David Bryant, England's greatest ever lawn bowler and unrepentant pipe smoker, has just passed away.
The descriptions of him combining pipe and sport are superb.
From the Guardian:
"Few sporting world champions have won their medals while smoking a pipe, but David Bryant, who has died aged 88, did just that as he claimed three world outdoor bowls singles titles and a further three indoors between 1966 and 1988.
In truth Bryant’s pipe, though clenched between his teeth, was not always lit during play, and sometimes was more of an aid to concentration than a smoking device. Nonetheless the smell of Holland House, his preferred brand of aromatic tobacco, became a familiarly pungent backdrop to defeat for many opponents...
After Bryant won his 1978 Commonwealth gold, the Guardian’s Frank Keating congratulated him by suggesting his triumph was an inspiration for older sportsmen – Bryant was then aged 46. “He remained polite, of course,” said Keating, “but he tapped out his pipe on his heel sharply enough to convey that he was momentarily miffed.”...
The pipe, however, became a casualty of retirement. “I was quite a heavy smoker, using up to 50g of tobacco every day,” he said. “I suppose it became a ritual that gave me time to think. But when I retired from competitive bowls my wife, Ruth, said it was time I gave it up, and so I did.”
The Guardian article has a photo of him with an interesting bent Falcon.
David Bryant obituary - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/30/david-bryant-obituary
The descriptions of him combining pipe and sport are superb.
From the Guardian:
"Few sporting world champions have won their medals while smoking a pipe, but David Bryant, who has died aged 88, did just that as he claimed three world outdoor bowls singles titles and a further three indoors between 1966 and 1988.
In truth Bryant’s pipe, though clenched between his teeth, was not always lit during play, and sometimes was more of an aid to concentration than a smoking device. Nonetheless the smell of Holland House, his preferred brand of aromatic tobacco, became a familiarly pungent backdrop to defeat for many opponents...
After Bryant won his 1978 Commonwealth gold, the Guardian’s Frank Keating congratulated him by suggesting his triumph was an inspiration for older sportsmen – Bryant was then aged 46. “He remained polite, of course,” said Keating, “but he tapped out his pipe on his heel sharply enough to convey that he was momentarily miffed.”...
The pipe, however, became a casualty of retirement. “I was quite a heavy smoker, using up to 50g of tobacco every day,” he said. “I suppose it became a ritual that gave me time to think. But when I retired from competitive bowls my wife, Ruth, said it was time I gave it up, and so I did.”
The Guardian article has a photo of him with an interesting bent Falcon.
David Bryant obituary - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/30/david-bryant-obituary
