viewed as an extension of Hitler's plans for world domination. When Schmeling was slated to fight heavy-hitting contender Max Baer on June 8, 1933, he immediately became the 'bad guy' in the eyes of fans. Baer, who did not practice the Jewish religion but had a Jewish father, came into the ring wearing the Star of David on his shorts. Promoter Jack Dempsey played up this angle and suddenly the fight was viewed as Baer defending his faith against the prejudice of the Nazis, represented reluctantly by Schmeling. Thrown off of his game in part by the bad publicity, but also because of Baer's wild, brawling style and frequent fouls (including backhand punches and rabbit punches), Schmeling was positively thrashed after ten rounds before nearly 60,000 onlookers at Yankee Stadium. While the German took a vicious battering against the ropes in the tenth, the referee leapt in to stop the fight. The embarrassing fight, combined with a follow-up loss to contender Steve Hamas early the next year, left many wondering if Schmeling was still a world top class fighter.

Dismantling the Bomber

Returning to his native Germany, Schmeling won three of his next four fights, with one draw, including knockout wins over Walter Neusel and Steve Hamas. His opponents were of an impressive caliber, but many among the American press and fans remained unmoved on the idea of rooting for Schmeling in light of the Nazi Party's behavior. Articles continued to be published declaring the German 'washed up,' a 'has been,' or a 'Nazi puppet.' When he was matched with undefeated African American sensation Joe Louis in 1936 for the German's first fight on American soil in more than two years, he was clearly the betting underdog, considered a name opponent for Louis to roll over on his route to the title. Nevertheless he was number two contender for the title behind Louis. Prior to the match, Schmeling carefully studied films of Louis's prior fights, dissecting apparent flaws in the Detroit fighter's technique. Among the weaknesses he noticed was the fact that Louis lowered his left hand after throwing a left jab. In the ring, Schmeling exploited this subtle flaw to his own advantage, countering nearly every Louis jab with his best punch, the right cross. The fight proved to be a competitive, hard-hitting affair for the first three rounds, but, in the fourth, a counter right from the German dropped Louis for the first time in his career. Though Louis rose, he was badly dazed for the remainder of the fight and Schmeling subsequently delivered the finest performance of his career. For a further eight rounds he battered Louis, often standing toe-to-toe with the vaunted puncher and landing that same right hand to the jaw repeatedly. In the twelfth he sent the American tumbling to the floor once more, and this time Louis could not recover. He was counted out on the floor and Schmeling had scored the most talked-about sports upset of the year.
Now the unexpected number one contender for the heavyweight crown held by Jim Braddock, Schmeling looked forward to his chance to regain the title as first Heavyweight ever, scheduled for that September. The fight was postponed, however, when Braddock injured his hand in training. Rumors existed that the fight's organizers were stalling, afraid of the negative publicity that would be generated over a perceived Nazi getting a shot at the world's title. When it was confirmed that Braddock's managers were in talks with the Louis camp, the New York Commission officially released an order for Braddock to fight Schmeling for the title. Any other fight, with Louis or otherwise, would not be recognized by New York as being for the championship. The Madison Square Garden Corporation, the largest promotional company in the sport at the time, even attempted to get a legal injunction against a Braddock-Louis fight (Louis was not on their roster). Nonetheless, in February in 1937, Schmeling received the bad news that the champion had indeed signed to defend his championship against Louis. A furious Schmeling protested, but to no avail, and he was forced to watch from ringside as Louis knocked Braddock out and gained the championship. Sorely disappointed and convinced that he would never receive his chance at redemption, Schmeling fought just once more in America, an eighth round knockout of future contender Harry Thomas, before returning to Germany. In his native land, Schmeling was regarded as a hero and promoted by the Nazi propaganda machine as a perfect example of German supremacy over the rest of the world by virtue of his stunning defeat of the current champion, Louis. The government ordered parades and rallies in his honor. He became a friend to Hitler and other powerful figures in the government and also a popular subject of newspaper articles and films. He continued to press for a chance at a rematch with Louis and in the meantime padded his record against overmatched fighters Ben Foord and Steve Dudas.

"Battle of the Century"

In 1938, champion Joe Louis announced that he would indeed face Schmeling for the title. The rematch became an instant international sensation. Many clamored impatiently for its happening, but others, afraid of international tensions and the possibility of Hitler taking over the championship, protested. The controversy and ballyhoo led to the event becoming the most anticipated boxing match since the rematch between Dempsey and Gene Tunney, or possibly earlier. Louis, with his poor, African American roots was adopted by American fans as the symbol of America as a land of opportunity. In contrast, Americans perceived Schmeling and his ties to Hitler as an obvious threat to those opportunities and ideals. When the German walked to the ring at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938, he did so under a hail of garbage thrown from the stands. Louis came out blazing in the first round and Schmeling tried to counter-punch as he had in the first bout, but to no avail. Driven into the ropes and battered with a fusillade of short, crisp blows from every angle, Schmeling turned his back to his opponent and clutched onto the ropes, letting out a scream that years later many spectators could recall vividly. Schmeling would later claim that he screamed because he had been hit with a blow to the kidneys. Schmeling's knees buckled under the punishment and referee Arthur Donovan pushed Louis away, beginning a count on Schmeling. Schmeling reluctantly stepped away from the ropes and Donovan allowed him to continue. A few punches later, Schmeling was knocked down again. From then on, he was helpless. He rose but fell moments later and Donovan stopped the fight.

Schmeling in his later years

Max Schmeling (right) with Joe Louis in 1971.

When he returned to Germany, Schmeling was now shunned by the Nazis. He managed to win both the German and European heavyweight championships on the same night, with a first round knockout of Adolf Heuser. During the Nazi purge of Jews from Berlin, he personally saved the lives of two Jewish children by hiding them in his apartment. During the war, Schmeling participated in the 1941 Battle of Crete, where he was wounded and after recovery was dismissed from active service. He later visited American P.O.W. camps and occasionally tried to help conditions for the prisoners. After the war, strapped for money, he embarked upon a moderately successful comeback in boxing, winning three of his five bouts with two point defeats before re-entering retirement in 1948.
During the 1950s, Schmeling began working for the Coca-Cola Company's offices in Germany. Before long he owned his own bottling plant and held an executive's position within the company. He became friends with Joe Louis and assisted his former rival financially in his later years, eventually financing his military funeral in 1981.
His wife for 54 years, the Czech-born actress Anny Ondra died in 1987. In 1992, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He lived his remaining years as a wealthy man and avid boxing fan, dying on February 2, 2005 at the age of 99.

Donald Campbell

Donald Campbell CBE
Born	Donald Malcolm Campbell 23 March 1921 Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England
Died	4 January 1967 (aged 45) Coniston Water, Lancashire, England
Cause of death	High speed crash
Resting place	Parish Cemetery, Hawkshead Old Road, Coniston
Nationality	British
Occupation	Speed record holder
Religion	Possibly Wiccan
Spouse	Daphne Harvey (1945-) Dorothy McKegg (1952-) Tonia Bern (1958-1967)
Children	Georgina (Gina) (1946-)
Parents	Malcolm Campbell Dorothy Evelyn Whittall

Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE (23 March 1921 – 4 January 1967) was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year (1964).

Family and personal life

Donald Campbell was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, the son of Malcolm, later Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of 13 world speed records in the 1920s and 30s in the famous Bluebird cars and boats, and his second wife, Dorothy Evelyn née Whittall.
Campbell attended Uppingham School. At the outbreak of World War II he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, but was unable to serve because of a childhood illness. He joined Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd in West Thurrock, where he became a maintenance engineer. Following his father's death in 1948 and aided by Malcolm's chief engineer, Leo Villa, the younger Campbell strove to set speed records on land and water.
He married three times: to Daphne Harvey in 1945, producing daughter Georgina (Gina) Campbell in 1946; to Dorothy McKegg in 1952; and to Tonia Bern in 1958, which lasted until his death in 1967. He apparently also had some interest in the paranormal, which he nurtured as a member of the Ghost Club.
Despite being a qualified engineer, a successful businessman, a multiple record-breaker in his own right and a highly effective advocate of his own cause, Campbell was not an easy man and seemed driven to emulate, if not surpass, his father's achievements.

Water speed records

Bluebird K7 on display at Goodwood Motor Racing circuit in 1960.

Campbell began his speed record attempts using his father's old boat Bluebird K4, but after a structural failure at 170 mph (270 km/h) on Coniston Water, Lancashire in 1951, and the death of John Cobb, who was killed in 1952 trying to break the water speed record, he decided that he would develop a new boat.
Designed by Ken and Lew Norris, the Bluebird K7 was an all-metal jet-propelled 3-point hydroplane with a Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl jet engine producing 3,500 lbf (16 kN) of thrust. It was unveiled in late 1954, and taken, in January 1955, to Ullswater in the English Lake District for its initial trials. After many, problems and a number of modifications to K7, Campbell finally succeeded on Ullswater on 23 July 1955, where he set a record of 202.15 mph (324 km/h), beating the previous record by some 24 mph (39 km/h) held by Stanley Sayres.
The name "K7" was derived from its Lloyd's unlimited rating registration. It was carried in a prominent circular badge on its sponsons, underneath an infinity symbol.
Campbell set a total of seven world water speed records in K7 between 1955 and 1964. The series of speed increases—216 mph (348 km/h) later in 1955, 225 mph (362 km/h) in 1956, 239 mph (385 km/h) in 1957, 248 mph (399 km/h) in 1958, 260 mph (420 km/h) in 1959—peaked on 31 December 1964 at Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia when he reached 276.33 mph (444.71 km/h); he remains the world's most prolific breaker of water speed records. Campbell was awarded the CBE in 1956 for his water speed record breaking, and in particular his record at Lake Mead in the USA which earned him and Britain very positive acclaim.

Land speed record attempt

Bluebird CN7 on display at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.

In 1956, Campbell began planning a car to break the land speed record, which then stood at 394 mph (630 km/h). The Norris brothers designed Bluebird-Proteus CN7 with 500 mph (800 km/h) in mind. The CN7 was completed by the spring of 1960, and was powered by a Bristol-Siddeley Proteus free-turbine engine of 4,450 shp (3,320 kW). Following low-speed tests conducted at the Goodwood circuit in Sussex, England, the CN7 was taken to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, scene of his father's last LSR triumph in 1935. The attempt was unsuccessful and CN7 was written off following a high-speed crash in September at Bonneville. Campbell was not seriously hurt, suffering a fracture to his lower skull, and was by 1961 on the road to recovery and planning the rebuild of CN7.
The rebuilt car was completed, with minor modifications, in 1962 and, by the end of the year, was shipped to Australia for a new attempt at Lake Eyre in 1963. The Lake Eyre location was chosen as it offered 450 square miles (1,170 km²) of dried salt lake, where rain had not fallen in the previous 20 years, and the surface of the 20-mile (32 km) track was as hard as concrete. As Campbell arrived in late March, with a view to a May attempt, the first light rain fell. Campbell and Bluebird were running by early May but once again more rain fell, and low-speed test runs could not progress into the higher speed ranges. By late May, the rain became torrential, and the lake was flooded. Campbell had to move the CN7 off the lake in the middle of the night to save the car from being submerged by the rising flood waters. The 1963 attempt was over.
Campbell and his team returned to Lake Eyre in 1964, but the surface never returned to the promise it had held in 1962 and Campbell had to battle with CN7 to reach record speeds (over 400 mph (640 km/h)). After more light rain in June, the lake finally began to dry enough for an attempt to be made. On 17 July 1964, Campbell set a record of 403.10 mph (648.73 km/h) for a four-wheeled vehicle (Class A). Campbell was disappointed with the record as the vehicle had been designed for much higher speeds. CN7 covered the final third of the measured mile at an average of 429 mph (690 km/h), peaking as it left the measured distance at over 440 mph (710 km/h).

In 1969, after Campbell's fatal accident, his widow, Tonia Bern-Campbell negotiated a deal with Lynn Garrison, President of Craig Breedlove and Associates, that would see Craig Breedlove run Bluebird on Bonneville's Salt Flats. This concept was cancelled when the parallel Spirit of America supersonic car project failed to find support.

Dual record holder

Campbell now reverted to Bluebird K7 for a further attempt on the water speed record. After more delays, he finally achieved his seventh WSR at Lake Dumbleyung near Perth, Western Australia, on the last day of 1964, at a speed of 276.33 mph (444.71 km/h).
He had become the first, and so far only, person to set both land and water speed records in the same year. Campbell's land record was short-lived, because rule changes meant that Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America, a pure jet car, would begin setting records later in 1964 and 1965. Campbell's 429 mph (690 km/h) speed on his final Lake Eyre run remained the highest speed achieved by a wheel-driven car until 2001; Bluebird CN7 is now on display at the National Motor Museum in Hampshire, England, her potential only partly realised.

Final Water Speed Record attempt

In 1966, Campbell decided to try once more for a water speed record. This time the target was 300 mph (480 km/h). Bluebird K7 was fitted with a lighter and more powerful Bristol Orpheus engine, taken from a Folland Gnat jet aircraft, which developed 4,500 pounds-force (20,000 N) of thrust. The modified boat was taken back to Coniston in the first week of November 1966. The trials did not go well. The weather was appalling, and K7 suffered an engine failure when her air intakes collapsed and debris was drawn into the engine. By the middle of December, some high-speed runs were made, in excess of 250 mph (507 km/h) but still well below Campbell's existing record. Problems with Bluebird's fuel system meant that the engine could not reach full rpm, and so would not develop maximum power. Eventually, by the end of December, after modifications to her fuel system, the fuel starvation problem was fixed, and Campbell awaited better weather to mount an attempt.

Death

On 4 January 1967, Campbell was killed when Bluebird K7 flipped and disintegrated at a speed in excess of 300 mph (480 km/h). Bluebird had completed a north-south run at an average of 297.6 mph (478.9 km/h), and a peak speed of 315 mph (507 km/h). Campbell used a new water brake to slow K7 from approx. 220 mph (350 km/h). Instead of refuelling and waiting for the wash of this run to completely subside, Campbell decided to make the return run immediately to beat it before it had been reflected back onto the course. This was a normal option that Campbell had available to him when operating Bluebird on high speed runs. The second run was even faster; as K7 passed the start of the measured kilometre, she was travelling at over 320 mph (510 km/h). However her stability had begun to break down as she travelled at speed she had never achieved before, and the front of the boat started to bounce out of the water on the starboard side. 150 yards from the end of the measured mile, K7 lifted from the surface and after about 1.5 seconds, gradually lifted from the water at an ever increasing angle, before she took off at a 90-degree to the water surface. She somersaulted and plunged back into the lake, nose first. The boat then cartwheeled across the water before coming to rest. The impact broke Bluebird forward of the air intakes where Campbell was sitting, killing him instantly; the main hull sank shortly afterwards.

The most prolific Water Speed Record breakers in history. Donald Campbell and Bluebird K7 at high speed on Coniston Water in 1967

Campbell's last words on his final run were, via radio intercom:
'Pitching a bit down here...Probably from my own wash...Straightening up now on track...Rather close to Peel Island...Tramping like mad...er... Full power...Tramping like hell here... I can't see much and the water's very bad indeed...I can't get over the top... I'm getting a lot of bloody row in here...I can't see anything...I've got the bows out...I'm going!....(muffled grunt)'
The cause of the crash has been variously attributed to Campbell not waiting to refuel after doing a first run of 297.6 mph (478.9 km/h) and hence the boat being lighter; the wash caused by his first run and made much worse by the use of the water brake, (These factors have since been found to be not particularly important. The water brake was used well to the south of the measured distance, and only from approx. 200 mph (320 km/h) The area in the centre of the course, where Bluebird was travelling at peak speed on her return run was flat calm, and not disturbed by the wash from the first run, which had not had time to be reflected back on the course. The fuel tank was in approx. the same position as K7's centre of gravity, and therefore had little impact on the boats weight distribution), and potentially a cut-out of the jet engine caused by fuel starvation. (The configuration of K7 at high speed meant that the thrust of the jet engine provided a downward pressure at the bows of the boat. K7 was operating at her absolute limit in terms of a nose up pitching angle of 6'. A sudden loss of power caused by an interruption to fuel flow would mean that this downthrust was lost and K7's bows would have risen above the 6' safe limit) Some evidence for this last possibility may be seen in film recordings of the crash - as the nose of the boat climbs and the jet exhaust points at the water surface no disturbance or spray can be seen at all. A complete analysis of the causes of the accident will be published in 'Donald Campbell Bluebird and The Final Record Attempt' towards the end of 2011.
On 28 January 1967 Campbell was posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct For courage and determination in attacking the world water speed record.
Recovery of Bluebird
The wreckage of Campbell's craft was recovered by the Bluebird Project between October 2000 when the first sections were raised and June 2001 when Campbell's body was recovered. The largest section comprising approximately two thirds of the centre hull was raised on 8 March 2001. The project began when diver Bill Smith was inspired to look for the wreck after hearing the Marillion song "Out of This World" (from the album Afraid of Sunlight), which was written about Campbell and Bluebird. Smith was criticised in some quarters for appearing jubilant whilst reportedly sitting astride the wreck when she rose from the lake, but he did not do this, standing instead on Bluebird's left hand deck with the express permission of Donald's widow, Tonia Bern-Campbell, and offering no more than a wave and a thumbs-up at the request of the gathered media. He later issued an apology on his Bluebird Project website despite the facts being incorrectly reported.
The recovered wreck revealed that Campbell had possibly activated the water brake to try to slow Bluebird down on her final run though it later emerged that a secondary power source may have activated it subsequent to the sinking. The boat still contained fuel in the engine fuel lines, discounting the fuel-starvation theory, though the engine could have cut out as a result of injector blockage. No evidence has emerged thus far to support this theory.
Campbell's body was recovered from the lake on 28 May 2001. Marillion members Steve Rothery and Steve Hogarth were present for the recovery of the wrecked boat but not for that of Campbell's remains.

Campbell was interred in Coniston cemetery on 12 September 2001 after his coffin was carried around the lake.
A funeral service was then held at St Andrew's Church in Coniston a funeral service in Coniston village attended by his widow Tonia, daughter Gina, other members of his family, members of his former team, and admirers. Jean Wales (Donald Campbell's sister) had, however, been against the recovery of her brother's body out of respect for his stated wish that, in the event of something going wrong, "Skipper and boat stay together". When Donald Campbell was buried in Coniston cemetery on 12 September 2001 she did not attend the service; nor is she believed to have visited his grave. Steve Hogarth, lead singer for Marillion, was also present at the funeral and performed the song "Out of This World" solo.

Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth
Outfielder / Pitcher
Born: February 6, 1895 Baltimore, Maryland
Died: August 16, 1948 (aged 53) New York, New York
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 11, 1914 for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
May 30, 1935 for the Boston Braves
Career statistics
Batting average	.342
Home runs	714
Hits	2,873
Runs batted in	2,217
Win–loss record	94–46
Earned run average	2.28
Teams
Boston Red Sox (1914–1919) New York Yankees (1920–1934) Boston Braves (1935)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (1933, 1934) 7× World Series champion (1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932) 1923 AL MVP New York Yankees #3 retired Major League Baseball All-Century Team Ranks in the top 10 of numerous career statistics MLB Records .690 career slugging % 1.164 career OPS
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1936
Vote	95.13%

George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth originally broke into the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full-time right fielder and subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters. Ruth was a mainstay in the Yankees' lineup that won seven pennants and four World Series titles during his tenure with the team. After a short stint with the Boston Braves in 1935, Ruth retired. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ruth has since become regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. He has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". Off the field he was famous for his charity, but also was noted for his often reckless lifestyle. Ruth is credited with changing baseball itself. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely owing to his influence. Ruth ushered in the "live-ball era", as his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game.
In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth number one on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1993, the Associated Press reported that Muhammad Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athletes, out of over 800 dead or alive athletes, in America. The study found that over 97% of Americans over 12 years of age identified both Ali and Ruth. According to ESPN, he was the first true American sports celebrity superstar whose fame transcended baseball. In a 1999 ESPN poll, he was ranked as the third-greatest American athlete of the century, behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), setting the season record which stood until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record, until first surpassed by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a Yankee record. His .690 career slugging percentage and 1.164 career on-base plus slugging (OPS) remain the Major League records. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBIs) six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record (as well as the all-time record, except for RBIs).

Alex Higgins

Alex Higgins

Alex Higgins in 2008
Born	18 March 1949 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died	24 July 2010 (aged 61) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nickname	Hurricane
Professional	1971–1997
Highest ranking	2 (1976/77 and 1982/83)
Highest break	142 (1985 British Open)
Tournament wins
Ranking	1
Non-ranking	21
World Champion	1972, 1982
alexhurricanehiggins.com

Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010), also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play. Higgins was also a former World Doubles champion with Jimmy White and won the World Cup three times with the All Ireland team. He also came to be known as the People's Champion because of his popularity.
Higgins is often credited to have brought the game of snooker to a wider audience and contributing to its peak in popularity in the eighties.
Higgins had a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character. He was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, Higgins was found dead in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010.

 Life and career

Early life

Higgins (right) with David Taylor at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968.

Alex Higgins was born in Belfast and had three sisters. He started playing snooker at the age of 11, often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. At age 14 and weighing seven and a half stones (47.6 kg), he left for England and a career as a jockey. However, he never made the title because, in his youth days, he drank a lot of Guinness and ate a lot of chocolate which made him too heavy to ride competitively. He returned to Belfast and by 1965, aged 16, he had compiled his first maximum break. In 1968 he won the All-Ireland and Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championships.

World titles

Higgins turned professional at the age of 22, winning the World Championship at his first attempt in 1972, against John Spencer winning 37–32. At age 22, Higgins was then the youngest ever winner of the title, a record retained until Stephen Hendry's 1990 victory at the age of 21. In April 1976, Higgins reached the final again and faced Ray Reardon. Higgins led 11–9, but Reardon made four centuries and seven breaks over 60 to pull away and win the title for the fifth time with the score of 27–16. Higgins was also the runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, losing 18–16, after being 9–5 up. Higgins won the world title for a second time in 1982 after beating Reardon 18–15 (with a 135 total clearance in the final frame); it was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. Higgins would have been ranked #1 in the world rankings for the 1982/83 season had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action.

Other victories

Throughout his career, Higgins won 20 other titles, one of the most notable being the 1983 UK Championship. In the final he trailed Steve Davis 0–7 before producing a famous comeback to win 16–15. He also won the Masters twice, in 1978 and in 1981, beating Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths in the finals respectively. Another notable victory was his triumph in the 1989 Irish Masters at the age of 40 when he defeated a young Stephen Hendry.

Post retirement

After his retirement from the professional game, Higgins spent time playing for small sums of money in and around Northern Ireland. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championship, these comebacks ending in a first-round defeat by Garry Hardiman and Joe Delaney respectively.
On 12 June 2007, it was reported that Higgins had assaulted a referee at a charity match in the north-east of England. Higgins returned to competitive action in September 2007 at the Irish Professional Championship in Dublin but was whitewashed 0–5 by former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien in the first round at the Spawell Club, Templelogue.
Higgins continued to play fairly regularly and enjoyed "hustling" all comers for small-time stakes in clubs in Northern Ireland and beyond; in May 2009 he entered the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship, "to give it a crack", but failed to appear for his match.
On 8 April 2010 Higgins was part of the debut Snooker Legends Tour event in Sheffield, at the Crucible; after checking himself out of hospital two days before the event after being admitted with pneumonia and breathing problems. He appeared alongside other retired or close-to-retiring professionals including John Parrott, Jimmy White, John Virgo and Cliff Thorburn.
It is estimated that Higgins earned and spent £3–4 million in his career as a snooker player.

Playing style

Higgins's speed around the table, his ability to pot balls at a rapid rate and flamboyant style earned him the nickname "Hurricane Higgins" and made him a very high-profile player. His highly unusual cueing technique sometimes included a body swerve and movement, as well as a stance that was noticeably higher than that of most professionals. This unorthodox play was encapsulated in his break of 69, made under unusual pressure, against Jimmy White in the penultimate frame of their World Professional Snooker Championship semi-final in 1982. Higgins was 0–59 down in that frame, but managed to compile an extremely challenging clearance during which he was scarcely in position until the colours. In particular, former world champion Dennis Taylor considers a three-quarter-ball pot on a blue into the green pocket especially memorable, not only for its extreme degree of difficulty but for enabling Higgins to continue the break and keep White off the table and unable to clinch victory at that moment. In potting the blue, Higgins screwed the cue-ball on to the side cushion to bring it back towards the black/pink area with extreme left-hand sidespin, a shot Taylor believes could be played 100 times without coming close to the position Higgins reached with cue-ball. He went a little too far for ideal position on his next red but the match-saving break was still alive.
He also drank and smoked during tournaments, as did many of his contemporaries, helping sponsored tobacco advertising. A volatile personality got him into frequent fights and arguments, both on and off the snooker table. One of the most serious of these clashes was when he head-butted a referee at the UK championship in 1986. This led to his being fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments. He was convicted of assault and criminal damage, and fined £250 by a court. Another came at the 1990 World Championship; after losing his first-round match to Steve James, he punched tournament official Colin Randle in the abdomen before the start of a press conference at which he announced his retirement. This, added to his having threatened to have fellow player and compatriot Dennis Taylor shot, led to a ban for the whole of the following season.

Outside snooker

At the time of his 1972 triumph at the World Championship, Higgins had no permanent home and by his own account had recently lived in a row of abandoned houses in Blackburn which were awaiting demolition. In one week he had moved into five different houses on the same street, moving down one every time his current dwelling was demolished.
In 1975, Higgins' son Chris Delahunty was born. Higgins's first marriage was to Australian Cara Hasler in April 1975 in Sydney. They had a daughter Christel and divorced. His second marriage was to Lynn Avison in 1980 at a United Reformed Church. They had a daughter Lauren (born late 1980) and son Jordan (born March 1983). They split in 1985 and divorced. In the same year, Higgins began a relationship with Siobhan Kidd, which ended in 1989 after he allegedly hit her with a hairdryer.
He had a long and enduring friendship with Oliver Reed and was a good friend of Jimmy White, with whom he often played exhibition matches.
While not normally noted for his philanthropy, in 1983 Higgins helped a young boy from the Manchester area, a fan of his who had been in a coma for two months. His parents were growing desperate and wrote to Higgins. He recorded his voice on a tape and sent it to the boy with his best wishes. He later visited the boy in hospital, unannounced, and promised that if the boy recovered they would play snooker together. True to his word, once the boy was out, the match was held.
In 1996, Higgins was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old boy, while in 1997 his then girlfriend Holly Haise stabbed him three times during a domestic argument. He published his autobiography, From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story, in 2007. Higgins appeared on the Sporting Stars episode of British television quiz The Weakest Link, on 25 July 2009.

Illness and death

For most of his adult life Higgins often smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day. He had cancerous growths removed from his mouth in 1994 and 1996. In June 1998, he was found to have throat cancer; on 13 October of that year, he had throat surgery.
In 2009, Higgins lived in a caravan. In spring 2010, he had pneumonia. In April 2010 Higgins's friends announced that they had set up a campaign to help raise the £20,000 he needed for teeth implants, to enable him to eat properly again and put on weight. Higgins lost his teeth after intensive radiotherapy used to treat his throat cancer. It was reported that since losing them he had been living on liquid food, and had become increasingly depressed, even contemplating suicide. He was too ill to have the implants fitted. Despite his illness he continued to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily until the end of his life.
At the end of his life, Higgins' weight fell to 6 stone (38 kilograms). He lived in sheltered housing on the Donegall Road, Belfast. He was found dead in bed in his flat on 24 July 2010. The cause of death was a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, a bronchial condition and throat cancer. His children survive him.

Seve Ballesteros

Seve Ballesteros
Personal information
Full name	Severiano Ballesteros Sota
Born	9 April 1957 Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain
Died	7 May 2011 (aged 54) Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain
Height	1.83 metres (6 ft 0 in)
Nationality	Spain
Spouse	Carmen Botín O'Shea (m. 1988–2004, divorced)
Children	2 sons, 1 daughter
Career
Turned professional	1974
Retired	2007
Former tour(s)	European Tour
Professional wins	91
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	9
European Tour	50 (1st all time)
Japan Golf Tour	6
Other	31
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 5)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1980, 1983
U.S. Open	3rd: 1987
The Open Championship	Won: 1979, 1984, 1988
PGA Championship	5th: 1984
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1999
European Tour Order of Merit winner	1976, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1991
European Tour Player of the Year	1986, 1988, 1991

Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros Sota (Spanish pronunciation: [seβeˈɾjano βaʎesˈteɾos]; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19 he finished second at the The Open Championship (British Open). A member of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major championships between 1979 and 1988: the Open Championship three times, and the Masters Tournament twice. He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain, and won the World Match Play Championship a record-tying five times. He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball. He is generally regarded as the greatest Spanish golfer of all time.
Because of back-related injuries, Ballesteros struggled with form during the 1990s. In spite of this, he continued to be involved in the game of golf, creating the Seve Trophy and running a golf course design business. Ballesteros eventually retired from competitive golf in 2007 because of continued poor form, and in 2008 was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. After reports that Ballesteros would make a return to the spotlight at the 2010 Open Championship, following the advice of doctors he did not travel to St Andrews.
Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2009. He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his friend, compatriot and former Ryder Cup team-mate José María Olazábal. Ballesteros died of brain cancer on 7 May 2011, aged 54.

Career outline

Early life and career

Severiano Ballesteros Sota was born in the village of Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain, on 9 April 1957, the youngest of five sons of Baldomero Ballesteros Presmanes (1919–1987) and Carmen Sota Ocejo (1919–2002). One died in childhood, all the others became professional golfers. He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, at the time while he was supposed to be in school, mainly using a 3-iron given to him by his older brother Manuel when he was eight years old. His maternal uncle Ramón Sota was Spanish professional champion four times and finished sixth in the Masters Tournament in 1965. Ballesteros' older brother Manuel finished in the top 100 on the European Tour order of merit every year from 1972 to 1983, and later became Ballesteros' manager. His brothers Vicente and Baldomero, and nephew Raúl are also professional golfers.
Ballesteros turned professional in March 1974 at the age of 16. In 1976, he burst onto the international scene with a second-place finish in The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Ballesteros led by two shots after the third round, but a final round 74 saw him tie with Jack Nicklaus, six shots behind the winner Johnny Miller. He went on to win the European Tour Order of Merit (money title) that year, a title that he would win six times, including the next two years, which was a record at that time (since surpassed by Colin Montgomerie). Ballesteros won his first Open Championship in 1979 with a closing 70, a round in which he famously hit his tee shot into a car park on the 16th hole yet still made a birdie.
Ballesteros went on to win five major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1980 and 1983, and The Open Championship in 1979, 1984 and 1988. His 1980 Masters win was the first by a European player, and at the time he was the youngest winner of the tournament, at age 23 (though this record was broken by Tiger Woods in 1997, when he was 21 years old). His 1979 win at The Open Championship similarly made him the youngest winner of the tournament in the 20th century, and the first golfer from continental Europe to win a major since Frenchman Arnaud Massy won The Open in 1907.
For much of the 1980s and 1990s, Ballesteros was a mainstay of the European Ryder Cup team. He scored 22½ points in 37 matches against the United States; his partnership with fellow Spaniard José María Olazábal was the most successful in the history of the competition, with 11 wins and two halved matches out of 15 pairs matches. While Ballesteros was a member of European sides that won the Ryder Cup in 1985, retained the Cup in 1987 and 1989, and regained the Cup in 1995, the pinnacle of his career in the competition came in 1997, when he captained the winning European side at Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande, Spain. This was the first Ryder Cup ever held in continental Europe.
Ballesteros led the Official World Golf Rankings for a total of 61 weeks in the period from their inauguration (in April 1986) to September 1989, including being world number one at the end of the 1988 season. He also led McCormack's World Golf Rankings, published in McCormack's "World Of Professional Golf" annuals (from which the official rankings were developed) in 1983, 1984 and 1985. He was ever-present in the end of season world's top ten according to those rankings for fifteen years, from 1977 to 1991 inclusive.

Late career and retirement

In 1999, Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was instrumental in introducing the Seve Trophy in 2000, a team competition similar to the Ryder Cup pitting a team from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe. In 2000, Ballesteros was ranked as the 16th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine; he was the top golfer from the continent of Europe.
Ballesteros had played sparingly since the late 1990s because of back problems, and made his first start in years at the 2005 Madrid Open. He stated a desire to play more tournaments in the 2006 season. He entered the 2006 Open Championship, having played just one other event on the European Tour, The Open de France Alstom, where he missed the cut. He ran a thriving golf course design business and had been eligible for the Champions Tour and European Seniors Tour upon turning 50 in 2007. Ballesteros had been the captain of the European team in the Royal Trophy since its inception in 2006. He was announced again as non-playing captain of the 2008 European team to defend the Royal Trophy against the Asian team at the Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok.
After further recurrences of his back problems, which contributed to his finishing tied for last in his only Champions Tour start, Ballesteros announced his retirement from golf on 16 July 2007, bringing down the curtain on an illustrious career. During the news conference, he also addressed reports in European media that he had attempted suicide, saying that those reports "were not even close to reality". He had been briefly hospitalized when he became concerned about the condition of his heart, but was released the same day after being given a clean bill of health.
Ballesteros was a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy. He had become involved in European golf course design in recent years, most famously altering the 17th hole at Valderrama before the 1997 Ryder Cup.

Personal life

Ballesteros was married to Carmen Botín O'Shea, daughter of Emilio Botín, from 1988 until their divorce in 2004, in the municipality of Marina de Cudeyo in Cantabria. The couple had three children, Baldomero, Miguel and Carmen. The marriage was said to have run into trouble when Ballesteros could not accept the fact his career was on the wane.

Brain tumor and death

At Madrid-Barajas Airport on 6 October 2008, Ballesteros lost consciousness and was admitted to hospital. Six days later, he confirmed that he had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. On 15 October, Spanish news agency Efe reported that he had undergone a 12-hour operation to resect the tumor, the first of four operations he would have. A hospital spokeswoman stated that surgeons had removed a sizable part of the tumor. On 23 October, it was confirmed publicly that the tumor was classified as a cancerous oligoastrocytoma, and after a rapid deterioration of his health, further surgery took place on 24 October to stabilize him and try to remove the remainder of the tumor. On 24 October, it was confirmed that the tumor had been removed after a 6½-hour operation. On 3 November, it was confirmed by the hospital that he was starting his rehabilitation in the intensive care unit, and was breathing steadily. On 18 November, he was moved out of the intensive care unit and changed wards at Madrid's La Paz Hospital to continue his rehabilitation.
Ballesteros was discharged from hospital on 9 December 2008. He then returned home to northern Spain and underwent chemotherapy treatment as an outpatient. In January 2009 a message on his website said he had responded well to one course of chemotherapy.

"I am very motivated and working hard although I am aware that my recovery will be slow and therefore I need to be patient and have a lot of determination. For these reasons I am following strictly all the instructions that the doctors are giving me. Besides, the physiotherapists are doing a great job on me and I feel better every day."

Ballesteros completed a second course of chemotherapy at Madrid's La Paz Hospital in February 2009. Speaking through his website he said, "The results of the check-up were really positive, better even than the first ones." He finished a third round of treatment in March 2009, and completed his fourth and final course of chemotherapy a month later.
In June, Ballesteros made his first public appearance after treatment for the brain tumor. He said it was a "miracle" to be alive and he thanked everyone who had been involved in his care and welfare.
At his first public appearance, Ballesteros announced the launch of the "Seve Ballesteros Foundation". This foundation was set up to help those with cancer fight it. The foundation aims to research cancer, especially brain tumors, but it will also help financially challenged young golfers, so they can be as successful as him.
On 6 May 2011, Ballesteros' family released a press release announcing that his neurological condition had "suffered a severe deterioration". He died within hours of the announcement in the early hours of 7 May 2011; his older brother Baldomero confirmed the precise time of death at 2:10 am CEST.