Sport Today

I cannot find Chappelli's  reference to sledging in my library.  However
for those interested, this is a rough paraphrase of the etymology of this
peculiar term.

Just about the time that Ian Chappell had just taken over the captaincy of
Australia, a batsman had been given out, returned to the dressing room and
let fly with the famous expletive f**king etc. which can also be used in
the vernacular to refer to the act or procreation.

Later Chappelli was asked by some media types what the batsman had said.
He responded that it was a word which is like "Percy Sledge's song 'When A
Man Loves A Woman' " referring to a classic rock/soul ballad.   Somehow
over the summer it had metamorphosed into someone "doing a Sledge" when
using foul language in the field.  In the fullness of time the term Sledge
became associated with any form of verbal attack aimed towards the
opponents.

I welcome anyone to refine or correct this rough version.  Rick Eyre,
perhaps?

When I played, I must admit that I did indulge in a bit of on field
'discussion'.  I did not abuse the batsmen so much as make fairly quiet
comments to my team mates which were intended to be overheard by the
batsman and disrupt his concentration.  Was I right to do so?  Probably
not, but it could be fun at times.

As an Umpire, I did not instantly jump on the slightest evidence of
sledging as some do.  However, immediately it got foul, abusive, personal
or disruptive, I would sternly ask the Captain to calm his troops down and
that generally worked.  I will not, and have never, tolerated foul or
abusive language on the field as a player, coach or Umpire.  Foul or
abusive language has no place in a game I revere.

Once I was asked by a captain just what I as an Umpire would tolerate on
the field.  I replied that if he could make me laugh, it's OK.  It's not a
funeral service, it's a game and we are supposed to have fun.

In response to the initial post:
In Australian Cricketer magazine several years ago there was an article
which suggested much the same involving the Australian team of the time
mentioned playing a backyard game in Adelaide I think. The vocal taunts
became stronger and one player was tagged the 'sledgehammer' due to his
heavy handed tactics. This became 'Percy Sledge-hammer' as Chappelli's
interview suggested. It was shortened to sledging over time.
The article was written by one of the participants in that game. I'd only
be guessing but it could have been Kerry O'Keefe or Jeff Thompson.
Thanks,
Jonathan Aldous
--
             /////////////////////////////////////////////////
            /     Jon Aldous           /'He who laughs last /

          /////////////////////////////////////////////////  

Hmmm.  That's another variant.  I wish I could find the right book by
Chappelli and the correct pages where he puts his version.  Yours could
very well be correct, however if my (failing) memory serves me well,
Sledging was already in fashion when Thommo first entered the international
scene.  Anyway, your version sounds as valid as mine and both make good
'pub talk'.

Ian Chappell gives his version of the invention of the term "sledging" in
his 1992 book "The Cutting Edge", and he states that he had absolutely
nothing to do with the creation of the term.  He states that it originated
in the early 1960's with NSW and Australian fast bowler Graeme Corling, who
uttered an obscenity in front of in a lady at an off-field function.  One
of his team mates turned to him and said that he was "as subtle as a
sledgehammer".  Corling was then tagged with the nickname "Sledge", which
later mutated to "Percy" after the popular singer Percy Sledge.  "Sledging"
became the term among Australian cricketers for making a faux pas in front
of a woman.  Chappell claims that the term was misused by journalists in
the mid-1970's to describe on-field intimidation, and the latter definition
has stuck.

Of course, "sledging" as we know it did not by any means begin in Ian
Chappell's day.  Bill O'Reilly, Australia's greatest bowler of the 1930's,
was noted for his cursing and uttering of oaths at opposing batsmen, but
not with the malice that we see too often among players today.  

And if we go back even further in time, Dr W.G.Grace, perhaps the greatest
cheat in the history of the game, included verbal intimidation of opposing
players in his on-field repertoire.

--

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Well, here is what the OED has to say on the subject:

Sorry, I can remember the term being used at least before the WSC split.
--
"I've been in this game a hundred years, but I see new ways to lose I never
knew existed before."
                                 Casey Stengel - Baseball Coach

| Well, here is what the OED has to say on the subject:
|
| >> oed sledging
| 'sledging, vbl. sb.[2] Austral. Cricket slang. [f. SLEDGE sb.[1] +
-ING[1].]
| (See quot. 1982.)
|   1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 5/1 Lillee had his views on
intimidating
| batsmen on Melbourne television.  And on sledging-the term comes from
subtle
| as a sledge-hammer. 1979 Age (Melbourne) 2 July 9/6 A year or so earlier
the
| Australian team coined `sledging' for needling or gamesmanship. 1982
London
| Portrait Mag. May 68/3 Sledging, trying to disrupt batsmen's
concentration by
| abusing, teasing them. 1983 Guardian 8 Feb. 23/1 Geoff Howarth says he
intends
| to complain about the amount of swearing, sledging and unchecked
short-pitched
| bowling New Zealand have faced.            
|