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General First nameStanley Wakefield
LastnameHarris
GenderMale
CountrySouth Africa
Date of birth1894-12-13
Place of birthSomerset East, England
Date of death1973-10-03
Place of deathKenilworth, South Africa


About

Stanley Harris has been described as a "Boy?s Own" hero for his sporting prowess.[5] After his service in World War I, in which he was wounded, he spent some time convalescing, but his boredom at this predicament led him to take up ballroom dancing. A year later he reached the finals of the World Ballroom dancing championship, in which he won the waltz section.

After being sufficiently healed, he returned to his school boy passion of rugby union and became the leading try-scorer for Blackheath F.C. and also played for East Midlands RFC. Having played in the trial match in December 1919 on the victorious side where The South beat England, he made his international debut on 14 February 1920 at Lansdowne Road in the Ireland vs England match[1] under the captaincy of Jenny Greenwood. He then also played against Scotland that season, scoring a try in that second match winning the Calcutta Cup and helping England secure a joint Five Nations championship (along with Scotland and Wales). In 1920, he also turned down a place in the Great Britain Olympic modern pentathlon team in 1920 to play rugby.[5] He emigrated to South Africa soon afterwards and played for the Johannesburg Pirates club, as well as Transvaal.

In 1921 he became the South African light-heavyweight boxing champion.[3] In 1924, when the British Lions toured South Africa, he was called up by the team and played two Tests.[3] Originally chosen as a replacement wing he then took over as fullback after a spate of injuries to the touring party. He played his final match for the British Lions on 20 Sep 1924 at Newlands Stadium and scored a try in that final match that was rated as the best of the series.[2] The Springbok captain, Pierre Albertyn, rated Harris as the pick of the Lions backs.[2]

Harris then remained in South Africa until the beginning of the Second World War and won Springbok colours both in tennis and boxing.[3]

Media


Archive statistics Career1924 - 1934
Tournament wins1
Matches49
Match wins25


Tournament wins 1934 - Bude (Amateur)


Tournaments British Covered Court Championships - 1934 Bude - 1934 Wimbledon - 1933 Queens Club Tournament - 1933 British Covered Court Championships - 1933 Wimbledon - 1932 Queens Club Tournament - 1932 Wimbledon - 1931 Queens Club Tournament - 1931 British Covered Court Championships - 1931 Wimbledon - 1930 Surrey Hard Court Championships - 1930 Wimbledon - 1929 Cannes Carlton - 1929 Cannes New Courts Club - 1929 London Covered Court Championships - 1929 London Hard Courts - 1929 Cannes Carlton - 1928 Cannes Championships - 1928 Côte d'Azur Championships - 1928 South of France Championships - 1928 Cannes Beau Site New Year Meeting - 1928 Cannes Gallia - 1928 Surrey Hard Court Championships - 1928 Étretat - 1924