One Hundred Years of Fives at Highgate
Extracts from the 1988 Highgate Centenary Programme, as
reported by Peter Knowles in the 1991-92 EFA Annual Report.
The first match between The School and the Old Cholmeleians took place early in 1888 and a second match was played
in December of that year.
"L. James was Captain of the Past and succeeded in getting together only a moderate team of
O.C.'s. The result was an easy win for the School, the O.C.'s only winning one game. Snow fell thick and fast."
From 1889 onwards the matches were played in March with three pairs per side. Each pair played the three opposing pairs with each game best of three. The results were decided on individual games won until 1920 when the current system of matches won was started.
The 'Fives Prospects' for 1910 recorded, "We shall presumably lose to the O.C.'s as usual, but ought to win all the other matches." One was against the Church Missionary College. Later in the same year we find, "The school as usual lost to the O.C.'s and also as usual beat the Masters." From 1912, "Let us recommend all those who are really keen on improving to make a point of watching the best of the matches e.g. that against the Old Cholmeleians". Some interesting names crop up in the School teams of this period. In the third pair of 1921 was D. G. A. Lowe, later to be an Olympic Winner. R. W. V. Robins was in the first pair in 1924 and 1925, apart from his cricketing exploits.
From 1928 to 1933 the matches were played between the Ist IV's of each side. 2nd, 3rd and 4th IV's also played.
A. H. Fabian was in the school first pair in 1928 with J. Aguirre, who was later killed in the Spanish Civil War. Together they won the Kinnaird Cup in 1930, Fabian having lost in the final of the previous year with F. W. Barnes. The school first pair in 1929 was Aguirre and E. Portu. This all Spanish pair were converted to fives from pelota, and during the season they beat the Kinnaird Cup winners twice. R. W. V. Robins, P. J. Y. Hucks, W. H. Webster and J. Y. Boreham all appeared regularly in the lower O.C. pairings around this time. The 1933 school pair, K. A. F. Frost and H. K. S. Lindsay, became the first Highgate pair to reach the final of the Public Schools championships.
From 1934 to the present day the matches have been played over a variable number of pairs but the result has always been considered to that of the first VI.
In 1935 Fabian again reached the final of the Kinnaird, partnered by R. A. Blair and A. G. A.Turnbull appeared in the 1938 final. Fabian later won the Kinnaird three times with J. K. G.Webb before his last appearance in the final in 1949 with M. W. G. Pryke. 1935 also saw the O.C.'s share the Queens Club Old Boys Cup, forerunner of the Alan Barber Cup, with the Harrovians. The first school pair to win a Public Schools title was J. S. Archer and K. S.Boosey who won the Under 16 event in 1936, a success repeated by R. L. Bartley and J. L.Williams in 1938. The Second World War brought "damage to the glass by a flying bomb" and the 1946 match report detailed: "The effects of the evacuation years are still with us and the added handicap of roofless and unlit courts." After a twenty one year gap, the School again reached the Public Schools final in 1954 (J. D. G. Buchanan and J. K. Fawcett), and in 1958 finally won the Cup through T. P. Johnson and D. A. Hollindrake, who were entered as Highgate II. C. R. Drysbrough, later to play cricket for Middlesex, was in the school first pair in 1955-6-7.
The 1957 Cholmeleian reports the school second pair as beating a very tried (sic) O. C. pair in J. L. Grimsdell and J. A. Gaywood. M. F. Hayes twice reached the Public Schools final: in 1962 with A. E. Bundy and in 1963 with R. B. Rumsam, before Highgate pairs won the trophy three times in four years: 1965 (W. G. Poole and R. E. Norman), 1966 (Norman and D. A. J. Chamberlain), 1968 (D. S. Ritchie and D. Cattanach). The School also reached the final in 1969 (P. E. Cushing and D. T. G. Luxford) and 1970 (C. D. Gilbert and B. J. Pack).1969 saw the O.C.'s first victory in the Alan Barber Cup, repeated in 1970, after three losing appearances in the final. In 1971 Hayes and Bundy became the first Choimeleian pair to reach the Kinnaird final since 1949 and the same year saw Gilbert and G. P. T. Bond win the Public Schools title. Hayes and Bundy won the Kinnaird Cup in 1972 and were beaten finalists a year later. D. B. Wainwright won the Public Schools Cup twice - in 1973 with C. M. B. Williams and the next year with A. F. Downie and just failed to make it a record third with P. G. Dunbar in the 1975 final. However, the O.C.'s regained the Barber Cup in 1975 before starting their unfinished series of eleven successive victories in 1977. In this same year Wainwright and A. E. Gibson reached the final of the Kinnaird and repeated this in the next two years, winning the Cup in 1978. This was a year of triple success with M. R. Smith and J. A. Green adding the Public Schools title to the Kinnaird and Barber Cups.
1980 was also a good year for Highgate fives with wins in the Under 16 (G. D. P. Williams and M. R. Rimini) and Under 14 (N. Rathbone and P. N. Szemerenyi) competitions. Cholmeleian pairs have appeared in several recent Kinnaird finals - 1982 (Wainwright and C. M. B. Williams), 1984 (Gibson and Williams) and 1985 (Wainwright and Gibson). The School won the Public Schools title in 1983 (O. Bull and N. Rathbone) and again in 1985 (J. M. S. Chapman and J. M. A. Pinner) for a record equalling tenth time. E. A. Wass and D. E. Luka became only the second pair to win both the Public Schools Under 14 (1985) and Under 16 (1987) competitions.
Dr P J Knowles
Constructed by Mike Fenn
17th May 2000
efa@etonfives.co.uk