When Boris battled for Obolensky tour date

HALLOWEEN is upon us and there has surely never been anybody to match Boris Karloff in the horror stakes, but it might surprise some to know that the Hollywood legend was the keenest of rugby men and is credited with being both a founder member and saviour of the Southern Californian Rugby Union (SCRFU).

During a varied education he played a good deal of rugby at Uppingham School, Merchant Taylors Norwood before seeking fame and fortune in Hollywood long before World War I. There he became a stalwart of the ex-pat cricket club and also played rugby whenever a game could be organised.

Much later it was suggested that a Southern Californian Rugby Union be formed and Karloff – real name Henry Pratt – became a committee member and undertook in 1936 to raise the funds to host a tour of California by the star-studded Oxford University team which included Prince Alexander Obolensky.

Karloff, below, squeezed donations from his well-heeled sports-minded actor friends such as David Niven and Errol Flynn, and raised the then considerable sum of £2,000 but was aghast when the club treasurer ran off with the lot, never to be seen again.

At this point Karloff demonstrated some real class. First he contacted Oxford and offered to personally pay for the tour. The offer was reluctantly turned down – by this time many of the players has assumed the tour was off and made other plans for their vacation. Then Karloff contacted the individual donors and refunded their contributions.

Unsurprisingly, Karloff was voted President of the SCRFU by grateful members in 1937. It’s a shame the tour never took place though. You rather fancy Hollywood would have taken to the dramatically handsome Obolensky and vice versa.

Who knows what contracts might have been forthcoming?