FOOTBALLSUP » Footballsup Heroes http://footballsup.com Everything football Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:58:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Footballsup Heroes No. 3 – Arthur Wharton http://footballsup.com/2010/02/footballsup-heroes-no-3-arthur-wharton/ http://footballsup.com/2010/02/footballsup-heroes-no-3-arthur-wharton/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:08:20 +0000 Matt http://footballsup.com/?p=2602 Weve had Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Ronaldo (not ‘had’ had – that would be weird) – the next in our heroes series is Arthur Wharton. ‘Who?’ I hear you cry. Read on…

arthur wharton2 Footballsup Heroes No. 3 Arthur Wharton

Looks cool doesn’t he?

But who is he?

That, my friends, is Arthur Wharton. The first black professional footballer EVER. That’s some accolade. Long before Luther Blissett became the first black player to score for England, or Viv Anderson became the first black player to captain England, Mr Wharton was striking a blow for black footballers everywhere.

In an entirely white footballing world he was a trailblazer, playing for Darlington in 1885 when it was more a cataclysmic shock than a novelty to see a black man trotting out for your – or any other – side.

At this point an honourable mention must go to Andrew Watson, the first black man to play international football (bizarrely for Scotland, who don’t seem to have had a black player since. Apart from Chris Iwelumo. And look how that turned out…) But he was still an amateur – it was Wharton who made the first inroads for black people into football as a profession.

That is enough to earn Wharton hero status in our book. But that’s not all. Incredibly he also held the world 100m record for a time, running it in 10 seconds. And he was a goalkeeper!

AND, he played county cricket for Yorkshire.

AND, he died a penniless alcoholic. No wait, that one’s not good.

But for being the the first professional black footballer, and holding the world 100m record whilst being a goalkeeper (although he did occasionally play on the wing), and playing county cricket, and liking a drink, Mr Wharton, we salute you. A true hero.

]]> http://footballsup.com/2010/02/footballsup-heroes-no-3-arthur-wharton/feed/ 5 Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo http://footballsup.com/2010/01/footballsup-heroes-no-2-fat-ronaldo/ http://footballsup.com/2010/01/footballsup-heroes-no-2-fat-ronaldo/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:24:09 +0000 Matt http://footballsup.com/?p=2486 Yes that’s right – number one was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, number two is Ronaldo – that’s Fat Ronaldo, the Real Ronaldo, R9. Not that tenderfoot Cristiano. They are heroes in their own special way – read on for the evidence…

the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be

Cristiano Ronaldo

Even now, Ronaldo is still banging them in – 12 in 20 games for Corinthians this season. Is there any chance he will go to the World Cup? Probably not – but if he went, I bet he would notch a couple to add to the tally that already makes him the leading all time scorer in World Cup tournaments (with 15).

He has played down talk that he could make a dramatic return – citing recovery from his persistent knee injury as his primary, and only goal – but he could still make a sensational re-appearance on the highest stage. Fingers crossed.

This is my favourite photo of him – in fact possible my favourite football photo of all time:

Ronaldo action 300x254 Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo

His legs and arms are a blur of speed – his head perfectly positioned, upright and aware, caught in time. Athletic perfection. Which makes this:

ronaldo ibiza 199x300 Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo

All the more staggering. What is even more staggering is that he has recovered from this paunchy bloatedness to spark talk that, as discussed above, he will make the World Cup once more. That he has come back from such serious injuries so many times, whilst getting fat in the meantime, only add to his allure.

He is arguably the greatest modern day player – this goalscoring record is second to none, achieved for different clubs in different leagues, and internationally – and all while being universally loved.

ronaldogoals Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo

Just phenomenal. But what makes that record all the more special is the manner in which he scored – left foot, right foot, inside the box, outside the box, headers, dribbles, volleys – every type of goal. A highlights reel; please watch this, it is fantastic:

Such pace, such power, such a good touch, so skilful (see 2.35 in particular) – such a good finisher. And I have never seen anyone better – nay anywhere near as good – at rounding a keeper.

Fat Ronaldo, an absolute legend, a modern day and all time great. I pray to God you make the World Cup in the summer. It would be a dream.

I implore you read this far more detailed and factual but less eulogic Wikipedia entry – quoted to save you navigating away, but if you want to click here.

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁoˈnawdu luˈiz naˈzaɾiu dʒi ˈlimɐ]; born 22 September 1976), commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Corinthians.

Ronaldo- “the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be”. quoted from Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo was also one of the most prolific scorers in the nineties and in the early twenty-first century. During his football career in Europe, Ronaldo became one of the most renowned strikers in the world by winning his first Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and again in 2002. He is also one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane. In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com‘s Player Of The Decade by an online poll, gathering 43.63% of all votes[1] and was also included as Centre Forward in The Team Of The Decade.[2]

Ronaldo Luis is also an established national footballer for Brazil. He has appeared in 97 international matches, amassing 62 goals and standing 15 goals away from the Brazilian national scoring record. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994, and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller‘s previous record of 14.

Ronaldo’s clinical finishing, ability to beat defenders with ease, skills on the ball and his many comebacks from injury have seen him lauded by football fans worldwide.[3] He is an idol to many modern footballers such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karim Benzema,[4] Alexandre Pato, Fernando Torres, Wayne Rooney and Kaká.[5]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Club career

[edit] Cruzeiro and PSV

In 1988, Ronaldo began his football career playing for Cruzeiro which was already going on to become a successful club. In his first and only year with Cruzeiro, he amassed 12 goals in 14 appearances and lead them to their first Copa do Brasil championship.

After he was scouted by famous Dutch scout Piet de Visser, he was soon transferred for US$6 million to PSV in 1994, where he scored 42 goals in 46 league games and reached a total of 54 goals in 57 official appearances. With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch Cup in 1996 and was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995..

[edit] Barcelona

200px PSG Barcelone 1997 Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo

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Ronaldo scoring the winning penalty in the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup Final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Later, he attracted the attention of Barcelona. He played for Barça in the 1996-97 season, scoring an incredible 47 goals in 49 games (in all competitions) on the way to leading the Catalan side to UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup triumph (where he capped the season with the winning goal in the cup final itself) and to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España wins. He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games. Until the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga. At the age of twenty, Ronaldo became the youngest player to win FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996. He also finished runner-up for the Ballon d’Or.

[edit] Internazionale

Inter signed him the following year for a then world record fee, and Ronaldo duly helped them repeat his former side’s cup-winning run, this time in the UEFA Cup, in which he scored their third goal in the final itself.

Ronaldo adapted to the Italian style of the game in his first season, finishing second on the league’s scoring charts. Ronaldo started to develop into a complete forward. He began racking up assists, became first-choice penalty taker, taking and scoring freekicks, and captaining the team at the end of the season. During his time with Inter, he scored several goals against A.C. Milan. He won FIFA World Player of the Year for the second time in 1997, and collected the Ballon d’Or the same year. The following year, after the FIFA World Cup, he finished second for FIFA player of the year, and third for European Footballer of the Year.

On November 21, 1999, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the pitch. Medical exams after the match confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery.[6] During his first comeback on April 12, 2000, he played only seven minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before injuring his knee for a second time.[7] After two operations and months of rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002 he won the World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid. Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname O Fenômeno by the Italian press while playing there. He was named the 20th top footballer of all time for Inter according to Times Online and only his injuries prevented a higher ranking. He played 99 games and scored 59 goals for nerazzurri.

[edit] Real Madrid

180px Ronaldo em campo Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo

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Ronaldo playing for Real Madrid

Having signed for Real Madrid for 39 million euros, His jersey sales broke all records on the first day, such was the obsession and hype surrounding him. He was sidelined through injury until October 2002 but the fans kept on chanting his name. Ronaldo scored twice in his debut for Real Madrid. He received a standing ovation in the Santiago Bernabeu. That same reception was observed on the night of the final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored again to seal his first season with 23 league goals and the La Liga Championship title for 2003, which Ronaldo had previously failed to win while with Barcelona. With Real he also won a Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and Spanish Super Cup in 2003. In the second leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo scored a hattrick against Manchester United to knock them out of the competition. Real was on track to win the treble until Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the 03/04 season, and they lost the Copa del Rey final, were knocked out of the Champions league Semi-finals, and suffered a league form breakdown. This season he finished as the league’s top scorer and was awarded the Pichichi despite Real losing the league title to Valencia. Real Madrid were knocked out of the first round of the last 16 in the Champions League by Arsenal, and went a third straight season without a trophy. During his time at Real Madrid, Ronaldo has scored against some of their biggest opponents including several against rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. With the acquisition of Ruud Van Nistelrooy in 2006, Ronaldo grew more and more out of favor with the manager Fabio Capello due to injuries and weight issues.

[edit] Milan

On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with Milan for a transfer of about €7.5 million.[8] Ronaldo was forced to pay for the remaining period on his contract which tied him to Real Madrid, only because the latter did not agree to release him, while Milan were not ready to pay such a sum. On Thursday, January 25 Ronaldo flew from Madrid to Milan to watch Milan in a cup tie against Roma. Statements on the club’s website said that Ronaldo was in Milan for a medical, and that a meeting had been arranged for Monday with Real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to Milan. On 26 January, Ronaldo successfully completed his medical tests at the Milanello training complex under the supervision of club doctors, and the transfer completed on January 30[9] and got the jersey number 99. He made his debut as a substitute for Milan on 11 February 2007, during the 2-1 victory over Livorno. The next game at Siena on 17 February 2007, Ronaldo scored twice and assisted on a third goal in his first start for Milan as they won an exciting game 4-3. In his first season at Milan, Ronaldo scored 7 goals in 14 appearances.[6]

After his move to Milan, Ronaldo joined the list of the few players to have played for both Internazionale and Milan in the Milan Derby and is the only player to have scored for both sides in the derby game (for Inter in the 98/99 season and for Milan in the 06/07 season). Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have started for Real Madrid and Barcelona, which also boasts a heated rivalry. However, Ronaldo has never transferred directly between the teams in the derby. Ronaldo only played 300-plus minutes for Milan in his single season at Milan due to recurring injury problems and weight issues. Ronaldo’s only goals in the 2007/2008 season, besides his goal against Lecce in pre-season, came in a 5-2 victory against Napoli at the San Siro, where he scored an emotional brace. It was also the first time Milan’s much hyped attacking trio of Kaká, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, known as Ka-Pa-Ro played together. In total he scored 9 goals in 20 appearances for Milan.

Despite tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo has never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career. During the 2006-07 season, though Milan won the 2006-07 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and ineligible to take part. The closest that he has been was in 2003 when he helped Real Madrid to the semi-finals, in which they lost to Juventus.

On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo suffered a severe season-ending knee injury while jumping for a cross in Milan’s 1-1 draw with Livorno, and was stretchered off and taken to a hospital. Milan confirmed after the match that Ronaldo had ruptured the kneecap ligament in his left knee. It marked the third such occurrence of this injury, which he suffered twice to his right knee in 1998 and 2000.[10] He was released by Milan at the end of the season, as his contract expired and was not renewed.

[edit] Corinthians

Ronaldo trained with Flamengo during his recovery from knee surgery, and the club’s board of directors said that the doors were open for him to join. However, on 9 December, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with Flamengo’s league rival Corinthians.[11] The announcement received high publicity in the Brazilian press about his favouring Corinthians over Flamengo, since Ronaldo publicly declared himself a Flamengo lover and had promised to defend the club.[12]

Ronaldo played his first match for Corinthians on 4 March 2009, a Copa do Brasil match against Itumbiara at Estádio Juscelino Kubitschek, in which he came as a substitute for Jorge Henrique.[13] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on March 8, 2009, in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras.[14] He helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with 10 goals in 14 games.[15]

Ronaldo capped off his outstanding return to football by helping Corinthians defeat Internacional, with an aggregate score of 4-2, to conquer Corinthians’ third Brazil Cup (the second of his career), thus earning a spot in the Copa Libertadores 2010. Ronaldo is set to extend his one-year contract in order to play in the Copa Libertadores for the first time in his illustrious career. After surgery on his fractured hand, Ronaldo returned on September 20 in a match against Goias. On 27 September 2009, he scored for Corinthians in the 1-1 draw against São Paulo.

[edit] International career

Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil in 1994, in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA as a 17-year-old but did not play. He came to be known as Ronaldinho (“little Ronaldo” in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older team-mate on the tournament, was also called Ronaldo and also nicknamed Ronaldão (“big Ronaldo”) to further distinguish them. Another Brazilian player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, who is widely known as Ronaldinho, would come to be called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the Brazilian main national team in 1999.

In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ronaldo played with the name Ronaldinho on his shirt, since centre back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze medal in Atlanta.

Voted the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997, he scored four goals and made three assists[16] during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The night before the final, he suffered a convulsive fit. At first Ronaldo was removed from the starting lineup 72 minutes before the match, but he requested to play and was later reinstated by coach Mario Zagallo. Ronaldo did not perform well and he was injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Brazil lost the final to hosts France 3-0.[17] Adrian Williams, professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University, said that Ronaldo should not have played, saying that he would have been feeling the after effects of the seizure and that “there is no way that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first fit — if it was his first fit.”[18]

During the 2002 FIFA World Cup Ronaldo again led the national team to their record fifth championship and won the Golden Shoe as top scorer with eight goals and was runner-up to the Golden Ball as most valuable player in the tournament. He also scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England. In the final match against Germany, Ronaldo scored his 11th and 12th goals to a round of applause and tied Pelé’s Brazilian record of 12 career World Cup goals.[19]

On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo scored an unusual hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against archrivals Argentina in a CONMEBOL qualifier for the 2006 World Cup.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, respectively, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow. (Brazil President Lula questioned the national coach asking if, “Ronaldo is fat or isn’t he?”). Nonetheless, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup in face of calls to have Ronaldo replaced. With his two goals against Japan in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he became the 20th player ever to score in three different FIFA World Cups. (Ronaldo scored at France 98, Korea/Japan 2002 and at Germany 2006). On June 27, 2006, he broke the all-time World Cup Finals scoring record of 14, held by Gerd Müller after scoring his 15th World Cup goal against Ghana in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Round of 16. He also equaled a much less talked about mark: with his third goal of the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became only the second player ever (Jürgen Klinsmann being the other) to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups. However, Brazil were knocked out by France 1-0 in the quarter-finals.

The fallout after Brazil’s performance in the World Cup saw them appoint former captain Dunga as manager. His attempt to end the star culture of the Brazilian national team saw him drop Ronaldo not only from the starting line-up but from the squad altogether. He hasn’t been selected since. He is fifteen goals away from becoming Brazil’s all-time top-scorer.

Ronaldo has played down speculation of a national team return since his move to Corinthians, insisting that recovering from his injury was the most important thing. However, he has not hidden his desire to play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

[edit] Personal life

Footballsup Heroes: No.2: Fat Ronaldo

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Ronaldo during a meeting at the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

During 1997, Ronaldo met the Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner on the set of Brazilian telenovela Malhação when they acted together in three chapters.[20][21] Although never marrying, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999.[22] In April 1999, Ronaldo married female Brazilian footballer Milene Domingues after he saw her playing on television and proposed to her. The marriage lasted four years. The couple had a son, Ronald (born in Milan, on April 6, 2000). In 2005, Ronaldo became engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage; the relationship lasted for only three months after their luxurious “wedding” at the Château de Chantilly. The ceremony reportedly cost €700,000 (£896,000).[23] Ronaldo also had a relationship with Brazilian supermodel Raica Oliveira, ended in December 2006.

In April 2008, Ronaldo was involved in a scandal involving three transvestite prostitutes whom he met in a nightclub located in the city of Rio de Janeiro.[24] Upon discovering that they were men, Ronaldo offered them $600 to leave.[25] However, one of the three, André Luís Ribeiro Albertino (better known as Andréia Albertini), demanded $30,000 and exposed the case to the media.[26] According to the local police chief, “[Ronaldo] was very excited and wanted to go out and have fun, without the press knowing. Ronaldo said that he is not mentally stable and is having psychological problems because of his recent surgery. But he committed no crime at all, it was immoral at best.”[27] Ronaldo’s engagement to Maria Beatriz Antony was cancelled immediately after the prostitution scandal[28] but resumed a little later. Maria Beatriz gave birth to their first daughter, named Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro, on 24 December 2008. In April 2009, the whole family moved to a new penthouse in São Paulo.[29]

Since 2005, Ronaldo has been the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with Brazilian motorsports legend Emerson Fittipaldi.[30]

[edit] Career statistics

As of 21 November 2009.
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brazil League Copa do Brasil South America Total
1993 Cruzeiro Série A 14 12 — — 12 10 441 441
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total
1994-95 PSV Eredivisie 33 30 1 2 2 3 36 35
1995-96 13 12 3 1 5 6 21 19
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
1996-97 Barcelona La Liga 37 34 5 8 7 5 49 47
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1997-98 Internazionale Serie A 32 25 4 3 11 6 47 34
1998-99 19 14 3 0 6 1 28 15
1999-00 7 3 1 0 0 0 8 3
2000-01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001-02 10 7 1 0 5 0 16 7
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
2002-03 Real Madrid La Liga 31 23 1 0 12 7 44 30
2003-04 32 24 7 3 9 4 48 31
2004-05 34 21 1 0 10 3 45 24
2005-06 23 14 2 1 2 0 27 15
2006-07 7 1 2 1 4 2 13 4
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2006-07 Milan Serie A 14 7 0 0 0 0 14 7
2007-08 6 2 0 0 0 0 6 2
Brazil League Copa do Brasil South America Total
2009 Corinthians Série A 20 12 8 3 — — 382 232
Total Brazil 34 24 8 3 12 10 823 673
Netherlands 46 42 4 3 7 9 57 54
Spain 164 117 18 13 44 21 226 151
Italy 88 58 9 3 22 7 119 68
Career Total 332 241 39 22 85 47 4843 3403

1 includes 18 matches and 22 goals in Campeonato Mineiro.
2 includes 10 matches and 8 goals in Campeonato Paulista.

3See12

  • “Cup” include domestic cups and supercups;
  • “Continental” includes European cups, South American cups and Intercontinental Cup.
Professional career totals
Teams Appearances Goals Goals per game
Clubs 484 340 0.702
National Team 097 062 0.639
U-23 National Team 08 06 0.750
Total 589 408 0.693

[edit] Honors

[edit] Cruzeiro

[edit] PSV Eindhoven

[edit] Barcelona

[edit] Internazionale

[edit] Real Madrid

[edit] Corinthians

[edit] National team

[edit] Individual

]]> http://footballsup.com/2010/01/footballsup-heroes-no-2-fat-ronaldo/feed/ 4 Footballsup Heroes: Number 1: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle http://footballsup.com/2009/01/footballsup-heroes-number-1-sir-arthur-conan-doyle/ http://footballsup.com/2009/01/footballsup-heroes-number-1-sir-arthur-conan-doyle/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:32:31 +0000 Matt http://footballsup.com/?p=1125 This is the first in our ‘Heroes’ series, where we profile someone we like/respect/worship/adore. Each will be – sometimes tenuously – linked to football…

Number 1: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

sacd 288x300 Footballsup Heroes: Number 1: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur’s talents extended well beyond the written word. He was a doctor, a scientist, an inventor, a politician – and a hugely talented sportsman.

Doyle was a highly skilled cricketer, with a first class best of 43 with the bat – he also famously captured the wicket of WG Grace, possibly the greatest English cricketer to ever play the game – see the scorecard here. ACD was also a fine golfer (counting Rudyard Kipling amongst his playing partners), a powerful boxer, a keen motorist (a pioneer in Britain) and a gifted rugby player – he also played billiards. Furthermore, he was responsible for the introduction of cross country skiing to Switzerland! Read more about his sporting exploits here.

And the true relevance… Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a fine goalkeeper, and founder member of Portsmouth Association Football Club. They were a forerunner to the Portsmouth we know today. Doyle played under the moniker ‘A C Smith’, probably because football was not considered a gentleman’s game in those days.

Off the pitch, Doyle was hugely loyal – although falling in love with his second wife years before, while still in his first marriage, he maintained an entirely platonic relationship with her through honour to the mother of his children. It was only upon his wife’s death that he married his true love. He was also loyal to his country, forming a local voluntary force at the outbreak of WW1.

ACD had possibly the coolest best friend ever; Harry Houdini, the world famous American escapologist. It was because Doyle refused to believe that there was not anything supernatural about Houdini’s escapades that the two eventually became divided – so he believed in magic, too! He was an agnostic, relatively uncommon at the time, but later devoted himself to spiritualism.

Most famous in print, Doyle was far from one dimensional there; he wrote plays, poetry, novels, non-fiction, political manifestos, philosophical missives, and romance. Sherlock Holmes was his most notable achievement however – the fifty six short stories and four novels have been syndicated and translated all across the world. Baker St is now most famous as the home of his fictional character, and the image of Sherlock Holmes adorns the walls of the tube station. There are pubs, guest houses, cafes and museums across the tourist hotspot; a fantastic legacy, to take over an area of London with your storybook creation.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – for your literary achievements, for your influence on a hugely popular part of London, for your character, for your sporting legerdemain, but most of all for the fact you were the David James of your day – you are our hero.

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