Whitchurch Sportsmen

In the village we seem to be blessed with very famous sportspeople, a fact that even the national newspapers seem to have noted. However, there are a few sportsmen of yesteryear that seem to have been forgotten, and it seems only right to restore their names to public attention:

YOYO
Paul of Heol Gwrgan has been in touch to tell us about ‘Steve’ who lived just behind Old Church Road. At the end of the 1950s, Steve was a champion yoyo exponent with international acclaim. He was in great demand for yoyo displays in both the UK and USA. No one seems to know any more about Steve; where he lived and what happened to him, but there must be someone in the village who can help. We’d love to know more

CYCLING
We’re all proud of our local cyclist Chris Harris and his shop in the village, but 120 years ago there was another local with cycling prowess

Billy Brian of Whitchurch was famous in the early years of the 20th century as Wales’s greatest trick cyclist. He was presented with a silver cup in 1904 (one of his most prized possessions) for cycling backwards from Newport to the Moon & Stars pub in Cardiff!

Such was his talent in this unlikely field of human endeavour that the great German trick-cyclist Bud Snyder, who was appearing at the Empire Theatre in Cardiff, begged Billy to join him professionally. Billy, however, seemed content to remain in his secure job in Cardiff Docks, and trick-cycling remained just a hobby. He continued his displays well into his fifties

We’ve managed to find a photograph of Billy in 1904 (see below) performing an unusual trick on his bike. This looks scary, and we don’t recommend anyone try this at home! Does anyone know any more about this local sporting hero? And where was the Moon & Stars pub?

Many thanks to Stewart Williams for the information and Wales Online for the photo

 

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