Banned For Life ... for finishing second?
- From 1880 until the late 1900's, the Amateur Athletic Association were the controlling body of
athletics in England. One of their pet hates was the possibility of gambling on athletics:
up to the late 1970's, AAA Laws required organisers of meetings to put up notices
stating "Betting Strictly Prohibited". They took vigorous action against those suspected of
involvement with betting: their most prominent victim was William Snook.
- William Snook (1861-1916) came from Shropshire, but joined the Moseley club in Birmingham, later
switching to Birchfield Harriers. At first a sprinter, he turned to distance running with considerable
success: he won four AAA Track titles in 1885. So when the National Cross-Country Championships came round
in March 1886, he was widely expected to win. But he came second ...
- Had it just been one of those off-form days that every sportsperson has? The AAA thought otherwise: they
accused him of "roping": deliberately losing the race for the benefit of bookmakers or gamblers.
William Snook was one of those sportspeople with a talent for upsetting sporting authorities (taking
part in unrecognised meetings, associating with professionals, that sort of thing). But this does not
excuse the AAA's actions: they had no proof of any involvement William Snook might have had with
gambling but, in a process falling well short of present-day standards of judicial fairness, banned
him from amateur athletics for life.
- Snook's only outlet for his talent was as a professional athlete: after three years he left the sport.
His later life was far from happy: after a spell in France he returned to Britain in poverty. He died
in 1916: Birchfield Harriers heard of his plight too late to be of any real help to him, but they did
meet the expenses of his funeral.